RTS London Podcast

When it comes to game shows and reality TV formats, taking a popular series from one country and making a new version is fairly easy. But remaking scripted formats has always been a harder nut to crack. From homegrown hits Doctor Foster and Liar to global phenomena like Call My Agent! and Skam, scripted formats are traveling further than ever. With streaming services battling for more localised content, they're also a multi-billion dollar business.Yet for every successful remake, whether...

RTS London marks the BBC's centenary with a look at the BBC's history, the celebrations planned and the inspiration for the next generation.Created 100 years ago, on 18th October 1922, the BBC transformed people's lives at the turn of a dial, bringing voices out of the ether and conjuring up the magic community of radio. The TV services followed and now, many aspects of our lives are inextricably linked to broadcasting. It is how we remember where we come from and who we are — from the Moon L...

Starring Emmy-nominated Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones, The Fifth Estate, Race) and Golden Calf winner Halina Reijn (Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, Black Book, Valkyrie, Instinct), Red Light is an immersive thriller that portrays how three women's lives unexpectedly intersect when a well-known philosophy professor suddenly goes missing. Sylvia (van Houten), an aging sex worker, runs a brothel with her toxic partner in Antwerp’s Red Light District. Esther (Reijn) is a well-known opera soprano who...

How do you produce a live topical Sunday morning discussion show out of Northern Ireland, with a studio in London and support from teams across the UK?The BBC recently awarded the tender to produce Sunday Morning Live, its flagship BBC One religious and current affairs discussion programme, to Tern TV and Green Inc, two companies working together to make this important commission from Northern Ireland. This Production Focus session brings together key members of the production team to e...

What’s next for the future of content? Bring yourself up-to-date with news from the world's leading media, entertainment and technology show. For those who weren't able to attend this year's show held 9-12th September, this panel discussion, co-hosted with the IET, is the next best thing. It promises to be an informative and lively discussion on the key trends, products and research covered.The IBC Conference is an unrivalled global destination for discovering and debating the many diffe...

Professor Brian Cox fulfils a childhood dream: Back in 1980 twelve-year-old Brian Cox wrote to NASA asking for photos from some of their missions to the planets. The images they sent him from Voyager and the Viking mission to Mars inspired him to become the physicist he is today.Now watch as he has the chance to visit NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab to witness the workings of the Mars mission as it guides the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter (the first powered aircraft we have e...

Join RTS London for this exclusive in-person Q&A of Walter Presents’ new crime drama Snow Angels (Snöänglar) — a daring character-driven crime drama about motherhood as three women — a mother, a policewoman, and a child nurse’s — fates become intertwined following the disappearance of a 5-week-old infant.Panel: Mette Heeno, Creator and WriterAnna Zackrisson, Co-Creator and DirectorJosefin Asplund, Lead ActressChair:Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen, Professor in Scandinavian and Comparative Literat...

Virtual Christmas Lecture by Dame Esther Rantzen DBE followed by Q&A hosted by Paul Jackson.Dame Esther Rantzen is a legend of British broadcasting and became a household name appearing in more than 2,000 TV programmes including documentaries, talk shows, reality shows and quizzes; most notably presenting the BBC’s “That's Life!” for 21 years, from 1973 until 1994.A creative producer as well as a presenter, she invented the documentary series "The Big Time" which discovered Sheena Easton,...

RTS London and RTS Scotland come together to proudly present a virtual panel discussion on the importance of sustainability and how it's currently implemented in the world of television. Fresh in the minds of many following the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow this November, the session will look at both the making of and the consumption of TV — from production level to the digital footprint from audiences. Host:Richard Parsons, COO of International Production, Sony Pictures ...

How has COVID-19 impacted children’s media consumption and the content created in response?In January 2020, we held a joint event with the Children’s Media Foundation: “Are the Kids Alright?” The session looked at how the mainstream media were providing engaging content for our youngest audiences. Then the pandemic changed everything. How did the media industry rise to the challenge? RTS London and the CMF now bring you an hour of insights and information, exploring key case studies of conten...

Challenging the Status Quo — Production, Mental Health & NeurodiversityWith nine in 10 people working in the UK’s film and TV industries experiencing mental health issues*, something needs to change.The Film and TV industry is full of amazingly talented and skilled professionals working hard to provide content to people's screens. However, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. In recent years, we have become increasingly aware that it can often be an unhealthy work environment for many peo...

This exclusive look at Walter Presents’ compelling new drama series, asking the question: can whistleblowers ever win? Inspired by the true stories of Norwegian corporate whistleblowers, Heksejakt (Witch Hunt) looks at how those fighting for justice often become targets themselves.Following an exclusive virtual screening of episode one, series co-creators Anna Bache-Wiig and Siv Rajendram Eliassen, along with lead actress Ingrid Bolsø Berdal join the Radio Times’ Frances Taylor for this ...

As we approach the twentieth anniversary of the four plane tragedies of 11th September 2001, this event looks behind the scenes of the moving two-hour documentary transmitting on Channel 4, which follows six children born after their fathers died on that day.On 11th September 2001, many children lost their parents, with over 100 born after their fathers’ deaths on that fateful day. Children of 9/11: Our Story does not return to that dramatic day but looks forward, to follow some of those chil...

Skewering the politicians and celebrities who need it the most! Join the Spitting Image team for a look behind the revival of this bitingly funny sketch show. Described as “one of the most innovative and daring television programmes ever conceived” by the BFI, Spitting Image was first broadcast on ITV all the way back in 1984 and continued to mercilessly caricature the great and the good of British society (and beyond) till 1996. Now rebooted in 2020 with Boris Johnson, Joe Biden, Donald Trum...

Join the stellar production team behind Small Axe for a look at the love letters to resilience and triumph within London's West Indian community.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 t...

How the Creative Industries Embraced Live Streaming.Is streaming coming to the rescue of the creative industries? The music sector is using live streaming to create high-quality Pay Per View concerts, with theatre also getting in on the streaming act. In this session we take a look at the emerging business models based around live streaming with some of the industry’s top experts and practitioners.The global pandemic wreaked havoc on the live music industry with global revenues falling ...

Anna and Jörg Winger in conversation with Stephen Armstrong. Anna and Jörg discuss concluding the UK's highest-rated foreign-language drama after three series. Featuring a special introduction by Walter Presents Chief Creative Officer Walter Iuzzolino.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 thri...

TikTok has become one of the most talked-about social media launches of recent years, but producers and broadcasters are still in the dark on how best to navigate it. TikTok has grown as a major cultural force over the past 18 months, spawning countless memes, trends and cultural moments that have set the Internet ablaze, along with launching direct on Samsung Smart TVs. With household names from the worlds of TV, sport and entertainment all joining its ranks - Strictly Come Dancing to I...

Are we on the verge of having too much TV? With soaring investment in production from the streamers and American imports alongside the UK’s PSBs, it looks like we are entering a golden age of TV — particularly with drama. However, the fragmentation of platforms to view much of this content is making it harder for viewers to easily find what they want to watch. Is the streaming market becoming over-saturated with an increasing number of subscriptions and rising c...

How Legal and Commercial Teams Have Responded to Covid-19.COVID-19 has impacted the television industry in an unprecedented way, from gaps in programming, productions halted, and the enforcement of legal provisions rarely used. Legal and commercial teams from across the UK’s top broadcasters and content studios have had to be creative in how they operate to keep programming on our screens and production teams on set, alongside grappling with the challenges of when even these were not pos...

David Schwimmer and Nick Mohammed in conversation with Boyd Hilton. The stars and creator of Intelligence discuss how season 2 was made and how they juggled their multifarious actor, producer and writer roles in this RTS London production focus event.Created by Nick Mohammed, Intelligence is a workplace comedy set in the UK’s GCHQ—a kind of weedier, geekier version of MI5, where they tackle international and domestic Cyber Crime from a desktop. But when a pompous, maverick NSA agent (Da...

Gaby Roslin chats with the team behind Ashley Banjo’s heart-warming, and Broadcast Award nominated, Flirty DancingSecond Star Production’s successful hybrid reality dating show Flirty Dancing has two seasons under its belt; they share their insights and experiences behind this refreshingly new dating show format. Two strangers rehearse a dance separately with members of Diversity, Ashley Banjo’s dance team. The first time they meet is to dance together in a beautiful location, then walk away ...

This year has been a tipping point for our industry, partly because of COVID-19.Early in the last decade, a tsunami in Japan devastated the factory that supplied HDCAM-SR tapes - the format used to deliver most TV programmes. As people sought an alternative, the uptake of file-based production was accelerated. An informal organisation was formed - called the Digital Production Partnership - that seized on this opportunity to hasten the move to end-to-end digital, by creating a new file-based ...

Whether you’re a big streamer, a start-up streamer or a consumer, this session examines how to survive... and more importantly... stand out.Join an all-star panel led by journalist and presenter Nadine Dereza as they look at some of the best in class OTT offerings from the worlds of ad-supported streaming, niche content, and multi-service aggregation. Chair:Nadine Dereza, Journalist and PresenterPanel:Olivier Jollet, Senior VP Emerging Business for ViacomCBS Networks EMEAADaniel Berg, Co...

Responding to the myriad of complex digital transformation challenges and the need to innovate at speed and collaborate remotely in today’s Media & Entertainment industry, IBC has introduced the Accelerator Innovation Programme. The Programme has been created to drive sector-wide digital transformation, where Accelerators ultimately demonstrate business value through an open R&D approach, reflecting the value of industry of standards and best practices. Through the Accelerators, ...

A guided tour through the history of broadcast TV tech from the inimitable Norman GreenIn 2017, Norman Green, the retired ITV Network's first Head of Technology, was asked at very short notice to give an 'after lunch' talk to a group of retired senior BBC Managers and staff from Engineering and Operations. Norman decided to tell them how he got into the 'Fun Factory' that was television and then how, through his career, he had worked with BBC staff on many occasions. This is the so...

Covid brought most production to a halt in March. But Commissioners, and viewers, still want fresh content. This session is a case study of a company finding innovative ways of working emerging from the constraints – new methods that can bring about long-lasting benefits.Factual specialists Arrow International Media addressed the uncertainties of lockdown by convening a virtual task force, from every level of the company, to brainstorm innovative ideas. Their top priority was to consider thei...

Michael McCarthy in conversation with Richard Sillitto.Michael shares anecdotes and behind the scenes stories in a relaxed conversation with his longtime colleague, Richard. He covers the changing world of TV since he first started at TV Centre in 1961.The RTS Lifetime Achievement Award was recently presented to Michael McCarthy, veteran Sound Designer whose career has spanned six decades, and a range of changing technologies.Michael's credits include Doctor Who, Morecambe and Wise, Miss Worl...

Monday 29 June 2020 marks the 60th anniversary of the formal opening of BBC Television Centre — TVC — at White City in West London.To celebrate the anniversary, RTS London has commissioned a special programme looking at the origins and design of the building, and what it meant to BBC staff and viewers in the 1960s and beyond. The programme features archive footage, and contributions from Robert Seatter, the Head of BBC History; Phillip Schofield, TV Presenter past and present at TVC; an...

Meet the team behind Portrait Artist of the Week for the unique production focus.This is the story of how the flagship Sky Arts show, Portrait Artist of the Year, pivoted to reinvent itself for an audience under lockdown and in the process created a global live paint-a-long..Each week a celebrity sits for an invited artist to paint their portrait on a live Facebook stream that now plays to a worldwide audience. The show is inspirational and regularly gets over 2,000 submissions fr...

Join RTS Fellow and Chairman of the DTG, Simon Fell, in this joint RTS London and Digital Television Group event. Simon and his panel of industry experts will discuss the home entertainment technology that’s available to audiences today to make their viewing experience the best it can be under lockdown, and also look at what’s coming next.They will discuss lockdown TV tech such as Next Gen Audio, voice recognition, 4K, 8K, HDR and much more.The audience will be able to suggest questions...

How do you plan your career while you can’t get out of the house?An expert panel of recruitment specialists give us their advice on how to make plans for your career during lockdown. Hints and tips on everything from your CV and showreel, to your personal brand! The advice offered will be relevant to many in the creative industries. This is the audio version of the YouTube live stream. See here: https://youtu.be/KxxEj6A5pL0A joint RTS London and ACCESS:VFX eventChairSimon D...

What is happening to tv viewing during lockdown?In this topical look at viewing behaviour, our guests reference BARB audience data and original research by Thinkbox to take stock of what people are watching during lockdown. How does viewing compare year on year, and which genres are the winners and losers?Guests:Jeremy Martin, Insights Manager at BARBMatt Hill, Research and Planning Director at ThinkboxProducer: Phil Barnes

What does the future of the BBC look like in this new decade?As the BBC’s Director General, Lord Tony Hall, announces his departure in the Summer, we discuss the challenges facing the BBC and whoever takes over in the role.A mid-term review in 2022 and a new charter in 2027 will be preceded by a consultation on decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee. Issues facing the organisation are numerous. From equal pay and licence fees for the over 75s to diminishing younger audienc...

Join David Abraham as he reflects on three decades in global media in conversation with Chris Curtis, Editor of Broadcast.David Abraham is co-founder of Wonderhood Studios and a former chief executive of Channel 4 and UKTV. He is a passionate advocate of public service broadcasting in the UK and throughout his extensive media career has navigated through rapid shifts in technology, business models and ownership. David co-founded the iconic 90’s ad agency St. Luke’s, then became a broadca...

The team behind the award-winning sitcom Timewasters reflect on the show's origins, impact and handling of serious topics with humour.Timewasters follows a London jazz quartet who reluctantly time travel to the 1920s, encountering a host of bizarre situations and characters. Among the band is Nick (Daniel Lawrence Taylor), Jason (Kadiff Kirwan), Lauren (Adelayo Adedayo) and Horace (Samson Kayo).Joining us is creator and writer of the show Daniel Lawrence Taylor, series director George Kane, a...

Join our panel discussing the wide variety of options open to those with a passion for animation.Animation is a multi-billion dollar industry. From games developer to VFX artist, from 3D modeller to motion capture, the careers are wide-ranging and highly creative, in industries including film and television, advertising, gaming and education. The panel share stories of their careers, the highs points and the tricky projects. Host:Terry MarshPanel:Christine MacKay - CEO/Producer at ...

What will the future of TV look like?As we embark upon the new decade, we bring together a multifarious panel to look at their TV tea leaves, gaze into their crystal balls and read the runes to bring us their visions of the future of TV over the next few years!Come with us as we take a journey through time and space into the future of TV — and get back in time for Newsnight!Host:Nadine Dereza, Journalist and PresenterSpeakers:Matthew Griffin, Futurologist & CEO, 311 InstituteKhalid Hayat,...