streamers

In a stirring session that set that the scene for the 2021 RTS Cambridge Convention, the event’s Chair, Ben McOwen Wilson, encouraged his audience to face up to the biggest challenges to the British television ecosystem. These included the audience shift to digital, the power of the streamers and the problems of how to represent Britishness accurately on the screen, both to UK audiences and overseas.

Like football scouts spotting a magical left foot, the deep-pocketed US streaming platforms have made no bones about scooping up the best of British on-screen talent. Charlie Brooker has signed to Netflix, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is in bed with Amazon Prime, and relative latecomer Apple TV+ is able to boast the likes of Ewan McGregor and David Attenborough on its books.