Four years ago, the UK identified its first cases of a new, highly infectious disease. Within two months, Covid-19 had claimed the lives of thousands of people and the country found itself in an eerie lockdown.
Behind closed hospital doors, the scene was very different: it was one of chaos, as an unprepared and overwhelmed health service struggled to keep people alive.
The resilience and ingenuity of broadcasters and producers as they adapted their children’s content to lockdown was emphasised at a joint RTS London and Children’s Media Foundation (CMF) event, “Kids, Covid and content”, in October.
Louise Bucknole, VP of programming for kids at ViacomCBS Networks International UK & Ireland, recalled how Covid-19 had forced producers to make Channel 5’s pre-school service Milkshake! virtually.
How do you manage an entirely live sports TV channel – without any live sports taking place? With no sport and no fans, this panel will investigate how the ever-resilient TV industry adapted to fill entire daily schedules which suddenly became empty overnight.
We will hear from major sporting brands in the UK to find out their initial and then longer-term approach. The panel will talk about the innovative ways broadcasters, programme makers and the wider sports industry adapted to the challenging circumstances – and the value new and existing technology delivered.
