RTS Unveils Lineup for Cambridge Convention

LONDON: The Royal Television Society’s (RTS) bi-annual Cambridge Convention, which will take place at Kings College from September 16 to 18, will focus on how the British media industry can adapt in the current economic climate to ensure a strong future.

Entitled Riding Out the Storm, this year’s convention is being planned by Mark Thompson, the BBC’s director general and chair of the convention advisory committee. The secretary of state for the department of culture, media & sport, Ben Bradshaw, will deliver the keynote speech, and Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman and chief executive, will participate via satellite.

Among the media luminaries speaking at the event are RTL’s CEO, Gerhard Zeiler; ITV’s executive chairman, Michael Grade; the chairman of Channel 4, Luke Johnson; Five’s CEO, Dawn Airey; BSkyB’s COO, Mike Darcy; the CEO of FremantleMedia, Tony Cohen; and Guardian News & Media’s director of digital content, Emily Bell.

Sessions include Where’s the Money?, looking at the U.K. economy and its impact on British media; TV’s Next Top Model, evaluating the best business model for the digital age; Desperate Networks, spotlighting the free-to-air business model; and Drama Out of a Crisis?, featuring a panel of experts debating about the future of U.K. drama. The Dear Mr. Hunt session will offer the audience a chance to question Jeremy Hunt, the man who hopes to be the next conservative secretary of state for culture, media & sport. An Audience with Eric Schmidt will feature a discussion with the Google chief, via satellite, about the real scale of the company’s ambitions. Further sessions are Have I Got News for You?, spotlighting Digital Britain’s proposal for an independently funded news consortia, and Cambridge Question Time, where a roster of U.K. media leaders face questioning from the audience.

The principal sponsors of the RTS Cambridge Convention 2009 are the BBC and the BBC Trust.