Had a great afternoon at @Indielab Ltd GrowthLab 2025 yesterday, taking in a series of insightful panels on the evolving TV and content landscape, and what the future might look like for our industry.The day... Read more
Had a great afternoon at @Indielab Ltd GrowthLab 2025 yesterday, taking in a series of insightful panels on the evolving TV and content landscape, and what the future might look like for our industry.
The day opened with a keynote interview with Dan McGolpin, Director of BBC iPlayer & Channels. (Yes, Celebrity Traitors inevitably came up.) Dan shed light on the thinking behind making some shows available as full-series drops while releasing others weekly to create true “event television.” When a show has strong audience momentum, like The Traitors or Sally Wainwright’s Happy Valley, there’s still real value in building anticipation and driving weekly appointment viewing.
A later panel, “Packaging a Project in 2025 and Beyond,” featured Simon Gillis (See-Saw Films), Dov Freedman (@Curious Films ), Daniel Korn (Hearst Networks EMEA) and Nisha Parti (Parti Productions). They spoke candidly about increasingly risk-averse commissioners and tighter budgets, but were equally clear that there’s still plenty of room for creativity, whether that’s pairing with the right broadcaster/streamer or aligning your project with topics already in the cultural conversation.
Emily Feller, CCO of Warp Films, shared insights into the global trajectory of Adolescence, while Arabella Page Croft (Black Camel Pictures), Ben Zand (@ZANDLAND™) , Jill Kellie (@FremantleMedia UK) and Kate Beal (@Woodcut Media), chaired by Jen Topping (Business of TV), explored how to build sustainable revenue across multiple platforms. One particularly eye-opening stat: for every 1,000 YouTube views, creators earn roughly £5, underscoring why multi-platform strategies are essential. Arabella also noted that their hit drama ANNIKA began life as a radio series, proof that projects can start small, find an audience, and scale up.
Ed Kellie, Founder & EP of @ScreenDog Productions , delivered a great session on their BAFTA-winning series The Jury: Murder Trial, discussing the importance of assembling the right team, evolving a format for a second run, and navigating the blend of scripted and factual elements.
We ended the day with a panel on best-practice approaches to brand-funded content, featuring Annabelle Canwell (Disney Advertising), Bhavit Chandrani (BE Studio at ITV), Claire Prince (WPP Media), Chris Holdom (Banijay UK) and Lorna Menzies (People’s Postcode Lottery). Lorna gave a lovely shout-out to Victoria and Stuart at Hello Dolly for their work on Limitless with Ant & Dec, describing it as exactly the kind of original, distinctive concept their brand is excited to support.
Overall, it was an energising afternoon, realistic about the challenges of a rapidly changing landscape, but optimistic about the opportunities. The big takeaway? Companies can absolutely thrive, but success now means pairing creative ambition with data-driven insight and responding to what audiences genuinely want to see.
The day opened with a keynote interview with Dan McGolpin, Director of BBC iPlayer & Channels. (Yes, Celebrity Traitors inevitably came up.) Dan shed light on the thinking behind making some shows available as full-series drops while releasing others weekly to create true “event television.” When a show has strong audience momentum, like The Traitors or Sally Wainwright’s Happy Valley, there’s still real value in building anticipation and driving weekly appointment viewing.
A later panel, “Packaging a Project in 2025 and Beyond,” featured Simon Gillis (See-Saw Films), Dov Freedman (@Curious Films ), Daniel Korn (Hearst Networks EMEA) and Nisha Parti (Parti Productions). They spoke candidly about increasingly risk-averse commissioners and tighter budgets, but were equally clear that there’s still plenty of room for creativity, whether that’s pairing with the right broadcaster/streamer or aligning your project with topics already in the cultural conversation.
Emily Feller, CCO of Warp Films, shared insights into the global trajectory of Adolescence, while Arabella Page Croft (Black Camel Pictures), Ben Zand (@ZANDLAND™) , Jill Kellie (@FremantleMedia UK) and Kate Beal (@Woodcut Media), chaired by Jen Topping (Business of TV), explored how to build sustainable revenue across multiple platforms. One particularly eye-opening stat: for every 1,000 YouTube views, creators earn roughly £5, underscoring why multi-platform strategies are essential. Arabella also noted that their hit drama ANNIKA began life as a radio series, proof that projects can start small, find an audience, and scale up.
Ed Kellie, Founder & EP of @ScreenDog Productions , delivered a great session on their BAFTA-winning series The Jury: Murder Trial, discussing the importance of assembling the right team, evolving a format for a second run, and navigating the blend of scripted and factual elements.
We ended the day with a panel on best-practice approaches to brand-funded content, featuring Annabelle Canwell (Disney Advertising), Bhavit Chandrani (BE Studio at ITV), Claire Prince (WPP Media), Chris Holdom (Banijay UK) and Lorna Menzies (People’s Postcode Lottery). Lorna gave a lovely shout-out to Victoria and Stuart at Hello Dolly for their work on Limitless with Ant & Dec, describing it as exactly the kind of original, distinctive concept their brand is excited to support.
Overall, it was an energising afternoon, realistic about the challenges of a rapidly changing landscape, but optimistic about the opportunities. The big takeaway? Companies can absolutely thrive, but success now means pairing creative ambition with data-driven insight and responding to what audiences genuinely want to see.
