Gail Shister
TVNewser Columnist

If you’re looking for bells and whistles on Election Night, the BBC is not your cuppa tea.

“I don’t think the BBC will ever be, or aspire to be, the bells-and-whistles network,” says CBS exile Rome Hartman, executive producer of “BBC World News America.”

“Fundamentally, we’re about great stories. Graphics help, and they’re cool. I have a lot of admiration for David Borhman and what he’s doing at CNN. But at a certain point, it’s almost parody.

“If the technology is just there as a ‘Gee whiz!’ it’s probably not the right thing. If it helps tell the story in a clear and understandable way, it’s perfectly fine.”

The BBC’s “U.S. Election Night” will be broadcast live from the network’s Washington bureau to more than 200 countries around the world beginning at 6pmET. In the Colonies, it will be seen exclusively on BBC America and BBC World News.

Former ABC Newsman Ted Koppel will join co-anchors David Dimbleby and Matt Frei in the studio “to step back and paint the big picture,” in Hartman’s words.

In a cheeky twist, contributors will include Ricky Gervais, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Schiff, Jay McInerney and Gore Vidal.

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