The Royal Television Society (RTS) has unveiled a heavyweight line-up for its biennial RTS London Conference 2016.
The Conference this year is titled “Full Stream Ahead: Commissioning, Producing and Distributing Content in an Age of On-Demand” and will explore how the emergence of myriad new distribution platforms is impacting the commissioning and production landscape.
The conference will open with a Keynote from Steve Burke, Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal, who will share his experiences at the helm of NBCUniversal since its acquisition by Comcast in 2011.
Michael Edelstein, President of NBCUniversal International Studios; Tim Davie, CEO of BBC Worldwide and Director, Global; Stephen Lambert, CEO of Studio Lambert; and Sky Vision Managing Director Jane Millichip will then take part in a session titled ‘Go Global or Go Home’. This panel will debate the current state of the content market and asks whether content needs to be global to succeed and if local content is still important – and what it means for the industry in the UK.
In ‘Brexit: What Next’, Channel 4 News Presenter, Krishnan Guru-Murthy will chair a discussion with Josh Berger, President and Managing Director of Warner Bros. Entertainment U.K., Ireland and Spain; Pippa Glucklich, CEO, Starcom; Peter Mandelson, a former EU Commissioner; and John McVay, Chief Executive of Pact. The session will unpack the range of opportunities, hot potatoes and plain not-sure-yets that Brexit poses.
Ben McOwen-Wilson, Director, YouTube EMEA, joins Simon Pitts, Managing Director – Online, Pay TV, Interactive & Technology at ITV; Jim Ryan, Liberty Global’s Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer; and Sue Unerman, Chief Strategy Officer, MediaCom, for a debate titled ‘You Don’t Own A TV? What Is All Your Furniture Pointed At?’. This will focus on consumer behaviour: where, when and how people are enjoying video content now, and what it bodes for the future.
In the last session of the morning, Channel 4 News’ Cathy Newman interviews Ofcom Chief Executive Sharon White.
The afternoon kicks off with a keynote conversation with Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer at Netflix, followed by ‘The New Commissioners’,which features Director of Sky Atlantic, Zai Bennett; Managing Director of BT TV and Sport, Delia Bushell; BBC Three Controller, Damian Kavanagh; SVP TV and Video Programming at Viceland International, Kevin Sutcliffe and Richard Watsham, UKTV’s Director of Commissioning.
‘The Evolution of Public Service Broadcasting’ has speakers including Channel 4 Chief Creative Officer, Jay Hunt; Monica Maggioni, President of RAI; BBC Director, Strategy and Education, James Purnell; and Peter Rosberg, Head of Planning & Scheduling at Danmarks Radio.
In the day’s final session, ‘Fit for the Future?’, Channel 4 CEO David Abraham; Sky’s Group Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer Andrew Griffith; BBC Director General Tony Hall; Dido Harding, Chief Executive Officer of TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC; and Tom Mockridge, CEO of Virgin Media will reflect on the conference themes and discuss how well placed some of the leading media companies are to confront the challenges of the future.
The Conference takes place on 27 September at Kings Place in London.
Staff Reporter
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