Channel 4

RTS Conferences

Events in television don't get much bigger than the RTS Cambridge Convention and the RTS London Conference. Held on alternate years, each event brings together the senior leaders and CEOs from the global TV industry for discussion and debate, setting the agenda for the future media year. 

 

RTS Cambridge Convention

 

Every two years the most recognisable faces, influential names and powerful voices of television converge for three days of stimulating talks, chaired by one of the UK's main broadcasters. 

RTS Futures summer party - Is TV out of touch?

RTS Futures Summer Party 2015

BBC Three controller Damian Kavanagh fielded harsh criticism from audience and panel alike at the RTS Futures Summer Party.

"Is TV out of touch?" asked former CBBC presenter Kirsten O’Brien, who chaired the event, "is it relevant for 16 to 34 year olds?"

With the BBC’s youth brand soon set to relinquish its linear channel, Kavanagh was told that young people were bearing the brunt of difficult BBC cuts.

This week's top TV: 6 - 12 July

Emma and James get Married at First Sight

Monday

Idris Elba: No Limits

Discovery, 9pm


Idris Elba (Credit: Discovery UK)

Drag racing, aerobatics, rally driving and land speed record attempts might seem like the perfect training ground for a would-be James Bond, but Luther star Idris Elba has denied that he will be taking that baton from Daniel Craig.

Why diversity makes business sense for TV

Making Diversity Pay

The economic arguments for diversity came under the microscope at a lively joint RTS/BBC session held at New Broadcasting House last month. The panellists agreed that, following years of inaction, broadcasters are finally making an effort to boost black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) represen­tation in television.

Profile: Lucinda Hicks, COO at Endemol Shine

The world of television production can, to quote Digital UK Chief Executive Jonathan Thompson, "sometimes be somewhat sniffy about strategy folk".

With this in mind, he says Lucinda Hicks' success in becoming Endemol Shine UK's Chief Operating Officer is doubly impressive.

He hired Hicks to work with his team at Channel 4 in 2008, when he was its Strategy Director.

Michael Jackson: From Macclesfield to Manhattan

Michael Jackson's stellar career encapsulates much of the creative history of TV during the past 30 years. He was an innovative independent producer back in the 1980s, reinvented BBC Two in the 1990s, and went on to run Channel 4. There, he launched Queer as FolkAli G and Big Brother, before crossing the Atlantic to work for the legendary mogul Barry Diller.

Today, still based in New York, his career has swung full circle. Jackson is once again working as a producer.

Paxman and Stewart on TV's election coverage

Jeremy Paxman and Alastair Stewart

Alastair Stewart may have hosted British television’s first political leaders’ debate in April 2010 but, more often than not, it was Jeremy Paxman who had the last word at a rumbustious RTS Legends lunch in May.

Steve Hewlett was the ringmaster at this highly entertaining event, which sought to bring an insider’s perspective to the recent general election.

For much of the time, the two TV anchor men agreed to disagree. Paxman was as cynical as Stewart was enthusiastic. Maybe he’d recently attended a positive-thinking course.

What the SNP's 'Team 56' means for broadcasting

With Team 56 – as SNP MPs call themselves – forming the third-largest party in Parliament, the impact on broadcasting in the UK is likely to be profound. And the effects are certain to spread beyond the BBC Charter debate.

The economist Jeremy Peat, a former BBC Scotland Governor and Trustee, observes that the general election outcome "represents a massive vote for change," requiring "not sticking plaster, but fundamental change." He adds: "We are miles away from a stable equilibrium."

Survey looks at impact of diversity initiative

A survey by diversity campaign group The TV Collective has found that 83% of people believe recent diversity initiatives will not make a difference to the industry. 

Last year, TV and film in the UK introduced a range of initiatives to improve diversity both on and off screen with broadcasters such as BBC, Sky and ITV implementing new measures.

The purpose of the poll, taken by 170 people, was to investigate the impact the diversity drive had on those from varied backgrounds and highlight problems that may still occur.