Edinburgh Warms Up For International Television Festival
The future of BARB and the benefits of advertiser funded programming are just two of the long-running issues that will come under the spotlight at the Edinburgh International Television Festival this weekend.
Hunders of television executives will decamp to Scotland for the three day event which is one of the highlights of the broadcast calendar. There will be keynote lectures from John Humphrys and RTL chief executive Gerhard Zeiler, as well as guest appearances from Simon Cowell and Rebecca Loos.
One of the most eagerly anticipated sessions will see BARB chief executive Bjarne Thelin, BSkyB’s director of sales Mark Chippendale and MediaCom’s Mick Mernagh discuss the importance of television ratings and the challenges facing audience measurement in the UK.
The growth of advertiser funded programming will also be up for discussion with a team of expert panellists providing tips for broadcasters to get brand-owners to part with their cash. Amongst other things, they will look at whether brand entertainment, product placement and commercial partnerships are the future of programme finance.
Meanwhile, leaders of the UK’s foremost television businesses – Dawn Airey, Jane Lighting, Andy Duncan and Mick Desmond – will debate the creative, operational and strategic future of the industry in a session dedicated to public service broadcasting and the digital future.
Veteran journalist and Today Programme presenter John Humphrys will deliver the high-profile MacTaggart Lecture at 6:30pm this evening. This will be followed by an appearance from Andrew Gilligan, who will share his thoughts on the Hutton enquiry at the inaugural Media Guardian Lecture tomorrow afternoon.
Later in the day the BBC’s recently appointed director general, Mark Thompson, will interview acclaimed director, Stephen Frears, whose big screen hits include Dangerous Liaisons, Dirty Pretty Things and High Fidelity.
Meanwhile, BBC One’s Lorraine Heggessey, BBC Two’s Roly Keating, ITV’s Nigel Pickard, Channel 4’s Kevin Lygo and Discovery Channel’s Jane Root are all scheduled to take part in a series of sessions dedicated to transatlantic controllers.
Extensive coverage of this year’s Edinburgh International Television Festival will appear on NewsLine next week. You can access a full range of Television Festival reports from previous years by clicking the MGEITF button on the left hand side of this page.
MGEITF: 020 7430 1333 www.mgeitf.co.uk
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