BBC starts charging to attend comedy recordings
The BBC has started charging admission fees to be in the studio audience for its comedy shows.
Traditionally, tickets to recordings of even the biggest stand-up shows, such as Live At The Apollo, are free. But a stand-up showcase being taped for the Asian Network next month comes with £10 door charge – plus £1.85 in booking fees.
The gig at the Glee comedy club in Birmingham features comics Shazia Mirza, Preet Singh, Tej Dhutia and Noreen Khan, who hosts a show on the channel.
It is the latest in a series of comedy shows for the BBC Asian Network. The last, taped at Broadcasting House in Central Lodon in March, featured the likes of Tez Ilyas and Raul Kohli – and did not charge audience members to attend .
The new programme will be hosted by channel presenters Nikita Kanda and Mistah Islah and also features a DJ set from AJD. As well as the audio version of the gig, a video version will be streamed on iPlayer.
The show also appears to be the only one the BBC is charging for. Free tickets for current Radio 4’s Dead Ringers and The Infinite Monkey Cage, and Radio Scotland’s Breaking The News are currently advertisers on the BBC website. And it is soon to announce its programme of recordings at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Even commercial broadcasters do not typically charge to be in the studio audience. Tickets are currently available for shows including Mel Giedroyc’s Unforgivable for Dave and Sky’s revival of Fantasy Football League with Matt Lucas and Elis James.
The BBC told Chortle: 'The ticket fees for BBC events including Asian Network Comedy contributes towards the safe running of the event, production and security costs.'
Tickets for the Glee Club taping on July 24 are available here .
Published: 22 Jun 2022