The TellyCast Digital Content Forum has confirmed its final speaker line-up for this year’s event. More than 35 speakers will take part across 13 sessions at BFI Southbank in London on 5 November. This is the fifth edition of the Forum, which brings together creators, digital-first studios, producers, broadcasters, platforms and brands.
Commissioners from the BBC, Channel 4 and Hearst Canvas will close the day at BFI Southbank on 5 November, as the programme turns to channel-scale commissioning, brand-funded vertical drama and fan funding. This final session of the day looks at what may be the most significant change in digital commissioning this year. Broadcasters are no longer just ordering single titles for social platforms. They are increasingly asking producers to build and run entire channels. Danny Baggott, creative director of Hearst Canvas, Mariel Capisciolto, head of digital development at the BBC, and Kaio Grizelle, digital commissioning editor and Channel 4.0 commissioning lead at Channel 4, will explain what that brief demands of producers and where traditional production thinking still falls short. Sam Barcroft of Attention Industries moderates.
The morning opens with a panel on legacy media groups treating social video as a studio business in its own right. Leah Green, head of Guardian Studios, will be joined by Richard Beech of Hearst UK and Nadia Holmes, commercial director of podcasts at Bauer Audio. Consultant Victoria Jaye will moderate. The session will examine why companies built on print, magazines and radio are now investing in their own production capability rather than licensing it in.
Two sessions focus on the economics that now underpin digital slates. “The Fan Economy: Turning Audiences into Investors” brings together Matt Amys, head of Side+ at Sidemen Entertainment, Tom Payne, MD of Spud Gun Studios, Josh Reynolds of Zandland and Diane Glynn, SVP at Zoo 55. They will discuss how memberships, live gifting and crowdfunded commissions are funding production. “Off the App: Brand-Funded Vertical” asks what happens to budgets, rights and back-end value when a brand, rather than a micropayment app, pays for a vertical series. Speakers include Rupert Britton, Kelly Luegenbiehl of Shorties Studios, Ainsley Cannon of Platform Media and Sam Glynne.
Elsewhere, Grace Miller of Grace Experiments, Thom Gulseven of Strong Watch Studios and Yusuf Omar of Seen TV will discuss testing formats in public and the line between useful failure and wasted money. Matt Campion of Spirit Studios moderates. A panel on thumbnails, titles and trailers features Anthony Smith of StoryGrain, Cam Mensah of The Curve Media and Molly McDonald of Blue Door Productions, moderated by Seb Losardo of Grow. It will look at how packaging is now shaping greenlight decisions, and how YouTube viewing on television screens is changing the craft.
Duty of care on digital budgets is the subject of a session with clinical psychologist Dr Howard Fine of Mindzone Media, production consultant Bryony Hopkins and Franky Harte, head of digital content for Love Island and I’m A Celebrity at Lifted Entertainment. ITV Studios’ Will Scougal, global lead for Studio 55, and Martin Trickey, managing director of Zoo 55, will lead a dedicated session on the latest developments in the new ITV Studios divisions. Caroline Servy of The Wit will present a round-up of digital-first formats from around the world.
Chronicle Media’s Oliver Lewis and Alex Traharne of The Wombles will present a case study on the franchise’s return to YouTube. The two companies have launched two channels. The Wombles Classics carries remastered episodes from the 1970s and 1990s television series. The Wombles features new animated and live-action content built around sustainability, reuse and community. Chronicle manages both channels and uses its audience-modelling technology to drive discovery and international growth. The partnership follows the consolidation of the franchise’s global rights under a single owner.
A future-gazing panel on the creator economy’s next chapter features Oli Thomas of Flight Story, Siobhan McDade of Jungle Creations and Sami Qasem, director of creator and content partnerships for Tubi in the UK. Gerrit Kemming of Quintus Studios moderates.
TellyCast founder Justin Crosby will open the day with an address on the evolving digital-first landscape. The event closes with networking drinks sponsored by Chronicle Media. Tickets are still available here.
