The Media Club · 20 June 2025 · 40 min
New BBC Chief, Cannes Lions and Netflix Goes Linear
- BBC Chief Content Officer Appointment
- Self-Service TV Advertising
- Netflix Goes Linear
- AI in Creative Industries
- John McVay Steps Down from Pact
- Cannes Lions 2025
- Visualised Podcasts
- AI-Generated News
In this episode of The Media Club, host Matt Deegan is joined by Faraz Osman, founder of TV indie Gold Wala, and Rebecca Cooney, insight editor at Broadcast, to discuss the BBC's appointment of Kate Phillips as its new chief content officer, the move towards self-service TV advertising for small businesses, and Netflix's deal with French broadcaster TF1 to stream linear channels. The panel also covers John McVay's departure from Pact, the Edinburgh TV Festival's small indie bursary, and a quiz on media stories including Jilly Cooper's comments on intimacy coordinators and an AI-generated news site. Campaign's UK editor Maisie McCabe joins from Cannes Lions to discuss AI's impact on creativity and advertising.
Key takeaways
- Kate Phillips has been appointed as the BBC's new chief content officer, a role covering TV, radio, and online, excluding news.
- UK commercial broadcasters are collaborating on a self-service advertising platform to target small and medium businesses.
- Netflix has struck a deal with French broadcaster TF1 to stream its linear channels, marking a move towards linear TV.
- John McVay is stepping down after 25 years as CEO of Pact, the UK TV trade body.
- Campaign's UK editor Maisie McCabe reported from Cannes Lions that AI is a major topic, but there is little discussion of its ethical implications.
In this episode
- Intro and Club Roles
- Kate Phillips BBC Appointment
- Self-Service TV Advertising
- Netflix Goes Linear
- Cannes Lions with Maisie McCabe
- Media Quiz
- Wrap-up and Outro
Notable quotes
“She's very good at sort of managing different people, managing sort of talent. Like really well respected, really genuinely well liked, I think internally and externally.”
“I think that the biggest, that was the one single biggest issue when it comes to the reason that TV is in such a crisis right now was that decision, which was clearly the wrong decision where we are now.”
“It's sort of it's it's going. To where the viewers are, right? But is it giving up on those viewers elsewhere? Maybe.”
“This is Netflix. They experiment and they try different things.”
“I think that the ad break, as it were, becomes of smaller companies, smaller quality. And then when it comes to kind of branded content and the big hero advertiser for that TV show, that becomes a more prized thing.”
“It's the reverse version of young people think they invented sex. Old people think they invented sex and it was forgotten.”
Discussed
Kate Phillips · BBC · Netflix
Mentioned or recommended
- Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
- The Traitors
- Gladiators
- Rivals
- Level Up
- Miss Me?
- The Media Club
