The Edinburgh TV Festival, the annual shindig of the movers, shakers, and changemakers of the British television industry, took place last week and change was very much on the schedule, reports Michael Burns.
The headline issues facing the TV industry in the UK are significant – high inflation, market contraction, shrunken ad revenue for commercial broadcasters, freelancers being out of work for long periods, and firms ranging from indies to hire companies to VFX facilities going under. Content is still being made, but it’s now made at the extremes: a few big, expensive shows and lots of lower-cost, high-volume shows.
In his Mactaggart Lecture, playwright and dramatist James Graham talked about the boom and bust of TV, pointing out that two years ago post-Covid, a trend in the industry was over-production. “And now: a drought, a desert,” he said...
You are not signed in
Only registered users can read the rest of this article.
Vertical dramas: Market disruptor or passing fancy?
As studios begin to embrace the potential of vertical micro-dramas, should their rise be dismissed as merely a fad or a profound shift in the production, consumption and gender-bias of global storytelling?
ISE 2026: Thriving on an integrated identity
A show that mixes a vast number of different business areas shouldn’t work, but it does because the underlying technology is finally integrated.
Winter Wonderland: All the tech at the Milano Cortina Olympics
Between first-person-view drones, expanded real-time 360° replays, and a massive virtualised production setup, Milano Cortina 2026 is set to be a major step forward in immersive, scalable, and sustainable Olympic broadcasting.
Creator. Experience. Streaming: The new economies of broadcast AV
As brands, corporates, and creators claim their stake in the content landscape, the boundaries between broadcast and professional AV are dissolving. No longer just a convergence, the broadcast AV landscape is now shaped by new economies of creation, experience, and streaming.
AI and the media revolution: A look ahead to 2026
January has only just come to an end, but we are already looking ahead to the next IBC, which takes place as usual at the Amsterdam RAI in September. In the meantime, Content Everywhere companies are polishing their crystal balls and making predictions about what might lie ahead for the video and streaming industry during the next 12 months.
