What a Live Link-Up Costs and What Moves the Price

Producers often ask for a flat figure for a live link-up, and I understand why. A budget line needs a number. The difficulty is that a live report from a car park outside a courthouse and a live report from a coastal road with no mobile coverage are different jobs, even if both end with the same two minutes on air.

So we price the job rather than the kit. We ask a handful of questions at the start: where the reporter will stand, how long the line has to stay open, how many slots you want across the day, and what the gallery needs to see and hear. Those answers decide almost everything that follows.

Quoting this way means you pay for what the story needs. It also means we can tell you early if a cheaper arrangement would do the same job, which happens more often than people expect.

The largest single driver is how the picture gets back to the gallery. A portable kit can bond several mobile connections together, and where signal is strong and steady that route is the most economical. It needs less equipment, a smaller crew and very little setting up.

Where coverage is weak, crowded or unreliable, we plan a different route, and that adds cost through extra equipment, extra checks and sometimes a longer arrival time before the first slot. We would rather tell you this at the quote stage than discover it on the pavement ten minutes before you go to air.

If you already know the location, send us the postcode or a description. We can often judge the likely route from experience of the area, and where we cannot, we will say so and build a test into the plan.

• Strong, stable mobile coverage keeps the setup simple and the price lower
• Poor or congested signal means a more robust route and more preparation
• A rehearsal feed before the first slot is worth including in either case

A live report needs at least a camera operator and someone looking after the transmission. Add a reporter who has to file elsewhere in the day, or a second camera for a two-way with a guest, and the crew grows. Each extra person is a visible line on the quote, not a hidden margin.

Time matters as much as headcount. A single ten-minute window is cheap to staff. A day of rolling slots, with the crew held on site between them, is not, because the kit and people cannot be used elsewhere. Waiting is part of live work and we price it honestly.

Long days also bring practical needs: power, shelter for the equipment and breaks for the crew. On a cold, wet shoot in these autumn weeks those are not luxuries, and they keep the picture steady late in the afternoon.

Breaking stories do not arrive with a week's warning, and we do not charge a punishing premium for that. But a crew that must leave within the hour costs more to mobilise than one booked a few days ahead, simply because other work gets moved and kit has to be checked and loaded in a hurry.

Distance is the other factor. Exeter to a story elsewhere in the South West is straightforward. A shoot further afield adds travel time, fuel and sometimes an overnight stay, all of which we set out separately so you can see them.

If you can give us even a rough heads-up that a story may develop, say so. Putting a crew on standby is far cheaper than a cold call at short notice, and it often means the first slot goes out cleaner.

• Booked ahead: lowest mobilisation cost
• Same-day call-out: crew and kit reassigned at short notice
• Longer distances: travel time and any overnight stay itemised

Some requests are small on paper and noticeable on the invoice. Graphics fed live into the gallery, a second angle for a guest, extra audio feeds, or a recording of the full report for your online team all take equipment and attention. None is unreasonable, but each belongs on the list from the start.

The same goes for sound. A reporter on a busy street needs a proper microphone setup and sometimes a wind solution, and clean audio does more for a live report than a better picture. We would not cut that to save money, and we will explain why if you ask.

If a producer asks what can be left out, our answer is usually the extras, not the checks. Rehearsal and monitoring are what keep a live slot from going wrong, so those stay in whatever the budget.

The more specific the brief, the firmer the figure. Tell us the location, the slot times, how long you need the line open, who is on camera and what the gallery expects to receive. With that, we can give you a clear breakdown rather than a range with a wide gap in the middle.

We write the quote in plain lines: crew, kit, transmission route, travel and any extras. If something changes on the day, such as a slot moving or a story running longer, we tell you before the cost moves, not after.

You can reach me through the contact page, or call the office in Exeter. A short conversation is usually enough to tell you whether a link-up is the right tool or whether recorded footage would serve you just as well.

• Location and likely signal conditions
• Slot times and how long the line must stay open
• Number of people on camera and any guest
• Graphics, audio or recording requirements