The British television market ranks firmly among the most dynamic and modern media landscape in Europe. The reputation of the public service British Broadcasting Corporation is legendary, while the commercial channels ITV and Channel 4 have excelled both in economic and quality terms. Channel 4 has moreover shown that a dedicated, innovative programme which by licensing requirements also has to serve minority interests can still be a commercial success and at the same time foster the development of a vibrant independent television production sector. BSkyB ranks among the world’s most successful pay TV ventures, providing more than 30 analogue channels via satellite to more than six million subscribers. The platform, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, also managed a better than expected start into the digital era in late 1998. Terrestrial digital television is big in Britain, too – although the start of On Digital, the first programme multiplex launched last autumn was a bit muted.British media politics – especially after the General Election victory of the Labour Party in 1997 – play a dominant role in bringing about theses developments. The previous Conservative government already deregulated the media industry, leading to a consolidation in the ITV network. As opposed to Germany, there is no duopoly of companies virtually dominating the entire private television landscape, but a healthy competition between various large groups, including Granada Media, Pearson Television, Carlton Communications, BSkyB and United News & Media.With the vigorous promotion of „Creative Britain“, the New Labour administration adheres to a strategy which puts heavy emphasis on the importance of the media industry in the years ahead. Said media secretary Chris Smith: "The industries that depend on creative skill and intellectual property for their added value - media, design, film (...) - are the ones that will deliver the growth, the jobs and the international success of the future." Thus, the British government actively supports the export of British film and television programming and plays a leading role in the current debate on reform of the relationship of television channels and independent producers. The role of the BBC regularly features high on the agenda: Under its outgoing Director General John Birt, the BBC underwent strategic reforms which were perceived as much too radical and only focused on financial gains in journalistic quarters. “It’s like turning news into a sausage factory”, said Jeremy Paxman, the well-known BBC commentator. The BBC has been accused of paying too much attention to programme ratings, putting commercial interests before public service duties. BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the Corporation set up in 1994 contributed a healthy £75 million to the BBC’s coffers, with the ambitious goal of BBC Worldwide supplying ten per cent to the BBC’s funds in the future. ______________________________________________________________________________________
9.30 hrs - 10.00 hrs
Welcome Address: Andreas Hanitsch, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Düsseldorf ______________________________________________________________________________________
10.00 hrs - 10.45 hrs
Creative Britain
Keynote
Gerald Kaufman MP, Chairman, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee, House of Commons, London ______________________________________________________________________________________
10.45 hrs - 11.15 hrs
The British Television Market. Facts and Figures
Tim Westcott, Westcott Media, London ______________________________________________________________________________________
11.15 hrs - 11.30 hrs Coffee Break ______________________________________________________________________________________
11.30 hrs - 12.00 hrs
The Modernisation of the BBC
Patricia Hodgson, CBE, Director of Policy and Planning, British Broadcasting Corporation, London ______________________________________________________________________________________
12.00 hrs - 12.30 hrs
How modern is German Television?
Dr. Günter Struve, Head of Programming Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen, München
Martin Hoffmann, Deputy Head of Programming, SAT.1, Berlin ______________________________________________________________________________________
12.30 hrs - 14.00 hrs Lunch Break ______________________________________________________________________________________
14.00 hrs - 14.30 hrs
How to succeed in Pay-TV. The Model BSkyB
Presentation
Alan Hammill, PricewaterhouseCoopers, London ______________________________________________________________________________________
14.30 hrs - 15.00 hrs
Alliances and Strategies in the German Pay TV Market
Dieter Hahn, Managing Director, Kirch Media Gruppe KG, Ismaning ______________________________________________________________________________________
15.00 hrs - 15.30 hrs Coffee Break ______________________________________________________________________________________
15.30 hrs - 16.00 hrs
The Courage to Compete: Britain's Independent Television Producers
Shaun Williams, Chief Executive Officer, PACT, London ______________________________________________________________________________________
16.00 hrs - 17.00 hrs
The British Television Market – A Model for Germany ?
Markus Schächter, Head of Programming, ZDF, Mainz
Dr. Günter Struve, Head of Programming Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen, München
Andreas Hanitsch, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Düsseldorf
Hubertus Meyer-Burkhardt, Managing Director, Akzente Film- u. Fernsehproduktion, Hamburg
Jochen Kröhne, Managing Director, TM3, Grünwald