“If this Edinburgh is all about embracing change and embracing the future, then maybe we should do the same with the festival.”
That’s the verdict from Adam Hawkins, the advisory chair of the final ever Edinburgh Television Festival, which is held later this month in Scotland’s capital.
In an interview with Deadline, the Netflix UK Director of Documentary Series urged the industry to keep an open mind about the future of the festival, which is in 2027 transferring to Greater Manchester in England after 51 years in Edinburgh.
The UK television industry, which gathers annually for the event to talk shop and frequent the local ale houses, remains very divided between those such as Avalon boss Jon Thoday, who moving the venue away from Edinburgh is a disaster given the number of agents, producers and creatives in town for the Fringe Festival in August, and those who say the costs have simply become too high to remain a diary date for many – especially those climbing the ladder.
Basic hotel rooms cost an average minimum of $300 per night, with pricier options nearing $700 during the month, but many producers have come for years and see Edinburgh as a crucial moment to take the temperature of their buyers and counterparts.
“I’ve always loved going to Edinburgh,” says Hawkins, who worked for the likes of The Tinder Swindler producer Raw before joining Netflix in 2022. “It’s a great buzzy place at this time of year, but Manchester is also an incredibly vibrant city and I think the buzz will probably be the same.”
Hawkins – who saw Jeremy Paxman deliver the annual James MacTaggart Lecture in 2007 during his first visit to the event – is known for greenlighting the likes of Victoria Beckham, Robbie Williams and the upcoming Being Gordon Ramsay at Netflix, and worked on the streamer’s first daily World Cup soccer show, Gary Lineker’s The Rest is Football over the summer.
Hawins concurs with Deadline’s read that the corridors of Edinburgh International Conference Centre provide a unique flavor of the local business. “It feels like you’re in the middle of the British TV industry, like an amazing chance for a snapshot,” he says. “Even though I’m the advisory chair this year, I’m hopeful I’ll get the chance to just wander around, as I do think that there is a moment of taking the temperature and seeing everyone together. That’s the magic, isn’t it?”
We were speaking prior to my International TV Co-Editor, Max Goldbart, breaking the news that it might not be curtains after all for Edinburgh. Screen Scotland, the body that represents the interests of the Scottish film and TV industry, commissioned a piece of work earlier this year examining what a new fest might look like. Interestingly, Rowan Woods, the former creative boss of the Edinburgh TV Fest, is leading on the work as an indie consultant.
It’s a sign that at least some of the local industry disagrees with the TV Foundation’s decision to move the event and of a desire to keep tradition going.
A veteran of the UK biz, Hawkins says no other local or international TV event generates the same “electricity in the air” as Edinburgh and adds that if Manchester can recreate that atmosphere, “Then the [new festival] will be a roaring success.”
So what exactly is Manchester going to follow? For starters, YouTube’s VP of EMEA, Pedro Pina, will be stepping onto the same plinth the likes of Paxman, James Murdoch, Michaela Coel and Mark Thompson have done before. His MacTaggart Lecture, which is considering a bellwether for the state of the industry, will likely talk about YouTube’s increasingly important role in British broadcasting – earlier this year it passed the BBC in monthly audience reach for the first time. The shift towards creators, most of whom rely on YouTube as their platform – will also be topic, especially as many remain concerned how that is upending traditional production.
Hawkins says the booking is reflective of the changing shape of the biz – one that has been inundated with consolidation such as the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery saga, disruption from AI and new money-making models.
“Being part of the festival is solidifying that they are are television,” he says. “They’re not something else, they’re not outsiders and they’re not the newcomers. They are very much part of the furniture now and it is important TV industry sees that, and it’s important they play their part in that. They’re calling themselves television. We must treat them like that.”
Hawkins’ employer, Netflix, has faced the same questions. His response is that “none” of the Netflix commissioning team in the UK is American. “We are knitted into the fabric here, and we spend huge amounts of money,” he adds. “Us being a part of it and me leading on it is reaffirming we are part of the British landscape.”
Netflix can, of course, point to the fact that it discovered the Richard Gadd play on which hit series Baby Reindeer was based, during an August in Edinburgh. “We are firmly rooted here, and we are passionate defenders of the British TV industry as well,” says Hawkins.
Bar Apple TV, every major broadcaster and streaming spending in the UK will feature across ten Spotlight Sessions, including YouTube for the first time. One recurring criticism with the format is that they can be used a promo sessions rather than substantive content, but Hawkins refutes this, saying media outlets’ hunt for headlines is at odds with what they are actually achieving.
“Edgier talking points are not interesting to most TV producers,” he argues. “They just want to know how to sell their next show and how to be successful. I’m hopeful people will leave those sessions with a clearer understanding.”
There will also be off record, peer-to-peer sessions to give delegates face time with major commissions, as part of Hawkins determination to give producers more access to decision makers.
Also notable is the first public appearance of BBC Director General Matt Brittin, a former Google boss who replaced Tim Davie earlier this year. “He has only just got his feet under the table,” says Hawkins. “I am sure he will hit the ground running, so he might have some interesting announcements, but it will be kind of like Pedro in a way – he’s at the ‘getting to know you’ stage. He is an interesting choice as somewhat an outsider to the BBC, and people want to know what he is all about, and what his priorities are. I’m glad he chose the festival.”
Before that, BBC journalist Ros Atkins will return for a third year in a row to open the festival on Tuesday, August 25, with his trademark fast-paced, data-driven assertions of issues facing he industry.
Further journalism heavyweights Cathy Newman, Susanna Reid and Clive Myrie will discuss truth in an age of misinformation, while Hawkins will introduce broadcaster Amol Rajan for his Alternative MacTaggart. Hawkins will also be on stage interviewing former footballer, broadcaster and Goalhanger co-founder Gary Lineker about the “third act of his career” – quietly building a media empire after spending six weeks with him in Times Square during the World Cup recording the Rest is Football podcast. YouTuber, podcaster and BAFTA presenter Amelia Dimoldenberg – “a TV star who is naturally part of the new generation” – will also be in conversation to discuss on her career and Gary Oldman will receive a Global Icon Award and look back on six seasons of Apple TV cop drama Slow Horses.
One of the more well-attended sessions will undoubtedly be the SNL UK Masterclass, which will bring together the on-screen performers, producers and Sky commissioning executives behind the show. Initially met with consternation and scorn upon its announcement by a skeptical industry, the remake of the famed NBC sketch show’s first season was broadly considered a success by its ending earlier this year.
A second, expanded season has been ordered and Sky is hoping it will become part of the British industry fabric, with many of Season 1’s clippable segments doing the rounds on social media each week after broadcast. Jack Shep, whose portrayal of a smouldering Princess Diana was arguably the viral moment of the first run, will appear on stage alongside the likes of fellow performer Ania Magliano, writer Daran “Jonno” Johnson, lead producer James Longman and Sky unscripted commissioning chief Phil Edgar-Jones.
“Even though it is a decades-old heritage brand, it works because of the clips,” says Hawkins. “In some ways, it is clip-first, program-second. It is as much about the new wave of television as anything else. I’m really excited about that.”
Amid the excitement around announcements, Hawkins – who is working alongside Edinburgh TV Festival Managing Director Campbell Glennie and new Head of Editorial Niall Flanagan on the event this year – knows there has will never have been such apprehension heading into an August in Scotland. Not only is the future south of the border, but the industry is facing unprecedented disruption and a continuing financial problem.
“Things are changing, and I don’t think they will go back,” he says. “Some people want to turn the clocks back ten years, but I’m hopeful there will be excitement and that people are up for the challenge. We have the best TV industry in the world, in my opinion, and we can meet the moment. The only way to be right now is up for the challenge, and while there will be nerves in the industry, I’m hopeful this is a nervous excitement.
As for how the future in Manchester shakes out, Hawkins – who did not play a role in the selection process – provides an honest assessment. Could, Deadline asks, the foundation that runs the TV Festival look back on this decision in five years and consider it a mistake?
“Hard to know,” replies Hawkins. “I have no idea, and the proof will be in the pudding. Honestly, knowing how hard they work on it and how much they care. I’m sure it will be a success.”
Hawkins is embracing the change, the question is if the industry embraces it with him.
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