What a Breaking News Video Package Costs and What Moves the Price
A plain account from the edit suite of how a breaking news package is priced, which parts of a job raise or lower the figure, and what to tell us when you ask for a quote.
Why we do not quote a single flat figure
Newsrooms often ask for one number for a breaking news package, and I understand why: a budget line needs something to hold on to. The difficulty is that two packages with the same running time can need very different amounts of work. A ninety-second piece from a single location with one interview is a short job. The same length from three locations, with a late interview and a tight transmission slot, is a much larger one.
So our prices are built from a few clear parts, and we write them down in the quotation before any work starts. You see what each part covers and what would change it. That is more useful to an editor than a headline figure that later grows through extras nobody mentioned.
In these autumn weeks, when the evenings draw in and weather stories, council decisions and local incidents all compete for airtime, we get a lot of requests that begin with the question of cost. This article answers it as directly as I can, from the edit suite side of the work.
The field shoot: crew, kit and travel
The first part of the price is the shoot itself. It depends on how many people we send, how long they are out and how far they travel from our base in Chichester. A single camera operator on a short local job is the lightest option. Adding a second operator, extra audio equipment or a longer day raises the cost in a straightforward way.
Travel time counts as working time, so a story on the south coast near us costs less than one that needs a crew on the road for several hours each way. We do not add hidden charges for kit; the equipment we normally take is part of the day rate, and the quotation says so.
If a story is still developing when we arrive, we may stay longer than planned to get the material you need. We agree this with you at the time, not afterwards, so the final figure never comes as a surprise to your desk.
- Number of crew sent to the location
- Length of the shoot day, including travel
- Distance from Chichester to the story
- Extra audio or lighting kit if requested
Edit length, complexity and finishing
The second part is the edit, and this is where I spend my own working day. A simple cut of interview and cutaways is quick. Packages that need several sources, archive-style inserts supplied by your newsroom, on-screen graphics, captions or a specific bulletin format take longer, and the price reflects that time.
Captioning is a good example. Burnt-in captions for a short package are a modest addition, while a longer piece with several speakers and a strict house style takes more care. Graphics work the same way: a name strap is minimal, an animated map or data panel is not.
We also allow for revisions. One round of changes after your first view is normally included. If your producer wants the structure reworked after that, we tell you before we start, so you can decide whether it is worth the extra edit time.
- Number of sources and locations in the piece
- Captions, graphics and house-style requirements
- Finished running time
- Rounds of changes requested after the first view
Turnaround is the biggest variable
Of everything that moves the price, speed matters most. A package needed for the evening bulletin, with the crew leaving within the hour, asks us to clear the schedule and put people on it straight away. That priority costs more than a package needed the next morning, where the edit can be fitted around other work.
I would rather be honest about this than pretend speed is free. When an editor says the piece is needed by a certain time, we tell them plainly whether we can meet it and what that deadline does to the quotation. Sometimes a slightly later slot saves a useful amount, and it is worth asking us.
What we will not do is promise a transmission time we cannot meet. Reliable delivery matters more to a newsroom than a bold claim, so we quote the time we can truly hit and keep to it.
What helps us give you an accurate quote
The quickest route to a firm figure is a short, clear enquiry through the contact page. Tell us the story, the location, the time you need the package on air, the running time and any format or caption rules. If you already know there will be an interview, say so, and mention anything awkward such as restricted access or an overnight start.
We reply with a written quotation. Once you confirm it, we start work, and after delivery we send an invoice to be paid by bank transfer. Nothing is charged before you have seen and agreed the figure in writing.
If a story changes after you have confirmed, simply tell us. We would rather adjust the quotation openly than let the job drift. Most of the cost conversations we have are short, because the factors above are easy to talk through once the brief is on the table.
- The story and where it is happening
- Time you need the finished package
- Running time and format
- Captions, graphics and any house style
Where savings genuinely come from
Cutting the price without cutting the quality usually means making the brief simpler, not asking the crew to rush. Fewer locations, a settled running time and a deadline with some breathing space all help. So does sending us your style notes at the start, because it saves the edit time that late corrections would otherwise use.
Repeat arrangements can also run more smoothly. When we already know your graphics, your caption style and how your bulletin is put together, edits move faster and there is less to explain each time. That familiarity is useful to both sides and shows up in how efficiently we work.
What does not save money is trimming the checks on accuracy. We still verify names, titles and place details before delivery, because a correction on air costs a newsroom far more than a few extra minutes in the edit.
A breaking news package is priced by the crew and travel on the shoot, the weight of the edit and the speed you need it. None of these is hidden, and each can be discussed before you commit. Send us the story and your deadline through the contact page, and we will reply with a written quotation that shows what is included and what would change it.