The final Edinburgh TV Festival is nearly done, and with it decades of history come to an end. Deadline has been in town to assess the mood and take the temperature of an industry that is both metaphorically and physically changing. The vibe? A mix of melancholy, indifference and acceptance – it was almost like the whirlwind nature of the biz wouldn’t let anyone stop and stand still to reflect. Here are our top talking points from the industry get-together. See you in Manchester in 2027?
The Edinburgh TV Festival has been a 50-year pilgrimage for (largely London-based) executives, but there was no great outpouring of grief as the event plots its move south to Manchester in 2027. Even if memories were swapped by industry illuminati at the event’s exclusive Wednesday night dinner, organizers did little to mark to the occassion — there was no big party (the usual Thursday night knees-up celebrated “25 years of Audio Network,” rather than the fest’s last outing in Scotland) and the nostalgia on stage was kept to a minimum, though Sky’s Phil Edgar-Jones indulged in a sweet moment by requesting a selfie with his audience. Fatima Salaria, the fest’s Chair, did inject some emotion – and captured heightened feeling – on Friday morning as she tearfully paid tribute to years gone by. “This city has been part of the rhythm of the industry,” she told the Pentland theater audience in an emotional speech before the team behind SNL UK took to the stage and talked about Giant Crab Man.
The reasons for the muted farewell are obvious. The festival is not dying. The cost of attending has become eye-watering at best, prohibitive at worst. Online meetings have made the journey north on the East Coast mainline less urgent. But it’s hard not to feel sadness that more was not done to wave goodbye to this special place. The heart of the Edinburgh TV Festival is Edinburgh. It’s a vibrant, spectacular, nourishing city that bristles with creative energy in August, when the Fringe Festival is in full swing. There are well-intentioned reasons for moving and Manchester has plenty of virtues. But the fest will be unmoored from the place that makes it unique. And that is now lost… or is it?
Yesterday, Screen Scotland officially announced plans for a new event next August, spearheaded by Rowan Woods, formerly of the Edinburgh TV Festival parish. The proposal theoretically sets the stage for duelling late summer conferences, but judging by the mood up here, the industry has already accepted that Manchester will be the TV fest’s new home in the north.
Booking YouTube to deliver the MacTaggart Lecture was a sensible decision after the Google behemoth has upended the natural order in television viewing, but delegates were uncertain whether Europe boss Pedro Pina was the best messenger.
Deadline hears that organizers originally wanted CEO Neal Mohan, which would have been an exceptional booking. Instead, Pina — though he delivered his speech with panache and went to great lengths to articulate his cultural hinterland — is not a creative, nor is he the ultimate decision-maker. “He’s the man who sells toothpaste ads on YouTube in Europe,” withered one senior delegate, perhaps unfairly.
As for the message, it was somewhat predictable. Pina protested (three times) that YouTube is not a villain intent on toppling TV. He heralded the third “golden age” of television. He extolled the virtues of partnering with YouTube and talked up the platform’s talent. He told attendees how much he loved The Traitors without a hint of irony, given that many in the room consider YouTube to be the traitor.
There was some grit in the oyster. Pina railed against UK government plans to introduce laws that will force YouTube to promote public service content from the likes of the BBC. He called it “forced prominence” and suggested that it would be undemocratic to meddle in YouTube’s algorithm, compelling users to “wade through content they may not want.”
But some felt his argument was disingenuous. By its very nature, YouTube users don’t have to sit through videos they do not wish to watch. They can be easily skipped over for more appealing offerings. Also, as one senior executive whispered to Deadline, it was pretty rich for YouTube to use a set-piece speech to hype up British content, only to baulk at the idea of promoting it.
And all of this is before you get into the underwhelming economics of YouTube. Even the most optimistic TV industry advocates admit that YouTube is a shop window, rather than a commercial gamechanger. It was cold comfort to hear Pina noting twice that YouTube shares half of its ad sales revenue.
Everyone will benefit from having a frank conversation about YouTube, but it’s ultimately an American business that British television has next to no influence over. What the industry can influence is the future of the BBC and the growing concern about Channel 4’s isolation, but these issues were sometimes secondary to Silicon Valley, despite the appearance of Matt Brittin and Amol Rajan’s blistering speech about inertia over the BBC’s future. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy, the woman overseeing these issues, was not on the Edinburgh billing. A missed opportunity for all involved.
Off-stage, the question everyone was asking was: Who is going to replace Ian Katz as Channel 4’s next content chief? The consensus is that there are three contenders: Former BBC3 boss Stuart Murphy, Amazon Prime Video’s UK unscripted chief Fozia Khan, and David Brindley, CEO of Twofour. Channel 4 CEO Priya Dogra was giving nothing away at the broadcaster’s annual press dinner, though did joke that she looked forward to welcoming the “magical and singularly talented” executive she keeps hearing about from colleagues.
Dogra was on sparky form at the dinner, working the room and teasing assembled journalists. The former Warner Bros. executive was among the last partygoers standing at 2am (she certainly outlasted Deadline!) and led calls for the DJ to play Dolly Parton in tribute to the late country music legend. More difficult days lay ahead: Channel 4 will soon publish findings of investigations into the Married at First Sight rape scandal (Dogra has not yet seen the conclusions), as well as a review of C4’s operations, which many believe will result in cuts. Dogra also faces her first evidence session with UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee, a test for any CEO.
If nothing else, the gossip about Channel 4’s next content chief is a reminder that the broadcaster still really matters.
Deadline had heard rumors that Paramount’s UK content chief Ben Frow was attending meetings in a Make Paramount Great Again hat, but didn’t expect the mischievous executive to turn up in Edinburgh wearing the headgear. The cap was proudly perched on his cranium during his on-stage interview, when he even admitted to wearing the hat during a meeting with David Ellison. But what could it all mean? Is Frow cheering on Skydance’s ownership of Paramount? Or is he ambiguously suggesting that Paramount could do with a little more love amid Warner Bros. Discovery-shaped distractions? Only Frow knows, but even after 12 years running 5, he’s still finding news to have fun.
There was inevitable intrigue about how forthcoming BBC Director General Matt Brittin would – or could be – in his first address directly to the BBC’s top suppliers, creative partners and rivals. The answer: Pretty open, all in all, admitting at one point he did not realize the “severity” of the financial challenge facing the BBC. A few (including hard-as-nails interviewer Kirsty Wark) found his refusal engage on a terms of trade chat in relation to the All3Media-powered Banijay Entertainment behemoth a bit annoying. “One he’ll need to get to eventually,” was what one indie producer observed after the talk. However, there a growing sense among the British TV community that Brittin is more of an ideas man than predecessor Tim Davie, and his proposal for a “public service algorithm” appeared to be a suggestion that the next generation of creators from around Britain could forego YouTube (them again) and release their content on a BBC iPlayer “2.0” was intriguing if a little hard to follow.
Brittin was also faced with an open floor for the final 30 minutes of his session and the dings came from all sorts of unexpected angles. There was Lottie, the university student from Cornwall, who wanted to known about the upcoming reboot on Top Gear, and an indie producer concerned with nuances of the BBC licence fee. Then, from the front row, came a comment from a candidate from the recent Clacton by-election who was “extremely disappointed” the BBC placed so much emphasis on Count Binface, the the comedy candidate whose main reason for standing was to embarrass Nigel Farage. “It’s not a joke,” told Brittin furiously from the floor. Peter York, a podcaster and broadcaster, questioned why the BBC had “notably failed to report America’s most important debate… as to whether its current government is or is not a fascist one.” Brittin’s response was sharp but fair: “We’ll I’m not sure that is the most important public debate, but thank you for your view.” The mood lightened when one producer, whose name I won’t use so as not to embarrass him, opened his question with the faux pas, “Good afternoon, Tim.” Quick as a shot, Brittin quipped back, “Afternoon, my name’s Matt.” It was a moment that will have endeared him to many in the room.
Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong.
Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );