The preliminary programme for this year's RTS Cambridge Convention has been announced. 

The convention, held on a biennial basis, brings together leading figures from the television and its related industry.

This year's event looks forward to television in 2020, focusing on the challenge for content, creativity and business models.

The programme features sessions covering foreign ownership of UK production, the rise of the smart phone in television viewing, and the influence of talent in programme-making.

Tickets are still available for the conference, which takes place from the 16th to the 18th of September. For more information on booking, please click here.

A full schedule will be announced in due course. Please click here to download a PDF of the current programme.

This programme may be subject to change

Wednesday 16 September

Welcome by Sir Peter Bazalgette, President, Royal Television Society

and Tony Hall, RTS Convention Chair and Director-General, BBC

Session One:            Happy Valley or House of Cards?  Television in 2020.

The opening session of the RTS Convention will be a wide-ranging and challenging debate on the future of the television industry, drawing together the latest data-driven insights, with a panel of first-class minds from across the sector.  Thanks to Studio Lambert, the session will also have contributions from the most insightful TV critics of the modern era - the cast of Channel 4’s GoggleBox - all designed to challenge the conventions and shibboleths of both the ‘old’ and ‘new’ sides of our industry. Audience contributions will be welcomed throughout.

Chair

James Purnell, Director, Strategy and Digital, BBC

 

Speakers

Emily Bell, Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia University Journalism School

Susanna Dinnage, General Manager, Discovery Networks UK/Ireland

Stephen Lambert, Chief Executive, Studio Lambert

Stephen Nuttall, Senior Director, YouTube EMEA

 

Session Two: International Keynote – Philippe Dauman, Viacom

Chair

Kamal Ahmed, Business Editor, BBC News

           

Speaker

Philippe Dauman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Viacom

 

BBC Worldwide Reception

Featuring remarks from Rona Fairhead, Chairman  BBC Trust                                                          

 

Session Three: Secretary of State Keynote

Chair

Tony Hall, RTS Convention Chair and Director-General, BBC

 

Speaker

The Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

 

All3Media Dinner

After dinner speaker – Sir Peter Bazalgette

 

Fujitsu Nightcap

 

Thursday 17 September

Session Four: Working for the Yankee Dollar? Consolidation and Creativity

Both consolidation and foreign ownership of the UK production sector is accelerating. We explore whether this process leads to new investment and a greater role in the global media market, or growing homogenisation of programmes and a squeezing of creativity.

Chair

Lorraine Heggessey, Chair, Grierson Trust and Advisor, Channel 4 Growth Fund

Speakers

David Abraham, Chief Executive, Channel 4

Wayne Garvie, Chief Creative Officer, Sony Pictures Television

Tim Hincks, President, Endemol Shine Group

Nick Southgate

 

Session Five: Mike Lombardo, HBO

Chair

Jay Hunt, Chief Creative Officer, Channel 4

Speaker

Mike Lombardo, President, Programming, HBO

 

Session Six: Josh Sapan, AMC

Chair

Tim Davie, Chief Executive, BBC Worldwide

Speaker

Josh Sapan, President and Chief Executive Officer, AMC Networks

 

Session Seven: Writing Models

Chair

Jane Tranter

Speakers

Hugo Blick, Writer, Director and Executive Producer, Eight Rooks

Bryan Elsley, Writer and Executive Producer, Balloon Entertainment

More speakers to be announced

 

Session Eight: David Zaslav, Discovery

Chair

Sir Howard Stringer

Speaker

David Zaslav, President & CEO, Discovery Communications

 

Session Nine: Studios

Chair
Patrick Younge, Partner & Co-Founder, Sugar Films

Speakers

Michael Edelstein, President, International Television Production, NBC Universal

Kevin Lygo, Managing Director, ITV Studios

Peter Salmon, Director, BBC Studios

Jane Turton, Managing Director, All3Media

 

Session Ten: Keynote – Sharon White, Ofcom

Chair

Stewart Purvis CBE, Professor of Television Journalism, City University

Speaker

Sharon White, Chief Executive, Ofcom

 

Session Eleven: BBC Keynote

Chair
Jane Martinson, Media Editor, The Guardian

Speaker

Tony Hall, Director-General, BBC

 

ITV Reception

 

Accenture Dinner

 

ITN Nightcap

 

Friday 18 September

Session Twelve: Lessons from the 2015 General Election

Speakers

The Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP

Faisal Islam, Political Editor, Sky News

More speakers to be announced

 

 

Session Thirteen: The Rise of the Smartphones - Creating Compelling Content for the Mobile Generation

BBC Click's Spencer Kelly presents the latest smartphone technology soon to change the TV industry. Including 360˚ cameras and virtual reality headsets.

Chair

Spencer Kelly, Presenter, BBC Click

Speaker

Philip Harper, Creative Director, Atlantic Productions

 

Session Fourteen: TV without borders: is the digital single market boom or bust for UK television?

The European Commission proposes to ensure European consumers can access television and film content across borders in a ‘digital single market’. Senior figures from industry and the Commission will debate whether these proposals will drive further economic growth in Europe’s audio-visual industries and benefit consumers or undermine the basis on which content is funded, damaging a key economic sector and resulting in a reduction in choice and quality of content available.

Chair

Katya Adler, Europe Editor, BBC News

Speakers

John McVay, Chief Executive, Pact

Jorgen Gren, Member of Cabinet, European Commission

More speakers to be announced

Session Fifteen: Talent – can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em

Talent agents, controllers and light entertainment chiefs explore issues raised by current controversies surrounding ‘talent’. Do they get paid too much? Do they have too much power? How has this situation arisen? And what, if anything, should we do about it?

Chair

Jane Lush, Managing Director, Kalooki Pictures

Speakers

Stuart Murphy, Director, Sky Entertainment Channels, BSkyB

Jonathan Shalit OBE, Chairman, ROAR Global

Additional speakers tbc

Session Sixteen: Looking Towards 2020

Four senior industry leaders look back at the debates of the last three days and consider what we have learnt about the directions in which television is heading. Can we foresee a reasonably happy future ahead? Or will the cards come tumbling down?

 

Chair

Lorraine Heggessey, Chair, Grierson Trust and Advisor, Channel 4 Growth Fund

Speakers

David Abraham, Chief Executive, Channel 4

Adam Crozier, Chief Executive, ITV

Tony Hall, Director-General, BBC

Tom Mockridge, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Media

 

Convention Closes

Tony Hall, RTS Convention Chair and Director-General, BBC

Sir Peter Bazalgette, President, Royal Television Society