Cambridge 2015 Programme

14:30

Delegate registration opens

16:00

Convention opens 

Welcome by Sir Peter Bazalgette, President, Royal Television Society and Tony Hall, RTS Convention Chair and Director-General, BBC

16:10

Session One: Happy Valley or House of Cards? Television in 2020

The opening session of the RTS Convention will be a wide-ranging and challenging debate on the future of the television industry, drawing together the latest data-driven insights, with a panel of first-class minds from across the sector.  Thanks to Studio Lambert, the session will also have contributions from the most insightful TV critics of the modern era - the cast of Channel 4’s GoggleBox - all designed to challenge the conventions and shibboleths of both the ‘old’ and ‘new’ sides of our industry. Audience contributions will be welcomed throughout.

ChairJames PurnellDirector, Strategy and Digital, BBC

 

Speakers

Emily Bell, Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia University Journalism School

Susanna Dinnage, EVP MD, Discovery Networks UK & Ireland 

Benedict Evans, Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

Stephen Lambert, Chief Executive, Studio Lambert

Stephen Nuttall, Senior Director, YouTube EMEA

17:30

Session Two: International Keynote – Philippe Dauman, Viacom

Chair: Kamal AhmedBusiness Editor, BBC News

Speaker: Philippe DaumanPresident and Chief Executive Officer, Viacom

18:15

BBC Worldwide Reception

Featuring remarks from Rona FairheadChairman, BBC Trust    

19:00

Session Three: Secretary of State Keynote

Chair: Tony HallRTS Convention Chair and Director-General, BBC

Speaker: The Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MPSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

19:40

End of sessions

20:00

All3Media Dinner

After dinner speaker: Sir Peter Bazalgette 

22.30

Fujitsu Nightcap

09:20

Opening

09:30

Session Four: Working for the Yankee Dollar? Consolidation and Creativity 

Both consolidation and foreign ownership of the UK production sector is accelerating. We explore whether this process leads to new investment and a greater role in the global media market, or growing homogenisation of programmes and a squeezing of creativity.

Chair: Lorraine HeggesseyChair, Grierson Trust and Advisor, Channel 4 Growth Fund

Speakers

David AbrahamChief Executive, Channel 4

Wayne GarvieChief Creative Officer, Sony Pictures Television

Tim HincksPresident, Endemol Shine Group

Nick Southgate

10:30

Coffee

11:00

Session Six: Josh Sapan, AMC

Chair: Tim DavieChief Executive, BBC Worldwide

Speaker: Josh SapanPresident and Chief Executive Officer, AMC Networks

11:40

Session Seven: The Single Voice and the Showrunner

​Is the UK’s renowned belief in the ‘authored voice’ enough to enable us to lead or even survive in a US dominated international market? Do we need to acquire more expertise in Show Runner-led environments or should we be protecting our best writers from the writers’ room? And how do new writers get started and build a career in an industry led by A-listers?

Chair: Jane Tranter

Speakers

Hugo BlickWriter, Director and Executive Producer, Eight Rooks

Bryan ElsleyWriter and Executive Producer, Balloon Entertainment

Tahsin GunerWriter

Gina MoriartyWriter, Murdered by My Boyfriend

12:30

Lunch

14:00

Session Eight: David Zaslav, Discovery

Chair: Sir Howard Stringer

Speaker: David ZaslavPresident & CEO, Discovery Communications

14:40

Session Nine: Studios Uncovered

We put the spotlight on different studio models of production and debate the pros and cons of each – including UK vs US approaches, acquiring vs growing organically, the right size to be the most effective creatively, incentivising the best creative people, the importance of drama and the growth of factual.

Chair: Patrick YoungePartner & Co-Founder, Sugar Films

Speakers

Michael EdelsteinPresident, NBCUniversal International Studios

Kevin LygoManaging Director, ITV Studios

Peter SalmonDirector, BBC Studios

Jane Turton, Chief Executive Officer, All3Media

15:00

Tea break

16:00

Session Ten: Keynote – Sharon White, Ofcom

Chair: Stewart Purvis CBE

Speaker: Sharon WhiteChief Executive, Ofcom

16:35

Session Eleven: BBC Keynote

Chair: Jane MartinsonMedia Editor, The Guardian

Speaker: Tony HallDirector-General, BBC

19:15

ITV Reception 

20:00

Accenture Dinner

22:30

ITN Nightcap 

09:00

Opening

09:05

Session Twelve: Polls apart. How Broadcasters got Election 2015 wrong. And how can they do better next time?

Chair: Martha KearneyPresenter, BBC The World at One

Speakers

The Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP

Faisal IslamPolitical Editor, Sky News

Julie Etchingham, Presenter, ITV News 

09:45

Session Thirteen: The Rise of the Smartphones - Creating Compelling Content for the Mobile Generation

BBC Click's Spencer Kelly presents the latest smartphone technology soon to change the TV industry. Including 360˚ cameras and virtual reality headsets.

Chair: Spencer KellyPresenter, BBC Click

Speakers

Philip Harper, Acting Creative Director, Alchemy VR

Anthony Owen, Head of Magic and Executive Producer, Objective Productions

Richard Taylor, BBC R&D

10:15

Session Fourteen: TV without borders: is the digital single market boom or bust for UK television?

The European Commission proposes to ensure European consumers can access television and film content across borders in a ‘digital single market’. Senior figures from industry and the Commission will debate whether these proposals will drive further economic growth in Europe’s audio-visual industries and benefit consumers or undermine the basis on which content is funded, damaging a key economic sector and resulting in a reduction in choice and quality of content available.

Chair: Katya Adler, Europe Editor, BBC News

Speakers

John McVay, Chief Executive, Pact

Jorgen Gren, European Commission Cabinet Member, Digital Single Market

Delia Bushell Managing Director of BT TV and BT Sport

Antony Walker, Deputy CEO, Tech UK

11:00

Coffee

11:30

Session Fifteen: Talent – can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em

Talent agents, controllers and light entertainment chiefs explore issues raised by current controversies surrounding ‘talent’. Do they get paid too much? Do they have too much power? How has this situation arisen? And what, if anything, should we do about it?

Chair: Jane Lush, Managing Director, Kalooki Pictures

Speakers

Stuart Murphy, Director, Sky Entertainment Channels, BSkyB

Professor Jonathan Shalit OBE, Chairman, ROAR Global

Danielle Lux, Managing Director, CPL Productions

12:10

Session Sixteen: Looking Towards 2020

Four senior industry leaders look back at the debates of the last three days and consider what we have learnt about the directions in which television is heading. Can we foresee a reasonably happy future ahead? Or will the cards come tumbling down?

Chair: Lorraine Heggessey, Chair, Grierson Trust and Advisor, Channel 4 Growth Fund

Speakers

David Abraham, Chief Executive, Channel 4

Adam Crozier, Chief Executive, ITV

Tony Hall, Director-General, BBC

Tom Mockridge, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Media

13:00

Convention Closes

Tony Hall, RTS Convention Chair and Director-General, BBC 

Sir Peter Bazalgette, President, Royal Television Society

13:15

Lunch