RTS London Convention 2022

Convention delegates got the chance to hear from the next generation of media consumers, media creators – and media leaders – about what the current industry leadership is getting right and wrong.

Four short films made by RTS Bursary Scholars presented sometimes uncomfortable responses to four questions: Is this an industry that makes you feel welcome? What do you watch and how do you watch it? Where do you get your news from – and do you trust it? What message do you want delegates to take away?

Between the sessions, delegates watched a series of three short films, Black Britain Unspoken. Commissioned by Warner Bros Discovery and Media Trust, they tease out often-overlooked nuances of life experienced by black British people and are airing on Discovery+ over the course of October’s Black History Month. 

First up was The Nod: Tell Me You Got Me, an insightful exploration into the near-universal gesture recognised by black people who are otherwise unknown to each other. 

Viewing habits, business models and technology continue to change but, as media companies compete for attention, great content remains the key to success. That was one of the key points made by Priya Dogra, President and Managing Director, EMEA, of Warner Bros. Discovery, during her opening remarks at the RTS London Convention, which she chaired.

Over the past century, she said, film, TV and other media had been engaged in “a battle for people’s time and money, responding to challenges from new technologies and trying to create and secure the best content”.

“Corporate subconscious bias” was tested by lawyer and presenter Rob Rinder in a session designed to challenge TV folk’s preconceptions about the world of global formats and discover what it takes to create a hit. 

As Rinder put it: “There seems to be a general consensus that we should be investing in drama, that this is where the heart of commercial value is in television.  

“But this panel [will] seek to demonstrate that there’s a global dominance elsewhere – and that’s in the popularity of unscripted television.” 

Session chair Amol Rajan: I understand that ITV has a new product you are keen to talk about: what is ITVX that ITV Hub is not? 

Carolyn McCall: ITV Hub was a catch-up service that was launched six or seven years ago with very basic technology. It was a very clunky user ­experience and it had about 9,000 hours of content. It was never really intended to be a destination…. 

The biennial one-day event, taking place on Tuesday 27^th September 2022 at Kings Place, London is titled “The Fight for Attention”. Global leaders will gather to discuss the future evolution of the television industry both in the UK and globally.

For an Indian-born entertainment executive who has spent much of her life working for Time Warner in New York, Priya Dogra needs no reminding that today’s television businesses operating at scale have no option but to think globally. “Nowadays, hit shows come from all over the world,” she says. 

Dogra, 43, was the big winner of the recent Warner Bros Discovery international reshuffle and, as the London-­based President and Managing Director for EMEA, she leads one of the key international divisions of the newly merged behemoth.