New Edinburgh TV festival plans emerge after Manchester move
Screen Scotland is weighing options for an August TV event after the Edinburgh TV Festival confirmed its move to Greater Manchester.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
4 min read
Plans for a new Edinburgh TV festival are being considered as the city prepares to lose the long-running Edinburgh TV Festival to Greater Manchester, according to Deadline.
The existing festival is due to stage its final Edinburgh edition from August 25 before leaving Scotland for the first time in its 51-year history. Deadline reported that discussions about a replacement event began before that final edition, including a recent roundtable with local industry figures.
Why is Edinburgh considering a new TV festival?
Edinburgh is looking at a new event because the established TV Festival has decided to relocate to England, ending a five-decade link between the industry gathering and the Scottish capital. An August festival would also keep TV executives close to the Edinburgh Fringe, where producers and commissioners have often scouted stage talent for screen projects.
Screen Scotland, the public body that supports Scotland’s film and TV sector, commissioned work earlier this year on what a new festival could look like and what the existing event’s departure could mean for the Scottish screen industry and Edinburgh’s wider festival calendar, Deadline reported.
Rowan Woods, a former creative chief at the Edinburgh TV Festival, has been leading that research as an independent consultant. Deadline said Woods has now delivered recommendations and several possible routes to Screen Scotland, though the outlet said it had not seen the recommendations.
Those options were discussed last week at a Glasgow roundtable attended by around 20 local TV industry figures, according to Deadline. The choice over whether to move ahead now rests with Screen Scotland, with an announcement possible in the coming weeks and potentially before the final Edinburgh edition of the current TV Festival begins.
A Screen Scotland spokeswoman told Deadline the body had been “working with partners since the spring” to look at options in case the TV Festival board decided to “break with the event’s history and move the festival to England.”
The spokeswoman added that Screen Scotland is examining how August could still be used to help Scotland-based production companies meet key TV decision makers in Edinburgh.
If a new Edinburgh event runs in August, it could sit close on the calendar to the relocated Greater Manchester TV Festival, which Deadline said is also likely to take place that month.
What could the new Edinburgh event become?
Industry views are split. One independent production boss told Deadline that the Fringe gives Edinburgh something “different and unique” and argued that any replacement should think internationally, build around talent and offer something distinct from events such as Content London, the London TV Screenings, the Creative Cities Convention and the new Greater Manchester TV Festival.
That producer said: “The world comes here in August,” pointing to American agencies, publishers, high-profile talent and decision makers who already come to the city during festival season. Supporters of keeping a TV gathering in Edinburgh have argued that the mix of the TV Festival and the Fringe helped commissioners discover performers and writers, with names such as Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Richard Gadd cited in that debate.
Jon Thoday, who runs agency-producer Avalon, told Deadline in March that “no-one from Avalon” would go to the TV Festival in Greater Manchester if he had any say in the matter.
Others are less convinced. One Scottish industry executive told Deadline that money might be better spent on training for freelancers or production companies, suggesting a more affordable freelancers festival. Another Scotland-based indie boss questioned whether a local event could feel “small, parochial and poorly attended” beside the relocated TV Festival.
Deadline also reported that connected sources see political support in Scotland for another event. Scottish government officials told TV Festival executives and board members during the bidding process that they would support a new event if Edinburgh lost the festival, according to the outlet.
The possible TV festival comes as the Edinburgh International Film Festival expands its industry activity. Deadline reported last month that the film festival is launching a conference, with BFI chief Ben Roberts set as its first speaker.
The departing Edinburgh TV Festival leaves a large gap. Over five decades, it has drawn thousands of TV figures, hosted the annual MacTaggart lecture and welcomed major names including Shonda Rhimes and Tina Fey. The question now is whether Edinburgh tries to replace that gathering, reshape it or spend the money closer to home.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.