Met Office loses 93 year old weather forecast contract with the BBC
"The meteorological service said it was disappointed by the BBC’s decision to put out to tender the contract, which has been in place since the corporation’s first radio weather bulletin on 14 November 1922. Steve Noyes, operations and customer services director at the Met Office, said: “Nobody knows Britain’s weather better and, during our long relationship with the BBC, we’ve revolutionised weather communication to make it an integral part of British daily life."
I suspect not even the best Met Office forecasters could foresee their contract would last for 93 years. But if the Met Office is so sure that "nobody knows Britain's weather better" than the organisation, what fear does it have from competition? It is not as if it is barred from competing for the new contract...
I am surprised the contract lasted for so long without the European Commission (or other providers) kicking a fuss about it, although the fact it is probably an in house arrangement can help explain it.
As for the criticism the decision faced and that the relationship between the Met Office and BBC is "vital" (as if we were talking about providing weather service reports say to the MoD), please.