Janette Hodds, a senior casting, welfare and development producer whose projects include World’s Most Notorious Killers, sums up her big takeaway from Edinburgh as “fewer, bigger, better.”
She says: “Bigger budgets and shifting viewing habits mean broadcasters and streamers are backing high-impact event television over volume, and the middle tier of programming is quietly disappearing.
“The creator economy amplified all of this, with Pedro Pina’s MacTaggart arguing YouTube is not the villain, and the room’s scepticism told you exactly where the anxiety sits. Between that and the debates about “who really holds the power,” it was hard to miss the message: the traditional broadcaster route is a narrower one and audiences are to be found increasingly somewhere other than a linear slot. My honest view is we can’t treat digital as a poor relation to a channel commission anymore. The opportunity is in bold, distinctive IP with global appeal, developed with co-production and international partners in mind from day one.”
Similarly, Sarah Conner, an experienced producer-director whose credits include the just wrapped Blue Planet III: Polar Waters, reflects that the message she took away was “‘television’ is becoming a much broader ecosystem.”
She says: “With fewer linear commissions, future opportunities will increasingly span YouTube, social-first programmes, visualised podcasts, branded entertainment and other emerging formats alongside broadcast and streaming. The BBC’s increasing focus on YouTube and Nutopia’s launch of digital-first studio Youtopia showed established organisations are already embracing this change. The opportunity is not simply to make shorter or cheaper versions of television, but to understand the distinct creative language of each platform, earlier hooks, audience retention, authenticity, community and direct feedback.
“For professionals, adaptability will be essential. However, the most exciting future will combine the platform knowledge of digitally native creators with the storytelling craft, editorial judgement and production expertise of experienced programme-makers. Creating opportunities for those different skills and perspectives to come together could help shape a stronger and more inclusive industry.”
And Eddie Hutton-Mills, a producer-director whose work includes Kanaval: A People’s History of Haiti in Six Chapters says he left the festival with the sense that “the industry is undoubtedly still in a difficult place, but…the opportunities haven’t disappeared, they’re changing shape.”
He says: “Almost every conversation touched on digital, whether that was YouTube, building audiences differently or creating content that can live beyond traditional broadcast. At the same time, IP and recognisable propositions are becoming increasingly important, particularly as commissioners become more cautious about risk. What encouraged me was hearing that broadcasters including the BBC and Channel 5 still want distinctive ideas and are prepared to take creative risks when the proposition is strong. For filmmakers and producers, I think the challenge now is to be more entrepreneurial: collaboration, co-production, international partnerships and alternative sources of finance will increasingly sit alongside the traditional commissioning model. The opportunity is to think beyond simply asking, “Who will commission this?” and towards, “How can we make this happen?”
