EXCLUSIVE: Streaming executives will not face their traditional grilling at the Edinburgh TV Festival Spotlight sessions this year.
The full line-up for this year’s annual gathering of the great-and-the-good of the UK TV industry is now public but Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Spotlight sessions do not feature.
Spotlight sessions, which used to be called Controller Sessions, see UK commissioners take to the stage for an hour or so to talk upcoming content, strategy and – sometimes – take tricky questions from the audience of press and producers. They tend to also use the opportunity to unveil splashy new shows. The Spotlights have been a feature of the Edinburgh TV Fest for 50 years with British broadcasters taking part annually. As they burrowed deeper into the UK industry, streamers had begun hosting Spotlights in recent years.
Deadline is told that the streamer spotlights are on temporary hiatus and will be back next year. The streamers pointed out that they remain Edinburgh partners and are still involved with a number of sessions. Netflix, Amazon and Disney are hosting masterclasses for hit shows Adolescence, Last One Laughing UK and Rivals respectively featuring senior commissioners and talent. Netflix UK chief Anne Mensah, meanwhile, will host a Q&A for young people in the industry that will be closed to press, we understand. Last year, she used her Spotlight session to address the Baby Reindeer controversy.
This year’s Edinburgh is the festival’s 50th anniversary and has attracted some serious star power. The final day features talks from Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Charlie Brooker and Stephen Lambert. Meanwhile, Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes is being given the inaugural Edinburgh Fellowship Award.
