Programme

08.30    Registration Opens

09.30    Opening

Jane Turton OBE, RTS Chair and CEO, All3Media

Anna Mallett, RTS London Convention 2024 Chair and Vice President, Production, EMEA/UK, Netflix

 

09.45    Session One: International Keynote: Ted Sarandos

Netflix’s Co-CEO, the man behind the transformation of the company from DVD rental to the world’s leading entertainment service, shares his thoughts on the UK’s creative edge.

Chair

Kirsty WarkJournalist and Writer

Speakers

Ted SarandosCo-CEO, Netflix

 

10.25    Session Two: How To Win Audiences And Influence Them

Executives from four eminent international media houses pick up on the challenges described by Ted Sarandos and debate their personal approaches to streaming, production, and winning audiences and subscribers.

Chair

John Gapper, Chief UK Business Columnist, Financial Times

Speakers

Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, Sky Studios and Chief Content Officer, Sky

Andrew Georgiou, President & MD, Warner Bros. Discovery UK & Ireland and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe

Nami PatelSenior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, The Walt Disney Company EMEA

Sarah Rose, President, Channel 5 and UK Regional Lead, Paramount

 

11.05   Break

 

11.25    Session Three: UK Keynote: Tim Davie CBE

BBC Director-General Tim Davie discusses the BBC’s support for regional economic growth and renewal, and the backing they are giving home grown storytelling; how the PSBs are at the heart of the UK’s creative industries; successfully navigating the shift to internet first and accelerating the transformation of the BBC in the digital/AI age.

             Chair

             Amol Rajan, Journalist and Presenter

             Speaker

Tim Davie CBE, Director-General, BBC

 

11.50    Session Four: In Conversation With Steven Knight CBE

Steven Knight is a writer, executive producer and director but he’s also passionate about the creative economy and the opportunities it affords for regeneration of cities and promoting the next generation of talent. He and Katie Razzall discuss his personal investment in the studios in Digbeth, Birmingham, creating hits both sides of the Atlantic and where his next big idea is coming from.

Chair

Katie Razzall, Culture and Media Editor, BBC News

Speaker

Steven Knight CBE, Writer, Executive Producer and Director

 

12.15    Session Five: UK Keynote: Alex Mahon

Alex Mahon reflects on the first nine months of the Fast Forward policy to transform Channel 4 into a public service streamer by 2030, on the importance of truth and trust in our media, her plans in the Nations and Regions and how to support the growth of the indie sector so it can reap the rewards of its cultural exports.

Chair

             Amol Rajan, Journalist and Presenter

Speaker

Alex Mahon, CEO, Channel 4

 

12.40    Session Six: In Conversation With David Beckham

David Beckham discusses the development of his content studio, his ability to connect directly with audiences through digital and social media and how these platforms enhance his role as an entrepreneur and global brand ambassador.

              Chair

Jane Featherstone, Co-Founder and CCO, SISTER

Speaker

David Beckham, Former Athlete, Football Club Owner, Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Studio 99

 

13.05   Lunch

 

14.20    Session Seven: The Hitmakers

From Happy Valley to Last Tango In Halifax, The Grand Tour to Clarkson’s Farm, Andy Wilman and Nicola Shindler have presided over programmes which resonate hugely with their audiences. What do they look for in new ideas, and how do they develop them?

Chair

             Camilla Lewis, CEO, Curve Media

Speakers

Nicola Shindler OBE, Executive Producer and CEO, Quay Street Productions

Andy Wilman, Television Producer and Writer

 

14.50    Session Eight: How Do We Value Our Industry?

How do you value a creative company? Is a topline price dependent on its strategic value or the worth of its Intellectual Property? With the recent takeover of All3Media by Redbird, what are investors looking for, and is consolidation the only way forward? What does this mean for the media landscape and could consolidation compromise creativity?

             Chair

 Kamal Ahmed, Director of Audio, Presenter of The Daily T podcast and Columnist, The Telegraph

Speakers

Jane Featherstone, Co-Founder and CCO, SISTER

Harry Hampson, Global Chairman - Investment Banking/Corporate & Investment Bank EMEA, J.P. Morgan

Richard Sharp, Partner, SW7 and Former Chair, BBC

 

15.30    Session Nine: UK Keynote: Dame Carolyn McCall

ITV CEO Dame Carolyn McCall discusses ITV’s digital transition to being a streamer, how ITVX is integrated alongside linear broadcasting, growing ITV Studios and why they invest in shows like Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

             Chair

             Amol Rajan, Journalist and Presenter

Speaker

Dame Carolyn McCall, CEO, ITV

 

15.55   Break

 

16.15    Session Ten: How Safe Is Our News?

With the relationship between news providers and tech platforms coming under increasing scrutiny from governments and regulators worldwide, is carefully produced news potentially being buried? With audiences increasingly online, does the right news reach them or could it be lost in a sea of misinformation, or not carried at all? Can we learn from global examples where policy has polarised the two groups – or can big tech and traditional news providers learn to work together?         

             Chair

             Barbara Serra, Sky News Presenter, Documentary Filmmaker and Author    

             Speakers

             Iain Bundred, Head of Public Policy for UK and Northern Europe, YouTube

             Madhav Chinnappa, VP, Partnerships, Human Native AI

             Rachel Corp, CEO, ITN

             Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive, Ofcom

             

 

17.00    Session Eleven: Secretary of State Keynote

The RT Hon Lisa Nandy MP, the new Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, outlines her priorities for the creative industries.

Chair

             Anna Mallett, Vice President, Production, EMEA/UK, Netflix

Speaker

The RT Hon Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport

 

17.30    Session Twelve: The Rest Is Television

Marina Hyde and Richard Osman review the day’s sessions in a special edition of their podcast The Rest is Entertainment.

Speakers

Marina Hyde, Columnist and Writer

Richard Osman, Author, Producer and Television Presenter

 

17.50    Convention Closes

Anna Mallett, RTS London Convention 2024 Chair and Vice President, Production, EMEA/UK, Netflix

Theresa Wise MBE, Chief Executive, Royal Television Society

 

17.55    Drinks Reception sponsored by Netflix

             (Battlebridge Room)

 

The Society thanks its sponsors:

Netflix – Principal Sponsor; Networking and Lunch Breaks; Post Convention Drinks Reception

Accenture – Convention App

The RTS London Convention is accredited by the CPD Standards Office, giving delegates the opportunity to formally recognise what they have learnt.