Flying over urban areas....uk

[Hiwayman]

Quite new to this so I apologise if I'm missing something but how is it that so many tv programmes here in UK show footage flying over urban areas, especially news programmes?
Are these companies really getting CAA approval every time and does that mean it's not difficult to get approval for such operations?

 

[Numone]

Yes. They will be professional UAV operators, so will be certified and have local permissions.

 

[Hiwayman]

Makes me wonder how easy o difficult it is to obtain these approvals??? What are the factors that influence the decision?