RTS Cambridge Convention Speakers Unveiled

The Royal Television Society (RTS) has announced that its biennial Cambridge Convention will go ahead in person for 2021, as well as the event’s first confirmed speakers.

Dana Strong, Sky’s group CEO, is set as the first international keynote for the conference. The initial lineup of industry leaders also confirmed to speak at the conference includes Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC; Alex Mahon, CEO at Channel 4; Carolyn McCall, CEO of ITV; Richard Sharp, chair of the BBC; and Mark Thompson, chairman of Ancestry.com and former president and CEO of The New York Times Company. Further high-profile speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2021 event, titled Broadcast Britain: Reshaping Britishness on the Global Stage, will take place September 15 and 16 at King’s College in Cambridge. The principal sponsor for the RTS Cambridge Convention 2021 is YouTube.

Theresa Wise, CEO at the Royal Television Society, said: “After such a challenging and distanced 18 months for the industry, we are thrilled to be bringing everyone together in Cambridge to hear from leading global executives on the future of British broadcasting. We are delighted to have Ben McOwen Wilson and YouTube on board as Chair of the Convention and Principal Sponsor for this year’s Convention and are working hard to ensure we have the measures in place to welcome the industry safely in September.”

Ben McOwen Wilson, managing director YouTube for the U.K. and Ireland and convention chair, added: “After a challenging period for the industry, the nation and our viewers—we are looking forward to welcoming RTS members back to Cambridge. With the help of a fantastic Advisory Committee, I believe we have pulled together a thought-provoking agenda with an outstanding speaker lineup from across the U.K. and international markets. In 2021, British broadcasting faces a unique array of local challenges, on top of the waves of change that are reshaping television globally. I hope that the convention will help us to challenge ourselves on how we inspire and expand to build a thriving broadcast sector that better celebrates and represents voices from every corner of today’s diverse modern Britain and is prepared for the decade ahead.”