IS BIGGER BETTER? Will consolidation help TV tip the scales against the tech giants?
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October 2018 IS BIGGER BETTER? Will consolidation help TV tip the scales against the tech giants?
RTS YORKSHIRE
From the CEO
Do you First of all, I’d like to congratulate
Viacom International Media Net-
works, as the main sponsor of the
want a
RTS London Conference, for deliver-
ing such a very special day. Huge
thanks to Viacom’s David Lynn and
career in
James Currell for all their hard work
behind the scenes and thanks, too,
for their zinging conference
factual
contributions.
The RTS was proud to have Bob
Bakish, Viacom’s CEO and President,
as the international keynote speaker.
TV?
I am also extremely grateful to
Matt Baker, who worked tirelessly to
help make the day the success it
We’ve invited some of the busiest and best
factual companies in the Yorkshire region
for a day of careers advice and networking. Contents
Hear how the producers of award-winning
shows such as The Yorkshire Vet, Catching
A Killer and Teen Mom UK work, and what
7 Trevor Phillips’ TV Diary
Trevor Phillips questions the TV industry’s attitude
to sexual harassment and confesses that he was
underwhelmed by Bodyguard
they are looking for when recruiting.
RTS London Conference 2018
Reports by Matthew Bell, Maggie Brown, Steve Clarke
and Tara Conlan
8 One A full set of Faangs
Media companies are consolidating and seeking
innovative alliances to take on the streaming giants.
Matthew Bell logs on
12 Two ‘Focus on content and
the money will follow’
Viacom chief Bob Bakish explains how he is reinventing
1 November the company for streaming. Tara Conlan reports
2:00pm-5:00pm
At
14 Three The inclusivity bounty
Matthew Bell observes as leaders from outside
broadcasting suggest ways that TV can learn from
other sectors
Leeds College of Music,
3 Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PD
Editor Production, design Writer
To register, please email Steve Clarke
smclarke_333@hotmail.com
and advertising
Gordon Jamieson
Matthew Bell
bell127@btinternet.com
RTSYorkshireEvents@rts.org.uk gordon.jamieson.01@gmail.com
Journal of The Royal Television Society
October 2018 l Volume 55/9
was. Matt and his Viacom colleague some of the key debates around Brit- Turning away from the conference,
James Harvey project managed the ish media for months to come. don’t miss this month’s Our Friend in
conference with flair. I was pleased that Carolyn McCall Scotland. In his column, comedian
Matt was also responsible for pro- and Alex Mahon – both making their Daniel Sloss explains in rather salty
ducing the laugh-out-loud video RTS debuts in their current roles – were language why there is no substitute
featuring Comedy Central stars Joel able to share their respective strategies for doing stand-up in his home
Dommett and Nish Kumar, which for ITV and Channel 4. Tim Hincks, nation.
opened the proceedings. interviewing each executive, again Finally, the RTS’s busy autumn
With so many weighty topics to proved to be a master of comic timing. events season continues to roll out, in
discuss, it was brilliant to have these Kirsty Wark’s trenchant and ener- London, the nations and regions.
two talented comedians inject a getic interviewing style was another Check out our website for all the
lighter note. Their sketch brought high point of the conference. Thanks details.
some fun to one of the day’s themes also to all the session producers and
– how media companies shape up to to the event’s executive producer,
the streaming challenge. Helen Scott.
Thanks, too, to Tony Hall and Sharon This edition of Television provides
White for giving us such thoughtful comprehensive coverage of all
and considered speeches. What they 12 sessions. Videos of each session
had to tell delegates will help influence are available on the RTS website. Theresa Wise
16
Four The battle to own voice
Steve Clarke takes soundings on how voice-activated
devices will impact on broadcasters 31 Ten Audience safety in the digital age
What should policymakers be doing to regulate the
internet? Tara Conlan assesses the options
19 Five The big shift
Maggie Brown hears Director-General Tony Hall make
an impassioned plea for more funding 34 Eleven How to end the standards lottery
Ofcom CEO Sharon White examines what lessons from
regulating TV could be applied to police the internet.
Steve Clarke takes notes
22 Six ITV: contemporary, modern, relevant
Tara Conlan takes a ringside seat as Carolyn McCall sets
out her vision for ITV
37 Twelve TV’s essential asset: trust
Jeremy Wright, the new culture secretary, sets out why
democracy needs strong public service broadcasters
24 Seven: Commission accomplished
For programme-buyers, building subscriber loyalty and
41 Our Friend in Scotland
channel identity can trump a show’s expected ratings,
learns Steve Clarke Daniel Sloss, making a global splash via Netflix, explains
how his nationality is critical to his comedy
26 Eight What the world wants to watch
Matthew Bell takes stock as producers share strategies
for winning in a fast-evolving market
42 Better brainy than big
Kate Bulkley attends IBC and finds that media
companies need to embrace AI and be nimble if they
29 Nine Channel 4: ‘more important than ever’
Alex Mahon argues that the broadcaster’s role is crucial
are to compete effectively
44 RTS news
during a time of disruption. Maggie Brown reports
Reports of Society events across the nations and regions
Sub-editor Photographer Royal Television Society Subscription rates Printing Legal notice
Sarah Bancroft Paul Hampartsoumian 3 Dorset Rise, UK £115 ISSN 0308-454X © Royal Television Society 2018.
smbancroft@me.com paul@hiphop.com London EC4Y 8EN Overseas (surface) £146.11 Printer: FE Burman The views expressed in Television
T: 020 7822 2810 Overseas (airmail) £172.22 20 Crimscott St are not necessarily those of the RTS.
E: info@rts.org.uk Enquiries: publication@rts.org.uk London, SE1 5TP Registered Charity 313 728
W: www.rts.org.uk
Television www.rts.org.uk October 2018 3
RTS NEWS Your guide to
upcoming events.
Book online at
www.rts.org.uk
RTS MASTERCLASSES NORTH EAST AND THE BORDER
National events Tuesday 13 November Local events Thursday 18 October
RTS Student Programme Behind the camera: workshop
RTS EARLY EVENING EVENT Masterclasses DEVON AND CORNWALL A great opportunity to get
Wednesday 24 October and Tuesday 6 November – date TBC to know each department
Who’s watching? The challenge Wednesday 14 November Breaking into Media 2018 behind the camera. Suitable
of digital TV measurement RTS Craft Skills Masterclasses Venue: The Drum Theatre, for early-career professionals,
Speakers: Rich Astley, chief Venue: IET London, 2 Savoy Theatre Royal, Royal Parade, practitioners and students.
product officer, Finecast; Place, London WC2R 0BL Plymouth PL1 2TR 3:30pm-5:00pm
Matt Hill, research and planning Venue: Middlesbrough Institute
director, Thinkbox; John Litster, RTS AWARDS Thursday 15 November of Modern Art, Middlesbrough
MD, Sky Media; Sarah Rose, Monday 26 November Working in journalism TS1 2AZ
director of consumer insight, RTS Craft & Design Awards 2018 2:00pm
Channel 4; and Justin Sampson, Venue: London Hilton on Park Venue: Southampton Solent Thursday 18 October
CEO, Barb. Chair: Kate Bulkley, Lane, 22 Park Lane, London University, Spark Building, East Exploring the Nile 360 with
journalist. Tickets: £15. Free tick- W1K 1BE Park Terrace, Southampton BBC Africa correspondent
ets for RTS full members must SO14 0YN Alastair Leithead
be booked in advance. 6:30pm RTS FUTURES ■ Jane Hudson Panel discussion about the
for 6:45pm Wednesday 30 January 2019 ■ RTSDevonandCornwall@rts. production of BBC News’s first
Venue: The Hospital Club, 24 Endell Careers Fair 2019 org.uk VR documentary, Damming the
Street, London WC2H 9HQ Venue: Business Design Centre, Nile. This event is part of BBC
52 Upper Street, London N1 0QH EAST Digital Cities North East, which
RTS FUTURES ■ Nikki O’Donnell runs 15-19 October.
Wednesday 24 October AWARDS ■ nikki.odonnell@bbc.co.uk Visit bit.ly/Digi-NE for more
The One Show Wednesday 27 February 2019 information. 5:30pm-7:00pm
Join the audience for a RTS Television Journalism LONDON Venue: Middlesbrough Institute
live episode, with Martine Awards 2019 ■ Daniel Cherowbrier of Modern Art, Middlesbrough
McCutcheon on the couch and Sponsored by Guestbooker ■ daniel@cherowbrier.co.uk TS1 2AZ
musical guest Paloma Faith set Venue: London Hilton on Park ■ Jill Graham
to perform. Before the show, Lane, 22 Park Lane, London MIDLANDS ■ jill.graham@blueyonder.co.uk
RTS Futures members will have W1K 1BE Tuesday 16 October
an exclusive Q&A with audience RTS Midlands careers fair NORTH WEST
researcher Emmey Little. Tickets AWARDS 10:00am-5:00pm. Tickets: £10. Saturday 10 November
are free but must be booked in Tuesday 19 March 2019 Group bookings available via RTS North West Awards 2018
advance. 6:00pm-7:30pm RTS Programme Awards 2019 RTSMidlands@rts.org.uk Venue: Hilton Deansgate, 303
Venue: BBC New Broadcasting In partnership with Audio Venue: Edgbaston Stadium, Deansgate, Manchester M3 4LQ
House, Portland Place, London Network Edgbaston Road, Birmingham ■ Rachel Pinkney 07966 230639
W1A 1AA Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel, B5 7QU ■ RPinkney@rts.org.uk
86-90 Park Lane, London
RTS EARLY EVENING EVENT W1K 7TN Thursday 25 October NORTHERN IRELAND
Wednesday 7 November Animorsels – stop motion Thursday 15 November
Screening of Tiny Shoulders: AWARDS special RTS Northern Ireland
Rethinking Barbie Friday 28 June 2019 Bottletop, Antenna and the RTS Programme Awards
The RTS and eOne invite you RTS Student Television Awards invite you to an evening of bite- Venue: TBC
to an exclusive European 2019 sized animation and drinks with
debut screening of the Hulu Venue: BFI Southbank, Belvedere guest speaker Jim Parkyn. Book Tuesday 26 March 2019
documentary, followed by Road, London SE1 8XT tickets at animorsels.co.uk. RTS Northern Ireland Student
a Q&A with director Andrea 6:00pm-9:00pm Television Awards
Nevins and Kim Culmone, vice- RTS CONFERENCE Venue: Antenna Media Centre, Venue: TBC
president of Barbie design at 18-20 September 2019 Beck Street, Nottingham NG1 1EQ. ■ John Mitchell
Mattel. Tickets for RTS Members RTS Cambridge Convention ■ mitch.mvbroadcast@
and a guest are complimentary 2019 Tuesday 20 November btinternet.com
but must be booked in advance. Venue: King’s College, RTS Midlands Awards 2018
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Venue: Curzon Soho, 99 Shaftes Square, Birmingham B3 3DQ ■ Charles Byrne (353) 87251 3092
bury Avenue, London W1D 5DY ■ Jayne Greene 07792 776585 ■ byrnecd@iol.ie
■ RTSMidlands@rts.org.uk
4
RTS
WEST of ENGLAND
FUTURES FESTIVAL
SCOTLAND WEST OF ENGLAND
November 2018 – date TBC Wednesday 24 October
Launch of RTS Scotland Preview screening of Fortitude
Television Awards 2019 plus Q&A
With STV’s Live at Five team, With writer Simon Donald and
winner of the 2018 Daytime executive producer Patrick
Award. 6:30pm Spence. Other speakers TBC.
Venue: TBC Fortitude was produced by
■ Jane Muirhead Fifty Fathoms at the Bottle
■ scotlandchair@rts.org.uk Yard Studios and on location in
Svalbard, Norway. The evening
SOUTHERN will start with a screening of a
Wednesday 17 October short ‘behind-the-scenes’ film
IBC 2018 review by boomsatsuma students from
Panel discussion with Q&A. Joint the media production diploma,
event with RTS Thames Valley. who visited the Fortitude set
7:00pm for 7:30pm Venue: Watershed, Bristol BS1 5TX
Venue: QMC Television Studio,
Cliddesden Road, Basingstoke Wednesday 28 November
RG21 3HF RTS West of England Futures
■ Stephanie Farmer Festival 2018
■ SFarmer@bournemouth.ac.uk Aimed at final-year students,
recent graduates and emerging
THAMES VALLEY talent in the industry. Part of
Wednesday 17 October Digital Bristol Week
IBC 2018 review Venue: Watershed, Bristol BS1 5TX
Panel discussion with Q&A.
Joint event with RTS Southern. Thursday 6 December
7:00pm for 7:30pm RTS West of England Big Fat
Venue: QMC Television Studio, Bumper Quizmas
Cliddesden Road, Basingstoke Venue: TBC
■ Belinda Biggam
Final-year student?
RG21 3HF
■ belindabiggam@hotmail.com
Friday 23 November
2018 Winter Ball YORKSHIRE
7:00pm till late Thursday 1 November
Venue: De Vere Wokefield Estate,
Goodboys Lane, Reading RG7 3AE
■ Tony Orme
Factual TV careers event
We’ve invited some of the
busiest and best factual
Recent graduate?
■ RTSThamesValley@rts.org.uk companies in the Yorkshire
region for a day of careers
WALES
Wednesday 17 October
advice and networking.
Hear how the producers of Interested in TV?
Making Doctor Who award-winning shows such
With Simon Winstone, head of as The Yorkshire Vet, Catching
drama, Wales, BBC Studios, and a Killer and Teen Mom UK
Arwel Wyn Jones, production work, and what they are
designer. 6:00pm looking for when recruiting.
Venue: USW Atrium Theatre, 2:00pm-5:00pm. To register
Cardiff
■ Hywel Wiliam 07980 007841
your interest, please email
RTSYorkshireEvents@rts.org.uk
Join us in Bristol on
28 November
■ hywel@aim.uk.com Venue: Leeds College of Music,
3 Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PD
■ Lisa Holdsworth 07790 145280
■ lisa@allonewordproductions.
co.uk at Watershed, Bristol BS1 5TX
Television www.rts.org.uk October 2018 5
RTS Masterclasses 13-14 November n RTS Student Programme Masterclasses: 13 November n R TS Craft Skills Masterclasses: 14 November Venue: IET London WC2R 0BL BOOK YOUR PLACE: www.rts.org.uk
TV diary
Trevor Phillips questions the TV industry’s attitude to sexual harassment
and confesses that he was underwhelmed by Bodyguard
H
aving inadver- Shoppers will be back (albeit online and team. Of course, all the bigwigs
tently found rather than in the stores). Anyone who found that they had better things to
myself in the hasn’t seen it should go straight to do outside the hall.
headlines twice YouTube. Get in a wad of tissues first. As a result, they missed some wise
in the past month, From Waitrose, of course. words from WPP’s Karen Blackett,
I’ve given up among others, calling out the absence
trying to under- ■ Started as a panellist on Sky’s of minorities in TV’s executive pipeline.
stand what makes today’s news media The Pledge, where each of five con- The media correspondents also
pay attention. tributors gets to peddle a pet idea, managed to miss the point, focusing
Returning from the summer break, I and then has to defend it against only on my observation that, when
pitched up at the Big Tent Ideas Festi- all-comers. I started as a TV exec, most bosses’
val, held in a field near Cambridge, to The show came days after Boris policy against sexual harassment
debate the future of AI and machine Johnson’s use of a metaphor involv- amounted to warning young women
learning. To my nerdy mind, fears of ing a suicide vest. You don’t have to to avoid getting into the lifts with the
massive job losses and robot control, agree with the substance of his company perv. A pal of four decades
stoked by people who can barely spell remark to conclude that the media agreed that complicity was probably
“algorithm”, are misplaced. hysteria that follows this kind of still widespread. The story won head-
More dangerous is “black-box” deci- controversy is simply stifling vivid lines and a spate of TV interview
sion-making by machines using tech- speech in politics. requests. I hope it will also provoke
niques that even the nerds no longer We complain that politicians are some reflection by senior folk in
understand. The Mail on Sunday called dull, yet we punish anyone who says the industry.
before I’d even got off the stage. anything memorable. Worse, people
But they weren’t interested in the such as Johnson and Trump know ■ I’ve taken over as Chair of an
machines. They wanted to know why, that provocation is a great way to executive recruitment business. Our
when asked about civility in politics, manipulate feeble-minded journos major clients are in the engineering,
I’d said that the Labour Party was led into amplifying their tunes. financial tech and retail sectors, as
by “anti-Semites and racists”. Puz- well as government and charities.
zling, I thought: they’d been talking ■ We fell out over Bodyguard, pos- Last week, I suggested to my board
about that topic before I went away, sibly the most misogynist piece of that we should do more work with
and, anyway, everyone knows it’s TV I’ve seen in years. All the women TV and media organisations. TV is
true. How is that even news? were dim, devious, pusillanimous or basically about finding, developing
all three. and showcasing expensive human
■ I stepped down as President of Jed Mercurio, who we know to be capital. And, like us, the industry is
the John Lewis Partnership Coun- some kind of writing genius, had keen on finding diverse talent.
cil in July. The retail sector is in some pretty rubbish (probably male) Everyone shifted uncomfortably,
meltdown, but we’d kept our heads advice on this occasion. I am lucky until someone said briskly, “Media
above water. Until September. Just to have known several of the real people? No money. Can’t trust them.
eight weeks after my departure, women who occupied the jobs por- And you don’t really believe they’re
the employee-owned company trayed – top politicians, cops and serious about the diversity thing, do
announced that profits for the first spooks; all of them forced their way you? If they were, they’d have done
half-year were down 99% on 2017. to the top of male-dominated, sexist something by now.” Next business.
I was tempted to point out – outfits by sheer character, and all of Unfair, of course. But, occasionally,
Trump-style – that the two events them can freeze molten lead with a it’s good to see ourselves as others
might have been connected. But, glance at a range of 20 metres. see us.
when I watched the partnership’s
new TV ad (a riff on Queen’s Bohe- ■ Chaired the RTS London Con- Trevor Phillips is Chair of Index on
mian Rhapsody), I thought, better not. ference session on diversity. Thank Censorship and of interim and executive
It’s the best John Lewis ad for years. you for the opportunity, Theresa search consultancy Green Park.
Television www.rts.org.uk October 2018 7
RTS London Conference
Session One
A full
Media companies
are consolidating and
seeking innovative
alliances to take on
the streaming giants.
set of
Matthew Bell logs on
F
ings ain’t wot they used to
be for the traditional tele-
vision industry. Netflix
and Amazon are already
Faangs
affecting viewing levels,
with Apple and Google set
to join Facebook at the feast. Will it be
fangs for the memory for telly?
Faangs, an acronym for the US tech
and media giants Facebook, Apple, Ama-
zon, Netflix and Google, offer TV the
modern way – streamed over the inter-
net and watched when and where the
viewer wants. Television, meanwhile, is
lumbered with old-fashioned schedules.
The newcomers also have deep
pockets. According to figures compiled
by Deloitte for the RTS London Con-
ference, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet
(Google/YouTube) and Facebook dwarf
the five largest traditional media com-
panies (see table on page 11), with Net content? “These big guys want to have
flix not far behind. big stars and international themes,” she
Yet, as the audience in this opening
session, “A full set of Faangs”, discov-
suggested.
Turton disagreed. “They’ve got a
TV in 2023
ered, the linear television industry is whole portfolio of content – some of
not downhearted. their most successful shows currently n By 2023, the number of all TV
“This new money coming in is a are so-called ‘local’,” she pointed out, episodes with a 5 million-plus
positive thing,” argued All3Media CEO offering Netflix’s acclaimed Spanish- audience may decline by
Jane Turton. language heist drama La Casa de Papel two-thirds to about 200
“A bigger portion of our revenue is as an example. “I don’t think local is n UK SVoD subscriptions may
coming from Netflix and Amazon, not out by any means – it’s about quality.” rise to 35 million by 2023, spread
yet Apple, [though] we’re going to see “The world is full of partnerships among 19 million households
that change very quickly,” said Darren and opportunities,” said David Abra- n There may be an average of
Throop, CEO of Entertainment One, ham, the former CEO of Channel 4, three pay-TV subscriptions per
which owns popular programmes such who set up his own creative company, household in the UK
as Peppa Pig. Wonderhood Studios, earlier this year. n Viewers aged 50+ are likely to
He offered some reassurance to tra- He cited the cross-platform deal watch 15% of all television content
ditional media companies: “The broad- recently announced by Sky and on-demand
casters, which have been our customers Channel 4, under which the two n Over the next five years, TV
for ever, continue to be a very, very broadcasters will share Formula 1 cov- advertising spend is predicted to
important piece of [our business].” erage and dramas such as No Offence increase by 5%, and digital video
But, suggested session chair Kate and Tin Star, as a “really innovative advertising spend by 109%.
Bulkley, is the global Faangs’ growth moment. I think there are going to be Source: Deloitte
coming at the expense of local many more like that.”
8
QUESTION
& ANSWER
Q Is bigger better – how far
will consolidation go?
A Ed Shedd, Deloitte: Large
companies are becoming
even larger in order to super-
serve their customers and
you’ve got niche companies
that are looking to do a small
range of things really well
– and there’s pretty much
nothing in between.
A Keith Underwood,
Channel 4: The media
market is one that definitely
rewards economies of scale –
you can see that at the moment
[in] the vast amount of mergers
and acquisitions activity. But I
don’t think scale is a sufficient
or necessary condition for
success.
A Marie Oldham, VCCP
Media: For everyone
bigger, there will be someone
small that comes up from the
bottom and disrupts.
A Danny Cohen, Access
Entertainment: In the UK,
one of the big questions is: will
the broadcasters be able to
Baltana.com
successfully come together to
launch a shared SVoD service?
Or is it too late?
“The overall message,” argued Virgin
Media CEO Tom Mockridge, “is that
linear pay-TV, people are continuing to
watch PSB channels. And, in addition, Q What will be the biggest
shift in viewer behaviour?
demand [for TV] is growing. “That’s
creating all these opportunities and it’s
terrific for the industry.”
they’ll buy the online services.”
As a producer, Turton said: “The big-
gest challenge for us is to get people to
A Ed Shedd, Deloitte:
Everyone we talk to [has] a
millennial strategy; virtually no
These opportunities exist for the watch content. It sounds obvious but, one we talk to has a strategy for
UK’s public service broadcasters, not certainly for a younger demographic, it the older generation, those over
just the Faangs. “The PSBs have been is to get them off Instagram and into 55 – economic madness.
very innovative. Let’s remember
iPlayer, ITV Player and All 4 – these
services were out when Netflix was
content. How do you do that? It must
be about the quality of the content.
“Our challenge is to make sure our
A Marie Oldham, VCCP
Media: People are now not
afraid to watch a whole series
still posting DVDs in letterboxes,” said content is so unbelievably, desirably of Netflix on a [mobile phone]
Abraham. “We should recognise that watchable that [viewers] will find it screen – they don’t need a
the British system has led into this and watch it.” 46-inch TV any more.
change and can continue to do so.”
The panel turned to cord-cutting
– where consumers cancel pay-TV
“Our primary job as producers is to
get the content into the hands of con-
sumers,” said Throop. His company has
A Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox: A
dramatic change tends to
happen when a new technology
subscriptions in favour of cheaper web a Peppa Pig direct-to-consumer sub- emerges that meets an existing
streaming services – which some in the scription app and a YouTube channel, need in a much better way.…
industry fear will cross the Atlantic from alongside the original TV programme. Actually, people’s viewing needs
the US, where it has been wreaking “For a brand, we’re looking for expo- are being pretty well met by a
havoc on cable TV companies’ reve- sure, eyeballs and engagement with variety of TV services that are
nues. “It’s not an issue,” insisted Mock- the consumer. So, we extrapolate available at the moment.
ridge. “People are continuing to buy that same content across as many �
Television www.rts.org.uk October 2018 9
RTS London Conference
Session One
From left: David Abraham,
Tom Mockridge, Kate Bulkley,
Jane Turton and Darren Throop
� platforms as we can, [which] is very companies the next item on their focused on the arms race for the talent
good for us,” he added. shopping lists? “It doesn’t look like it, right now and the underlying creative
The trend in the TV industry is for does it?” conceded Turton. “For them, idea. If you own [an] idea, develop and
companies to bulk up, either through it’s about talent. I think that what we incubate that idea: that gives you a
acquiring rivals or being bought them- call the arms race for content is actu- place in the marketplace.”
selves, to achieve economies of scale. ally an arms race for talent. That’s what The key to a prosperous future for UK
It is, indeed, better to be bigger in the they’ve been concentrating on and broadcasting, argued Mockridge, is
TV industry, agreed Mockridge, “but it they’ve been doing that aggressively “keeping the business competitive,
cannot be an end in itself”. He said that over the past 18 months to two years. keeping the ideas flowing, keeping
anti-trust laws were critical “to ensure “Will they go out and buy Endemol these distribution opportunities pump-
that the market does work”, and to and [other] producing companies? I ing revenue into the UK and seizing
promote market-based outcomes that don’t think they need to.” All3Media those opportunities – it’s the muscle of
express “the choice and the will of the itself is a large, global producer, owned competition that’s going to make the
people”. He added that these laws were by Liberty Global and Discovery. difference. Of course, it’s going to be
needed so that “new entrants” to the “The model works very well for us,” challenging, but it’s also very exciting.”
market “don’t get crushed”. said Turton. “Having big parents is Throop sounded confident about the
Mockridge, who described Virgin helpful – it’s much easier to take a risk future. “From a production and crea-
Media as a “biggish company”, sug- when you know you are well capital- tive standpoint, people want to see
gested that “being a challenger is a ised and of a size that allows you to fail.” ideas and stories that are relevant to
great position to be. I like competing “Scale matters,” agreed Throop. “We them,” he said. “People in the UK are
with BT because they’re so big and not have been fortunate enough to get to going to want to see UK stories.
very agile.” a size and scale where we’ve got a Regardless of whether the platform is
Faangs had been buying up TV talent balance sheet that supports the risks app-based, whether it’s delivered glob-
– was there a British actor of note who we have to take as a company. ally by one company or whether it’s a
hadn’t appeared in a Netflix Original?, “We’d much rather be the consoli bifurcated approach, where many
asked Bulkley. Were UK production dator than the consolidated. We’re different instances of the same content
10QUESTION
are much better off operating as
“frenemies” than competing head
on – Netflix being offered as part
& ANSWER A of Virgin is a great instance of that.
Ed Shedd, Deloitte: By 2023,
every household in the UK
will have at least three pay-TV
Q What will be the impact of
the new entrants such as
subscriptions.
Apple and Facebook?
A Jonathan Barnard, Zenith:
They have huge reserves of
Q Which technological
innovation will have the
biggest impact?
cash to invest in new content. For
the existing players, this is going
to mean extra competition, lower
A Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox:
It’s very dangerous to make
predictions about TV – look at all
profits and a harder life overall. the fuss around 3D.
‘WHAT WE CALL
A Danny Cohen, Access
Entertainment: The arms race
for content is going to continue to
A Nick Herm, Sky: Virtual reality
– I think it will probably take
a little bit longer than we expect to
THE ARMS RACE intensify over the next few years
– there’s no doubt about that.
really deliver, but I think, when it
does, it will be transformational.
FOR CONTENT
IS ACTUALLY
The really interesting question is
who will follow Apple, Facebook
and so on. There’s talk of Walmart
A Alex Green, Amazon: The goal
of technology is to get out of
the way and simply make it easier
AN ARMS RACE entering the industry now. for customers to find and watch
FOR TALENT’ A Peter Bazalgette, ITV: While
there’s going to be an arms
what they want.
race in international drama and
that will go on… there still ought Q How vulnerable is TV
advertising?
to be a fantastic demand for great
content about our own territory, A Jonathan Barnard, Zenith:
TV consumption is holding
Paul Hampartsoumian
made by producers in our own up pretty well in the UK and
territory.” there is still strong demand
from advertisers for its brand-
Q How fast will cord-cutting
accelerate?
building powers, which are really
unrivalled by other media.
are served to the customer, the cus-
A Nick Herm, Sky: I’m not sure
that cord-cutting is taking
place in the UK; it feels like it’s a
A Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox:
Nothing works better than
TV advertising. [It] generates
tomer is going to, as always, seek out US phenomenon and we’re just 71% of all the profit generated
what they want. importing the language. by advertising, full stop. You
“Overall, from a production stand-
point, it’s only good news and will
continue to be good news for us.”
A Ingrid Silver, Reed Smith:
Video-on-demand service
suppliers will realise that they
simply can’t get a better use of
advertisers’ money than to spend
it on TV.
Turton agreed with Throop: “Ulti-
mately, the quality and the desirability
of the content is the test. The tech The Faangs and the largest traditional media companies
obviously has to be there to allow
them to access [the content], but peo- 1200 Market cap (in $bn) as
ple will find it and they will watch it, 1096
of 5 September 2018
whatever the platform, because they 1000 973 Source: Yahoo Finance/Deloitte
know it’s good.
“They will test it, they will find it’s 829 Faang company
800
good and then continue to watch it.” n
Traditional media company
Session 1, ‘A full set of Faangs’, was 600
483
chaired by media commentator and
journalist Kate Bulkley. The panellists 400
were: David Abraham, founder, Won- 233
derhood Studios; Tom Mockridge, CEO, 200 166 163 149
Virgin Media; Darren Throop, President 83
20 12
and CEO, Entertainment One; and Jane 0
Turton, CEO, All3Media. The producer was Apple Amazon Alphabet Facebook AT&T Comcast Disney Netflix Fox CBS Viacom
Matt Baker.
Television www.rts.org.uk October 2018 11RTS London Conference
Session Two
‘ Focus on content,
and the money
will follow
Viacom chief Bob Bakish explains how he is reinventing
’
the company for streaming. Tara Conlan reports
I
t was Viacom founder Sumner 20 years, many of them overseeing its chapter in our history”, he claimed.
Redstone who coined the international business, he said he had What are the opportunities for a
phrase “content is king”. The experienced the company through content-driven company such as Via-
company’s President and CEO, different ages. Since 2016 (when Bak- com, asked his interviewer, Channel 5
Bob Bakish, is also associated ish took over from Philippe Dauman), News anchor Sian Williams. “At the
with a term that defines a he has focused on turning round its core, consumers all around the world
media era: he dubbed the streamers, “performance issues”. are consuming more content, broadly
such as Amazon and Netflix, “frene- Areas he cited for improvement speaking, than ever before,” replied
mies”. He used the description recently included distribution, ratings and Mis- Bakish. He highlighted Jersey Shore in
to explain the fact that, although big sion: Impossible-maker Paramount Pic- the US, which recently commenced a
producers and channel owners fear the tures, which lost $500m in 2016. The new run. On its first night, it was the
streamers for eroding viewing figures, group was now “in a much better number-one TV show, beating The Big
they can also make money by supply- place… our ratings have improved the Bang Theory.
ing the tech giants with shows. last four quarters running… we’ve Another avenue that is beginning to
He was appointed to his post in 2016 grown share every quarter”. thrive is short-form content. Since
with the backing of Redstone’s daugh- Bakish continued: “The world is Bakish took over in the third quarter of
ter and Viacom’s Vice-Chair, Shari, who changing and we’ve been working on 2016, he said the company had tripled
is reportedly keen for CBS and Viacom evolving the company towards new the number of video streams it delivers.
to merge. businesses with new revenue streams.” Its events, such as the MTV Video
Today, the company has more than The launch of Viacom Digital Stu- Music Awards, create moments that
300 TV channels, which it claims reach dios, the acquisition of youth digital can be shared. At the recent VMAs in
4.3 billion subscribers across more network Awesomeness, and “our the US, “we had 285 million streams
than 180 countries. Its portfolio growing studio production business” run that day”.
includes MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy were helping Viacom “mark a new Williams asked if he was pushing the
Central and the UK’s Channel 5. Its company more towards short-form,
shows range from Geordie Shore to smartphone-friendly content.
13 Reasons Why to forthcoming MTV ‘WE ARE LOOKING “There’s growth in many areas,” he
series The Royal World.
However, the company has had “a
FOR VIRTUAL said. “There’s share to be taken in tra-
ditional linear television, and you can
bunch of issues” to address, acknowl- SCALE THROUGH see us doing that in the US, and you
edged the fast-talking Viacom veteran.
Having been at Viacom for more than
PARTNERSHIP’ see Channel 5 performing well this
quarter here [in the UK].” Other arenas
12integrate messaging into the content.”
Product placement, Williams pointed
out, is highly regulated on TV in most
countries. “[But] it’s almost exclusively
self-regulating” online, responded the
Viacom chief.
He called for a more level playing
field, pointing out that traditional TV
channels such as Nickelodeon were
not allowed to advertise high-fat foods
but online companies were. The issue
should be discussed by Ofcom not just
for the sake of media companies but
“also for the good of audiences”.
In the face of such disparity, and the
problem of fake news, Bakish suggested
that it was “pretty clear that, over time,
we will get regulation. What it looks
like and how quickly it comes, those
are all valid questions, but the world
needs to move in that direction, as
responsibility follows consumption.
“Monetisation is evolving and var-
ies… If you focus on content… moneti-
sation will follow.”
Paul Hampartsoumian
Tickets to events, adverts and sub-
scription revenues are among the rev-
enue streams that Viacom will
continue to drink from.
The CEO said that Viacom would
Bob Bakish
consider setting up its own kind of
streaming service, but it was not inter-
for expansion include YouTube and fast-changing media landscape, Bakish ested in “creating another Netflix. We
Facebook: “What we’re focused on is has focused the company on its “flag- see that space as becoming crowded.”
how we maintain a presence in the ship brands: Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Touching on the long-running
traditional ecosystem… but, simultane- Comedy Central and Paramount”. But power struggle that has prevented
ously, ensure that we’re represented in there were also important local ones, Viacom merging with CBS, he was
these other spaces”. The rise of Face- such as Channel 5, said the former asked if he was convinced that such
book, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and strategy consultant. a move would make Viacom stronger.
Google, and their thirst for their own Each of the global brands has a full He responded that there had been a
original content, brings both challenges “multi-platform” presence and add-ons “lot of discussion about scale” but
and opportunities. such as events and consumer products. emphasised the benefit of looking for
Successes at the Emmy awards, and Viacom is also targeting new outlets, “virtual scale through partnership”. As
the rise of Paramount Television (“which such as Snapchat, while “maintaining an example, he cited Channel 5 team-
didn’t exist four years ago and this year the largest collection of our product in ing up with Sky Media on ad sales,
is a $400m business and next year will the pay-TV ecosystem”, where “we still which had brought “benefits without
be a $600m business, as we go from see very significant time spent”. deploying capital”.
nine series in production to 16”) were But how does Viacom make money After paying tribute to Viacom’s
two indications of Viacom’s revival. out of getting its content on Snapchat? international networks, which “haven’t
Alongside this, the group produced It is still early days, admitted Bakish: been in need of turnaround”, Bakish
shows such as 13 Reasons Why for Net “Right now, it’s more about reach and was asked for his thoughts on the UK
flix and Jack Ryan for Amazon, proving consumption than monetisation. We TV industry. He was very positive:
that Viacom was making the most of have multi-platform sponsors for the “We’re thrilled to be a long-standing
the opportunities, said Bakish. MTV VMAs in the US and so, as part of member of the British TV industry.
One of the liveliest moments of that, they will get impressions in the “We obviously increased our partici-
the session occurred when Bakish digital native space as well.” pation when we acquired Channel 5,
announced that MTV was making a The acquisition of the “young, and I would do that again today. Even
new reality show for Netflix. Williams female-skewing content company” though Brexit happened.” n
said she would not be a good journalist Awesomeness will help the group
if she did not ask him more about the make content “at a very attractive In Session Two, Bob Bakish, President and
show. “And I wouldn’t be a good CEO if price point”, which it will market and CEO of Viacom, gave the ‘International
I didn’t tell you that you’ll have to wait!” sell. “If we want to monetise content keynote’ speech and was interviewed by
was the reply. on social networks, the best way to do Channel 5 News presenter Sian Wil-
To help Viacom traverse the that… is branded content, where you liams. The producer was Helen Scott.
Television www.rts.org.uk October 2018 13RTS London Conference
Session Three
The inclusivity
bounty
T
Matthew Bell observes elevision picked the
brains of business leaders
Born in the US, Mark McLane moved
to the UK to become head of global
as leaders from outside from advertising, bank- diversity and inclusion at Barclays seven
ing and consultancy in years ago. “Within your industry, you
broadcasting suggest this session, learning how have a great opportunity to show role
ways that TV can learn they have boosted diver-
sity and inclusion in their industries.
models where role models don’t exist
today,” he argued. “Growing up, not
from other sectors Introducing “Diversity and inclusion: seeing gay men on TV had an impact
lessons from outside TV”, session chair – it meant you weren’t welcome.”
Trevor Phillips argued that there were McLane, who has frequently
areas of agreement on diversity, nota- appeared on the LGBT Pride Power
bly that it is “good for business, as well List, said that organisations faced a
as good for the soul”. simple choice: “We either continue to
In television, specifically, “there’s a mirror the societal barriers that push
relationship between what goes on people away or we start to break those
behind the screen and what goes on it, down and invite people in.”
and who sits on the other side of it,” He urged employers to do more than
added the former Chair of the Equality simply collect data: “It’s great that you
and Human Rights Commission. He is have data – and you have to be data
also a winner of three RTS Television driven – but you also have to stop
Pictured, from left: Karen Blackett, Mark Journalism Awards and a former head gazing at the data, and figure out what
McLane, Anne Nguyen and Trevor Phillips of current affairs at LWT. it means and do something with it.”
14“Much like the television industry, use part of that money to reward “You have to send out that message,”
we have a huge responsibility in behaviour change.” said McLane. “I’m looking out at an
advertising because we create cultural Phillips suggested that colleagues audience of senior leaders, who [need]
norms,” argued Karen Blackett, UK could be complicit in the harassment to speak up and say, ‘For my own per-
country manager at global communi- of young, junior employees, particu- sonal integrity, [harassment] is not
cations giant WPP. larly women, in television. “How do right.’ Silence is acceptance.”
She agreed with McLane on the you deal with the problem of complic- “The more that we encourage people
importance of “visible role models”, but ity?,” he asked. “I suspect that there is to speak about [harassment] openly [the
added that it was “sponsorship” that much more [harassment] than we better],” added Nguyen. “It’s not until
had been of most benefit in her career. think in our industry, partly because you start to have the conversations
“There were networks that I was not we have such high-value talent that together that you start to realise that
part of and couldn’t penetrate, where we don’t want to interfere with.” [certain behaviour] is not OK.
conversations were happening about A company had to be built on “Building that culture, where you
future roles and promotions that I was respect, said Blackett. The message can have open conversations, is really
not able to access,” she explained. “I that certain types of behaviour were important.” n
needed somebody who recognised my not allowed “absolutely has to come
talent and could talk on my behalf in from the top” of an organisation. “Our Session Three, ‘Diversity and inclusion:
those networks that I wasn’t part of.” new WPP global CEO has talked a lot lessons from outside TV’, was chaired
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to all staff about how we should be a by the writer, broadcaster and diversity
partner Anne Nguyen argued that company that is formed on respect campaigner Trevor Phillips. The panellists
solutions had to be tailored to the and actually call things out.” were: Karen Blackett, UK country man-
needs of individual organisations. Practically, this could include an ager, WPP; Mark McLane, head of global
She revealed that a BCG study last organisation providing a hotline to diversity and inclusion, Barclays; and Anne
year had found that, while many report harassment or a certain person Nguyen, partner and MD, London, Boston
organisations were “spending gob- who could be approached in confi- Consulting Group. Deborah Williams,
smacking amounts of money on diver- dence. “It is about ensuring that the executive director, Creative Diversity Net-
sity, we very quickly realised that they environment in which people can call work, gave a presentation. The producers
were putting their ‘diversity dollars’ in things out is safe,” she added. were Dan Brooke and Sue Robertson.
the wrong place.
“You really need to figure out what
works for you as an organisation, where
A Diamond standard for television
All pictures: Paul Hampartsoumian
your organisation is on that journey and
where you should be investing.”
Nguyen noted that recent BCG Diamond is the online system used by audience ‘perceives’ the diversity of
research showed that, in the UK in the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and characters and contributors on screen.
particular, employees favour “clear Sky to obtain consistent diversity data Data is captured across six character-
anti-discrimination statements and on the programmes they commission. istics: gender, gender identity, age, eth-
policies. They value blind screening for ‘It’s the world’s first, and only, online nicity, sexual orientation and disability.
recruitment and in promotion.” data collection and monitoring system At the RTS London Conference, Wil-
Sponsorship, flexible working and for diversity,’ Deborah Williams told the liams announced the launch of a new
the necessity of senior managers mak- RTS conference. Williams is executive campaign to address the low numbers
ing a public commitment to diversity director of the Creative Diversity Net- of disabled people in television. ‘Dou-
were also important parts of any work, which runs Diamond. bling disability’ is supported by the five
diversity and inclusion policy, she said. The initiative has been collecting Diamond broadcasters, which have
McLane added an extra item to her data since August 2016. ‘It continu- pledged to double the percentage of
list: talk to your employees in the ously gathers data on people across disabled people working in off-screen
workplace and take their advice. “Just the entire supply chain of UK broad- production and creative talent roles
because we don’t see the barrier, casting, on screen and off screen, who within two years.
doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” he said. have been commissioned by one of ‘I think that’s absolutely doable,’
Offered a notional £1m by Trevor the Diamond broadcasters for pro- she said.
Phillips to spend on diversity initia- grammes that are first transmitted in The initiative is also backed by ITN,
tives, Blackett opted to spend the the UK,’ she explained. the producers’ body, Pact, and the
money on a “cultural inclusion pro- Diamond also measures how an Department for Work and Pensions.
gramme” to “ensure that existing lead-
ers really understand what it takes to Diamond broadcasters in the UK (September 2018) Source: Diamond
build an inclusive culture”. Protected On-screen Off-screen
She also advocated a programme characteristic Individuals contributions contributions
to remove barriers to promotion. Gender Female 48.1% 54.6%
“Sometimes, when you don’t get talent Gender identity Transgender 0.8% 0.0%
rising to the top, it’s because there is Age 50+ 24.2% 20.4%
something that is holding them down. Ethnic origin BAME 21.5% 10.1%
You need to have movement in any Sexual orientation LGBT 13.2% 11.7%
organisation to allow creativity and Disability Disabled 6.5% 5.5%
talent to rise,” she explained. “I’d also
Television www.rts.org.uk October 2018 15RTS London Conference
Session Four
The battle to
own voice
Steve Clarke takes soundings on
how voice-activated devices will
impact on broadcasters
A
lexa, Amazon’s ubiqui- delivering personalisation via voice deliver through voice formats, but also
tous digital assistant, is than are traditional platforms. in the capability that allows us to con-
always ready and “On a lot of levels, voice has got huge trol what we call the intent.
willing to help. But amounts to offer the TV experience,” “So, when you say, ‘Play something,
how should British Halton added. Alexa’ or ‘Tell me the news, Alexa’, that
broadcasters ensure At present, voice-activated smart intent is owned by Amazon. It chooses
that the tech giants don’t sweet-talk speakers are more likely to be used for the content that will be served back.…
them into relationships involving voice requesting a weather update or listen- That is a massive risk for us because,
activation that they later come to regret? ing to Radio 2’s breakfast show than while, at the moment we may be the
This was one of the main themes to as a proxy remote, according to the content provider of choice, there’s
emerge from an entertaining and lively research guru Ben Page, Ipsos Mori’s nothing to say we will be in the future.
session expertly presented by Kate CEO. “The data shows that there is “We at the BBC want to control not
Russell, a reporter on BBC News’s Click. unmet interest among people who use just the content that people consume,
The audience heard how smart them to control their TV. Thirty per but also the intent by which we serve
speakers such as Amazon Echo were cent of people want to control their TV that content.”
present in 8% to 10% of UK homes. So by voice,” he added. To remind the RTS of the resources
would they one day replace the TV He claimed that most people’s smart that Amazon and Google have at their
remote control, a device that’s been speakers are idle for most of the time: fingertips, Halton revealed that at the
keeping coach potatoes sofa-bound for “These devices have thousands of CES show in Las Vegas this year,
more than 30 years, asked Russell. skills, but only about 3% of people who Google spent $40m in one week on
“In our house it already has,” have them keep using them.” display advertising for Google Home.
revealed Richard Halton, CEO of You- Even so, Grace Boswood, COO of “This is a fight between the tech giants
View. “There are capabilities it gives us BBC Design and Engineering, said that that is like the war for the front page of
that are superior to a normal remote Alexa and her kind represented both the internet during the late 1990s.
control.” For instance, Amazon Echo an opportunity and a threat for the Then, it was about who was going to
and Google Home have the ability to BBC. “Obviously, a real priority is to get be the browser that you opened when
find programmes faster than the tradi- content to our audiences as easily as you switched on your screen.
tional remote. Also, these data-savvy possible,” she said. “We are investing “Now, it is about who owns the gate-
companies are more effective at heavily not just in experiences that we way to your home…. This is a much
16bigger game than getting last night’s
episode of EastEnders.”
So, how exactly could broadcasters
and content creators protect themselves
from being squeezed out by companies
that had a financial interest in the con-
sumption of their content, and who also
owned the platform through which that
content was delivered, asked Russell.
This would not be easy, admitted
Boswood. She said that the BBC
needed to fight on many fronts,
including regulation, which had yet
to take on board the implications of
voice-enabled devices.
“I think we need to be alive to Ama-
zon and Google’s business interests.
Perhaps, in the days of the early inter-
net, we weren’t so conscious of the
way this was going,” suggested the BBC
executive. “We need to ensure that
Can you believe what you hear?
doesn’t happen again and that we own
that distribution environment. Things Conference attendees were shown matter to people until they lose their
such as YouView and Freeview are several clips in which fake voice audio ability to speak properly.’
important in this context, because they had been added to video of well- He added: ‘Imagine if broadcasters
are much friendlier to public service known people, including BBC News’s could make their material available to
broadcasters.” Sophie Raworth and Barack Obama. everyone in their own language. We
Halton suggested that one way for- Jose Sotelo, co-founder of Lyrebird, believe that this technology can have
ward was via partnerships. “Amazon revealed that his company had devel- life-changing applications.’
doesn’t see these devices as ways of oped algorithms with the ability to Nicky Birch, executive producer
Amazon
discovering TV content, but of learning copy anyone’s voice using only a few at BBC R&D, agreed that there were
about metadata and discovery,” he minutes of audio as the raw material. inherent risks in technologies capa-
said. “Equally, it is happy to export our ‘Record, say, 30 sentences and, ble of impersonating people’s voices.
principles, for example, around promi- based on this, we are able to create a She suggested one reason the British
nence. At the weekend, at IBC, we said digital copy of your voice,’ he explained. were so good at identifying fake news
to Google: ‘What’s your ambition Inevitably, doing this raises tricky was because of the UK’s strong public
around promoting your content or ethical issues that seem certain to add service broadcasting culture.
your version of the owned content another dimension to the furore sur- YouView CEO Richard Halton said
versus the broadcasters’?’ rounding fake news. that the possibility of voice-activated
“Their representatives said: ‘None. If ‘What we worry about is that the content falling in the wrong hands
we plug Google Assistant into YouView, technology needed to build these fake ‘sharpens the mind on the control
because the search results will appear videos is already available,’ said Sotelo. points that we all need to establish
on screen as part of the YouView user He predicted that it would be possible with these companies. The smart move
interface, then those results will always to produce fake videos containing is to work with them as the technology
be determined by YouView.’” authentic-sounding fake voices within evolves, because I think that these
As Sky and Virgin had good relation- the next year or two. ‘How would you things are very crude compared with
ships with UK broadcasters, Google feel if you saw a video that ostensibly what we’re going to see in two or three
and Amazon were perfectly happy to featured your best friend saying horrible years’ time.’
play by our rules because they trusted things about you?’ He asked: ‘Do we talk enough about
Britain’s TV platforms to manage the This suggested that social media data and ensuring that the BBC or
interaction with the consumer, Halton abuse could become nastier still. ‘This Channel 4 knows as much about who’s
reasoned. “But we need to get in there is the scary side of this technology,’ going to watch the show tonight as
now and have those conversations,” warned Sotelo. Amazon does?
he warned. But there were also some potentially ‘There are some first-order ques-
Turning to bespoke content that positive, life-enhancing applications tions around those control points that
works for voice-activated devices, the that this technology opened up, he broadcasters and platforms should
panellists were joined on stage by suggested: ‘Think about Stephen have. We need to get aligned around
Nicky Birch, an executive producer at Hawking… if he had been able to have what those are. We need to ask for
BBC R&D. She told attendees that the access to his own voice. Voice is such them and make that a joined-up part-
corporation was making its third an important part of our identities. It’s nership with Amazon and Google that
“voice-driven narrative piece”, having easy to forget about how much they allows this technology to flourish.’
debuted with The Inspection Chamber, a �
Television www.rts.org.uk October 2018 17You can also read
