"Edinburgh is still the place to be if you want to keep your ear to the ground and understand the business we are in and how quickly it is changing.”
2018 DELEGATE

INSPIRATIONAL & VISIONARY SPEAKERS

The MacTaggart Lecture has formed the centrepiece of the Festival since 1976. It offers a unique and authoritative platform to help shape debate in the global television industry, alongside over 60 sessions including keynotes, masterclasses and workshops.

Edinburgh is a who’s who of television. Past speakers include:  Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, Dennis Potter,  Sir David Attenborough,  Vince Gilligan, Lionel Shriver, Armando Iannucci, Mike Lombardo, Sharon Horgan, Charlie Brooker, Ricky Gervais, Julie Plec, Michaela Cole, Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Edinburgh speakers provoke, inspire and frequently set the news agenda.

 

GAMECHANGERS & CHANNEL CONTROLLERS

Edinburgh TV Festival is unique. It is the only place where all the UK’s channel controllers and senior commissioners gather in one place, outlining their highlights from the past year, and crucially, their  commissioning wishlists for the year ahead.

These UK content chiefs now feature alongside a raft of international names.Our Gamechanger strand has included leading figures such as Brandon Riegg and Ted Sarandos from Netflix, Showtime’s David Nevins, FX’s John Landgraf, Discovery’s Rich Ross and former HBO, ABC and Amazon execs including Michael Lombardo and Paul Lee. We have featured masterclasses with cast and crew – Breaking Bad, The Simpsons, Downton Abbey, Black Mirror, Gogglebox and The Grand Tour – among them.

 

A GLOBAL EVENT WITH A COMMUNITY FEELING

We are famous for our fun, candid and entertaining approach to our sessions and for a highly diverse and topical programme which garners headlines all around the world.

We ensure relevance by working with the brightest brains in the business – leading TV professionals who help curate the event as members of our advisory and executive committees.

We pride ourselves on our high production values –all our sessions are produced by leading TV professionals, hosted by top name presenters and staged by the best crew.

 

COUNTLESS NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

The TV Festival has been dubbed “the hottest ticket in town” and “the place to be seen”. It’s true that our networking opportunities are second-to-none with a range of drinks, VIP dinners and informal parties, but it’s not all about gossip and pitches in the George bar late at night.

We have more formal business opportunities than ever before with a new structured networking strand, ConnectED, including one-on-one speed meetings.

Delegates can sit down with commissioners, talent managers, brands, distributors and more for short pre-booked meetings. Introduce yourself or your company; pitch an idea; further your job prospects or just make new contacts.

If you want to express interest in hosting a meeting table in 2019– or booking in to see those that have, contact connected@thetvfestival.com.

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