YouTube’s vice president in EMEA, Pedro Pina, used his James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture to argue that “if the TV industry can adapt once again to changing audience habits and to today’s media landscape, a new Golden Age is the UK’s for the taking.”
Pina, who gave the headline lecture of the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday, said that YouTube should be considered as a friend and partner to the traditional TV industry rather than a foe.
He said that while YouTube and other platforms are portrayed as an “obvious villain” bringing the downfall of high-quality television, “the trouble is that it is not true.”
He argued that “while it is true that traditional broadcast TV no longer has a monopoly on viewers’ attention, that does not mean that any form of online video now has the monopoly. It simply means that there is no monopoly anymore. And from the viewers’ perspective, that is a very good thing indeed!”
Pina argued that history shows “no reason to assume that online video will supersede television as a form,” giving the example of painting not being superseded by photography, but changed by it.
Pina pointed to the wealth of content that ran alongside the live World Cup broadcasts, from both established broadcasters and independent YouTubers. “This is what a healthy media ecosystem looks like: complementary forms, playing different roles, and pushing each other forward.”
He warned that TV “will have to change. Because the playing field TV once dominated has changed. And the steady revenue streams and booming budgets that were built upon the central position TV once held cannot be relied upon. Adjusting to this new environment will not be painless. TV jobs are changing and new skills are now necessary.”
But he argued that the UK is “sitting on a goldmine of home-grown creator talent” as “more than 17,000 UK YouTube channels have over 100,000 subscribers. More than 2,000 have audiences in the millions. Perhaps most strikingly, over 80% of UK content is viewed outside the UK. In other words: Britain’s global reputation as a creative powerhouse is alive and kicking.”
“So, if the TV industry can adapt once again to changing audience habits and to today’s media landscape, a new Golden Age is the UK’s for the taking.”
He said that the industry needs to focus on “’What is television best at?’” and that “three clear answers emerge” – sparking national conversations and real time shared experiences; using its “unmatched institutional heft” to make big budget content and a “third, slightly counter-intuitive strength” which is the “limits on series- length or episode run-time… the constraints of traditional broadcasting have their upsides: they encourage sharp writing and economical storytelling.”
He also argued that TV can learn from platforms like YouTube, but that the “smartest producers understand that “learning from” doesn’t have to mean “emulating.” To make great TV, you have to meet your audience where they are. I don’t mean “giving the people what they want” in a lazy, formulaic sense. I mean understanding deeply what moves and motivates people.”
“Every broadcaster, every subscription service, and every producer has a choice to make now. Keep doing things the way you’ve always done them, in the hope that regulation will shield you from change. Or embrace today’s media landscape: meet the audience where they are, discover new talent, open up new revenue streams, and you will retain your place at the centre of “Life in the UK”.
Staff Reporter
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