Thames Valley

Televising the London 1948 Olympics: A Talk by Norman Green

The London 1948 Olympics were officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad, and the first to follow a 12 year hiatus caused by World War II. Dubbed the Austerity Olympics, due to the aftermath of the War, no new venues were built. The Empire Stadium and Empire Pool at Wembley Park were among the main venues. 

The BBC bought the rights for £1,000 - around £73,000 in today's money - and broadcast to to a service that was officially only available in the London area.

Small Axe: Production Focus

Small Axe has been one of the most talked about drama series of recent years. Sharing the untold challenges and triumphs of London's West Indian community in such a truly authentic way has been a major cultural eye opener to the world and to the UK TV industry itself. Written, directed and produced by Oscar winner Sir Steve McQueen, each episode of the critically acclaimed anthology series shares the vivid stories of hard-won victories in the face of racism and intolerance.

Full Stream Ahead: How the Creative Industries Embraced Live Streaming

The global pandemic wreaked havoc on the live music industry with global revenues falling some 75% in 2020 year-on-year.  No concerts, no fan engagement.  It was harsh.  But across the course of last year, artists have gone from playing pianos in their living rooms to performing in high-quality, ticketed live streams. The list included Gorillaz, Pete Tong, Foo Fighters and not forgetting Dua Lipa’s Studio 2054 livestream drawing in an impressive 5 million viewers.

The RTS Big Telly Quiz 2021

Hosted once again by Darren Altman, and with questions coming from across all 15 regions and nations, come and join us to test your knowledge of all things telly and be thoroughly entertained. Compete as a team or as an individual, we don’t mind so long as you sign up here – and it’s free!

DEUTSCHLAND 89: BEHIND THE WALL

With Deutschland 89, Anna and Jörg Winger conclude their Emmy Award winning 80s set political drama which has explored the fraught system that divided Germany from the end of WWII through to the fall of the Berlin Wall. At the heart of this thrilling, action packed, and at times very funny, trilogy has been series lead Martin Rauch, played boyishly by Jonas Nay. Beginning the story as a young East German border agent, coerced into life as a double agent by his Stasi agent aunt Lenora, Martin ends up a world hero and international superspy.