Broadcast: Talking TV

Banijay UK is undergoing a major label restructure, so Broadcast’s news editor John Elmes gives the inside track on the decision-making process behind the creation of Banijay Scotland and explains what’s happening to labels Objective Media Group, Optomen and North One.

Plus, Talking TV listeners can hear some exclusive snippets from key decision makers and creators in the digital space, who all appeared at Broadcast’s second annual New Creator Economy event earlier this month. Channel 4’s head of digital commissioning Laura Marks explains why she ordered a show based purely on the title and creators Abi Clarke and Toby DB talk about their experiences of posting comedy content and their long-form ambitions. There’s also insight from Matt Campion of Spirit Studios and Acast’s Josh Woodhouse, who discuss saturation in the podcast market and the crucial question: to film or not to film?

Banijay UK’s major changes: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/banijay/major-changes-within-banijay-uk-portfolio/5221818.article

Channel 4 changes: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-4/channel-4-comedy-and-entertainment-chiefs-to-depart/5221782.article

Register your interest for the New Creator Economy event 2027: https://subs.broadcastnow.co.uk/new-creator-economy

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a huge week in TV land, and in this week’s bumper episode, Broadcast news editor John Elmes and international editor Rich Middleton unpack some of the biggest international stories from this year’s Mipcom.

Paramount and Warner Bros. completed their mega $110bn merger just a week before boots were on the ground on the croisette - so there was plenty to discuss over cocktails, but also looming concerns about what comes next.

Netflix also announced that it would be cutting 6% of its workforce, during the event. John and Rich chat about what's next for the streaming giant - and what might have led to chief content officer Bela Barjaria’s sudden exit.

Banijay Entertainment’s newly named chief content officer for operations, Lucas Green and chief content officer for development, James Townley tell the podcast what they got up to at Mipcom and why their rival’s success is also their gain

Closer to home, the BBC confirmed some of its long-anticipated cuts, including the closure of BBC3, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4 Extra. Hosts Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon look at what it all means, as well as discussing the exit of 5 chief content officer Ben Frow after 14 years.

In the news this week:

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-international/netflix-replaces-bela-bajaria-with-peter-rice/5221527.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-international/six-key-takeaways-from-mipcom-2026/5221479.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-international/netflix-cuts-6-of-global-workforce/5221458.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasters/ben-frow-at-5-a-perfect-fit-that-is-coming-to-an-end/5221486.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-5/ben-frow-steps-down-at-5/5221444.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasters/bbc3-bbc-scotland-and-r4-extra-to-close-next-year/5221626.article

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As TV budgets tighten, does ad-funded programming offer a potential solution? Production companies are increasingly bringing brands in at the inception of a show, and baking advertising in from the beginning in a bid to get projects off the ground. As revealed in today’s episode of Talking TV, ITV alone has jumped from 3 or 4 AFPs a year in 2023 to around 15 this year.

Pete Fergusson, co-founder and chief executive of startup IPX, a company which connects brands with creators, producers, broadcasters and streamers, joins the podcast alongside Bandicoot TV’s own co-founder and creative director Daniel Nettleton, who has just launched the indie’s debut AFP on ITV, and ITV commissioning editor Paula Thomas, who oversees daytime and ad-funded entertainment.

The trio accompany Heather Fallon in exploring the scale of the opportunity available, why producers need to get ‘scrappy’, and how best to work with partners to maximise potential in today’s episode of Talking TV.

In today’s news recap, Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon discuss the still-awaited BBC cuts, a potential partnership between the Beeb and Channel 4 and the findings of this year’s distributor survey which saw BBC Studios take the crown with a major 20% revenue rise.

For all the latest, head to broadcastnow.co.uk

In the news this week:

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/you-and-yours-among-swathe-of-radio-4-cuts/5221206.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/bbc-and-c4-in-talks-over-merged-entity-report/5221190.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-international/bbc-studios-retains-top-spot-as-rivals-stumble/5221047.article

To learn more about Bandicoot TV’s AFP debut:

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/itv/bandicoot-scotland-lands-first-afp-with-itv/5218360.article

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s all change in TV land as Channel 4 unveils its new director of programmes and the BBC selects its BBC News director. Marian McHugh and Ellie Kahn join Heather Fallon to discuss all the latest changes and what it means for the two organisations.

Then Heather heads to the Lycett Arms, to talk to the now-pub landlord and comedian Joe Lycett about his love for the chaos of live TV, the show's mishaps and his big pitch to producers for a brand new chat show with a twist.

Later on, Rebecca Cooney talks to Megan Gallagher and Nicola Shindler about hit ITV drama The Blame which in its first fortnight, according the broadcaster, has become the most-watched drama on terrestrial television so far this year. The trio talk about what the show has to say about misogyny and how TV dramas handle depictions of violence against women.

For all the latest, visit broadcastnow.co.uk

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-4/david-brindley-set-to-be-named-channel-4-director-of-programmes/5221086.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/rachel-jupp-appointed-as-bbc-news-director/5221066.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-4/joe-lycett-to-play-pub-landlord-in-channel-4-live-return/5218157.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/ratings/the-blame-beats-the-split-up-in-9pm-drama-battle/5220609.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/itv/trail-the-blame-itv1/5219641.article

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking TV returns amid a major shake up at Channel 4, which is cutting more than a quarter of its workforce.

To break down exactly what is happening and how this will impact the industry at large, hosts Heather Fallon and Rebecca Cooney hand over to Broadcast’s resident experts on the matter, Marian McHugh and Chris Curtis to discuss.

The pair cover what the cuts will mean for the incoming director of programmes, how they will impact commissioning budgets moving forward and if fewer, bigger, better can work on Channel 4.

Later on, Rebecca and Heather return to discuss further looming job losses at the BBC as the royal charter review describes the BBC as facing a “fork in the road”. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, with the review also demonstrating enormous good will towards the UK’s British broadcasting corporation. And finally, Heather reveals which celebrity she's backing in the Traitors sweepstake.

Channel 4

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-4/priya-dogra-new-programmes-director-will-need-to-get-c4-commissioners-working-differently/5220865.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-4/c4-cuts-voluntary-redundancy-only-open-to-roles-at-risk/5220773.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasters/channel-4-and-paramount-strike-landmark-advertising-deal/5220419.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-4/priya-dogra-turned-to-four-lieutenants-to-radically-reshape-c4-content-team/5220331.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-4/channel-4-cuts-lifestyle-to-remain-standalone-unit-amid-genre-restructures/5220283.article

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-4/channel-4-to-merge-comedy-and-drama-teams/5220277.article

BBC

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/matt-brittin-confirms-channel-closures-near-to-make-way-for-streaming/5220796.article

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join the Talking TV team on the ground at the EICC for what will be the final Edinburgh TV Festival… or will it?

With YouTube taking centre stage this year, the annual event asked the big questions about the health of the UK production ecosystem and crucially, who is contributing to it. The Broadcast team spoke to the festival’s executive chair Fatima Salaria on her hopes for the event as it says goodbye to Edinburgh, as well as key attendees, who tell us what's stood out at the festival, what the atmosphere has been like and their favourite sessions.

We also catch up with former BBC News chief Deborah Turness about her new job.

The TV Festival moves to Manchester next year - but there's a twist! One of the conference’s big open secrets has been the arrival of another Scottish telly event that's been brewing in the background. Former Edinburgh TV Festival creative director Rowan Woods is taking the lead on a new gathering set to take place in the Scottish capital in August next year. Watch this space! 

To read the Broadcast team's in-depth coverage of the festival, visit https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/

Here's a few of the stories mentioned in the show:

Pedro Pena's MacTaggart Lecture https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasters/youtube-emea-boss-hits-back-at-psb-prominence-push/5219803.article

Ben Frow's session: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-5/ben-frow-opens-5-doors-to-comedy/5219753.article

Amol Rajan suggests mutualising the BBC https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/amol-rajan-calls-for-bbc-to-be-mutually-owned-by-public/5219793.article

Manori's piece about the financial realities of YouTube: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-magazine/analysis-can-indies-really-make-money-on-youtube/5219512.article

Heather's profile of RangaBee: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-magazine/funny-business-why-ranga-bee-refuses-to-pick-a-lane/5219530.article

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Channel 4 is on the hunt for a new director of programmes after spliting its chief content officer role into three. What kind of person would indies like to see in the role? What should the PSB's content mix look like going forward? What should its digital commissioning priorities be?

For the last episode in the current series, Broadcast's Rebecca Cooney is joined by a panel of C4 suppliers, including Strong Watch co-founder Thom Gulseven, Rockerdale creative director Stu Richards and Curve Media chief executive Camilla Lewis, to answer some of these questions.

Rebecca and Heather Fallon also chat about the latest Creative Diversity Network's Diamond Report, which assesses the industry's progress on diverse hiring.

We'll be back with a special episode for the Edinburgh TV Festival, before our new series in the autumn. In the meantime, you can find more about all the stories we mentioned this week at https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk.

Coverage of the CDN Diamond report: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/diamond-disabled-representation-in-tv-grows/5218943.article

C4.0 commissioner hails ‘convergence’ of digital and traditional TV https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/people/c40-commissioner-hails-convergence-of-digital-and-traditional-tv/5218677.article

C4 appoints headhunter to kickstart director of programmes search https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-4/c4-appoints-headhunter-to-kickstart-director-of-programmes-search/5218268.article

C4 to split chief content officer role in three https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasters/c4-to-split-chief-content-officer-role-in-three/5218236.article

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Action For Freelancers project director James Taylor-Tovey shares the group's latest updates with Broadcast's Heather Fallon, and Ed Gamble chats to Broadcast Intelligence's Alice Redman about his new show Unacceptable.

As the industry continues to adjust to a world of tighter budgets and fewer commissions, James Taylor-Tovey unpacks what he, AfF and fellow support organisation TV Mindset have been doing to aid the legions of affected freelancers - including establishing freelancer festivals in London and Glasgow, offering guidance on maintaining a healthy work/life balance and signposting existing support.

For more information on Action for Freelancers, visit: https://www.screenskills.com/action-for-freelancers

Comedy entertainment has been seen as a genre in decline in recent years - but a flurry of commissions suggest that is changing. Among them was Ranga Bee panel show Unacceptable, which launched earlier this month on TLC. Host Ed Gamble joins the pod to explore why the future is looking bright for the genre - as well as revealing his love of onscreen chaos and pitch-meeting pet peeves.

Plus Heather and Broadcast's Rebecca Cooney chat about the personnel moves which have caught the industry's attention this week - Poppy Dixon's arrival at the BBC as head of documentaries and Seb Cardwell's departure from the role of deputy chief content officer and head of drama at 5.

For more on all this week's stories, check out www.broadcastnow.co.uk:

Rebecca's report on the freelancer festivals: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/freelancers/five-takeaways-from-the-first-freelancer-fest/5217769.article

Seb Cardwell's departure from 5: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-5/seb-cardwell-set-to-leave-5/5218761.article

Poppy Dixon's appointment at the BBC: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/poppy-dixon-lands-bbc-head-of-docs/5218711.article

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last couple of weeks, the once solid terms of trade agreement for the UK television sector has suddenly found itself at the centre of debate. After what Broadcast dubbed a ‘terms of trade grenade’ was thrown by former Ofcom chair Michael Grade, suggesting they are not fit for purpose, the BBC then claimed the agreement was preventing the broadcaster from exploiting its IP.

So what comes next? And why should the production and broadcaster community care? Broadcast’s senior reporter Ellie Kahn and editor Chris Curtis chew the fat on the latest, and dive into the BBC’s annual report which was published this week.

Later on, we hear from History Hit’s Dan Snow following the company’s major wins at the latest Broadcast Digital Awards which took place last week.

Michael Grade lobs terms of trade grenade: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/features/michael-grade-lobs-terms-of-trade-grenade/5217950.article

BBC bosses call for terms of trade review: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/bbc-bosses-call-for-terms-of-trade-review/5218457.article

Matt Brittin: BBC will shrink without new funding model and rights position: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/matt-brittin-bbc-will-shrink-without-new-funding-model-and-rights-position/5218603.article

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone's talking about the news that Sky has finally confirmed it plans to buy ITV's broadcast and streaming business as part of a £1.6bn deal - and so are we. First up, senior reporter Heather Fallon chats to Broadcast's editor in chief Chris Curtis and head of content for international Rich Middleton about the rationale behind the move and what it means for ITV's production arm, ITV Studios.

Later, news editor John Elmes is joined by Mike Darcy, former chief operating officer of Sky and current Broadcast columnist, as well as ITV's former director of television and founder of Expectation TV Peter Fincham (of Insiders podcast fame). The trio unpack what the sale means for viewers, indies and the other PSBs, as well as how the two organisations might work together and what the five-year content deal with ITV Studios really means.

For more on the deal, visit broadcastnow.co.uk.

Broadcast's story on the deal: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasters/sky-and-itv-seal-landmark-16bn-deal/5217099.article

What Sky's chief executive Dana Strong had to say: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/sky/dana-strong-sky-itv-will-be-uk-streaming-champion/5218337.article

ITV boss Carolyn McCall's comments: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/itv/sky-itv-carolyn-mccall-hails-milestone-moment-in-british-media/5218346.article

Rich's story on the possible future for ITVS: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-international/banijay-all3-mediawan-likely-suitors-for-itv-studios/5218350.article

Chris's analysis: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasters/sky-itv-analysis-scale-and-scrutiny-on-the-horizon/5218364.article

Mike's Broadcast column: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/comment/mike-darcey-itv-has-befriended-an-old-enemy-in-a-bid-for-digital-prominence/5218349.article

Stay connected at broadcastnow.co.uk.

Produced by Rebecca Cooney and Heather Fallon at Broadcast. With production support from Daisy Kyakulagira and Ollie Peart at Rethink Audio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.