Overview
- Powerful gusts hit ITV’s rooftop studio on Thursday during live coverage, causing visible disruption to presenters and audible background clatter on air.
- Producers moved pundits and subsequent analysis to an indoor backup studio later that evening after the wind made the open-air set difficult to use.
- Viewers posted widespread complaints about wind noise and distractions, with some calling the rooftop coverage hard to watch.
- ITV had planned for weather risks, installing deployable windproof windows and keeping an indoor fallback ready after almost two years spent scouting and building the raised rooftop set.
- The incident has sharpened the debate over high-profile location broadcasting versus stable studio production, even as many pundits praised ITV’s New York setup and the BBC continued coverage from Salford.