"It’s 12 noon in London, 7am in Philadelphia... And around the world, it’s time for Live Aid..." On the 38th anniversary of Live Aid on 13 July 1985, RTS London presents this wide-ranging, full-length interview with Harvey Goldsmith CBE by broadcaster Andrew Eborn. Harvey Goldsmith is an iconic and visionary figure known for his exceptional work as…

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…

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 a…

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 …

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 Ho…

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 th…

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 …

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 Writer Anna…

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, fro…

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 …

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 …

Challenging the Status Quo — Production, Mental Health & Neurodiversity With 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 …

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-…

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 f…

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 merci…

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 cu…

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 s…

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 dra…

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 direc…

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 wa…

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 …

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 weedie…

Gaby Roslin chats with the team behind Ashley Banjo’s heart-warming, and Broadcast Award nominated, Flirty Dancing Second 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 sep…

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 -…

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 aggregat…

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 bus…

A guided tour through the history of broadcast TV tech from the inimitable Norman Green In 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 in…

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 …

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 De…

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 feature…

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…

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 wil…

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 au…

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 a…

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 …

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), L…

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 …

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 …

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 ge…