Event

This was the “win-win” message that Aaron Matthews – project manager at Albert, television’s sustainability initiative – brought to an RTS London meeting at the end of March.

Matthews explained that Albert certification – demonstrated by a logo displayed on a programme’s end credits – is proof that a “production has implemented sustainability best practice”.

Broadcasters fear that the global tech giants are hungry for their audiences and advertising. They are probably right to be fearful, but Google’s Matt Brittin had some soothing words for Britain’s TV community, mixed in with criticism, when he spoke at a sold-out RTS event in late November.

Many broadcasters are convinced that targeted advertising is a silver bullet. They claim it will help level the playing field with Google and Facebook and so future-proof their businesses.

But at a packed RTS early-evening event, 'Is targeted advertising the future of TV?', it became clear that the debate over smart advertising’s role in commercial TV is more nuanced than that. It is conceivable that internet-­delivered, personalised ads aimed at individuals will one day be as commonplace as driverless vehicles are expected to be.

At an RTS early evening event in late April, chaired by TV science specialist Maggie Philbin, a top-notch panel offered some solutions to a problem that affects not just telly, but the UK economy as a whole.

Women are grossly under-represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – only 12.8% of the UK’s STEM workforce is female. This situation seems unlikely to change quickly given that just 15% of engineering and technology higher education students are female.

When the history of TV in the early 21st Century is written, The Crown, Netflix’s ravishing period drama recounting the reign of Elizabeth II, is likely to be regarded as a watershed moment.

The reasoning might go something like this: The Crown was the first genuinely cinematic, long-form TV show that audiences could watch how and when they wanted to, and it gave crucial impetus to Netflix’s international ambitions. Critics loved it and awards juries kept voting for the drama.

The BT Consumer boss also discussed the company’s first steps into drama, but refused to be drawn on any plans for expansion.

One day before the RTS event, BT extended its TV rights for the Champions League and Europa League until 2021 – but had to shoulder a 32% price hike.

In a wide-ranging conversation with Sally Bundock, presenter of World Business Report on the BBC News Channel, Petter denied that BT had spent too much acquiring rights that no other company – Sky included – was overly keen to win.