Latest news with #AlisonLomax
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Disney+ Europe Exec on Why Free-to-Air Partners Are 'Incredibly Important for Our Business'
'Audiences: What do they want and from where?' That was the question, and the title, of a panel session at the Media & Telecoms 2025 & Beyond Conference in London on Tuesday, organized by Deloitte and Enders Analysis. Tasked with providing answers were top executives from the Walt Disney Co., YouTube, and U.K. TV giant ITV. The panelists were Alison Lomax, managing director, YouTube U.K. & Ireland, Kevin Lygo, managing director, media & entertainment at ITV, and Karl Holmes, senior vp, direct to consumer & general manager, Disney+ at the Walt Disney Co. Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Lost in Starlight' Director Han Ji-won on Blending Romance and Sci-Fi for Netflix's Breakthrough Korean Animated Feature BBC Boss Says "We Need to Protect Our National IP" and Need "Muscular Partnerships With Big U.S. Tech" Karlovy Vary Fest Sets Lineup, Competition Film From Iran to Be Unveiled Later for "Safety of its Makers" 'Across the markets we operate in Europe, the big free-to-air channels still aggregate the largest audiences, have the largest shows, and have the largest production budgets,' Holmes shared when asked if a U.S. giant like Disney has a role to play in nurturing linear channels in foreign markets. 'That's really important. We're also part of that. We operate linear channels in 28 markets across Europe, and they are an important and sustainable part of our business. How do we work with free-to-air? Because free-to-air [broadcasters] aggregate the largest audiences and have the largest production budgets, it's really important we do work with free-to-air. So we license content to free-to-air. We license content from free-to-airs. We have co-production agreements in place with most of the large free-to-air broadcasters across Europe.' He added: 'In Spain and in the Nordics, the paid VOD platforms actually sell Disney+. We're delighted that some of our best-performing original content comes from free-to-airs. We want to do more of this.' And paid streamers also offer Disney+ and its content. Concluded Holmes: 'The free-to-air partners are incredibly important for our business. We're part of the media ecosystem.' He also touted such hit Disney+ content as Shōgun and Rivals. Tuesday's conference also featured top executives from the likes of U.K. public broadcaster BBC, streaming giant Netflix, and Comcast-owned Sky and Sky Studios. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Legacy Media? UK Pubcasters Balk At Outdated Term & Say 'We've Got To Be Phoenixes Rising From The Ashes'
The phrase 'legacy media' has been tossed around a fair bit at the Creative Cities Convention (CCC) this week but senior execs at the broadcasters are less than happy about it. 'Legacy media' was raised as a synonym for the public broadcasters during yesterday's session with YouTube boss Alison Lomax in order to differentiate between the older networks and the Google-owned social platform, as chatter about the future of broadcasting dominates here in Bradford. More from Deadline No Pope Yet: Vatican Conclave Blows Black Smoke On 1st Day Of Vote For New Pontiff 'Saturday Night Live UK' Commissioner Says British Version Is A "Risky Proposition": "We Don't Have That History Of Live Comedy In The UK" Paramount UK & All3Media Bosses Debate Trump Tariff Plan Spooking The Industry: "Let's Keep Calm & See What Happens" But disgruntled mutterings about the term could immediately be heard in the crowd and at the All3Media-sponsored afterparty, as the likes of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 set out to prove they are looking to the future and are in no way, in fact, 'legacy' brands. Veteran ITV factual boss Jo Clinton-Davis laid down a marker this morning for these 'legacy' channels to think more deeply about where they premiere their content, whether it be terrestrial, BVoD or YouTube. 'We may be legacy media but f**k me we've got to be phoenixes rising from the ashes,' she said. 'We have to be resurgent and find these new places for the audience to see what's there.' Lomax was a good get for the Creative Cities. She shared the stage with Channel 4 digital execs who work across the network's YouTube strategy, and the group spoke about how barriers are breaking down between traditional TV and social platforms as older age demographics become au fait with YouTube. One of the architects of that Channel 4 strategy, CEO Alex Mahon, is on the way out, and her replacement will likely need to think just as hard about YouTube as she has. Speaking alongside a group of factual commissioners at rival networks this morning, Clinton-Davis said producers need to think first and foremost of pitching the best ideas, with less thought required around where a show lands. 'You don't have to take on board the whole business landscape,' she said, as she addressed budding producers directly. 'If you have a great idea that makes you stand out and has drama, spoiler alerts and repeatability then we can run with that. Don't get your knickers in a twist. Come with a clear proposition.' BBC daytime exec Helen Munson concurred, telling producers not to 'overthink strategy' but rather leave it to the commissioners. But Jo Street, who runs daytime, features and lifestyle commissioning for Channel 4, said that commissioners have a 'duty of care to convey strategy and help the sector understand' where shows should play. 'We have a job in lifestyle because I don't want anyone to hear that 8 p.m. [terrestrial slots] don't matter anymore because they do,' she added. 'People still watch a lot of telly on that thing in the corner of their living room at the time it is on. We have a job to convey that strategy, what it means and how it is changing.' She used the example of Married at First Sight, which has been a huge streaming hit for Channel 4 but also pulls in strong overnights. As broadcasters think more and more about how to retain young audiences, debates around the strength of linear, YouTube and where a show lands rumble on. Someone who will be thinking hard about these debates will be BBC Director General Tim Davie, who addresses the CCC later today. He may also be keen to put some distance between the notion of 'legacy media' and his own 100-year-old organization. Best of Deadline Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025 TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Everything We Know About 'Emily In Paris' Season 5 So Far
