The Media Club · 14 November 2025 · 52 min

Should The BBC Pay Trump? (And 101 Other Questions)

With Patrick Young, James Warrington

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• BBC Governance Crisis
• BBC and Trump Dispute
• BBC Leadership Succession
• ITV Sale to Sky
• YouTube-Disney Carriage Dispute
• BBC Charter Renewal
• Media Consolidation
• TikTok Media Trends

In this episode of The Media Club, host Matt Deegan is joined by Patrick Young, former Chief Creative Officer for BBC TV, and James Warrington, media editor at The Telegraph, to discuss the resignation of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and the head of news Deborah Turness following the Panorama edit controversy and the subsequent fallout. The panel debates whether the BBC should pay Donald Trump, the governance failures that led to the resignations, and who might succeed Davie. They also cover the potential sale of ITV's broadcast arm to Sky/Comcast, a carriage dispute between YouTube and Disney affecting US football fans, and the Audio Network Media Quiz.

Key takeaways

• Tim Davie and Deborah Turness resigned from the BBC following the Panorama edit controversy.
• The panel agreed the BBC should apologise but not pay Donald Trump.
• ITV's broadcast arm is in talks to be sold to Sky/Comcast.
• YouTube and Disney are in a carriage dispute affecting US football fans.
• The BBC's governance structure is under intense scrutiny, with calls for reform.

In this episode

• Intro and plus ones0:00 · Host Matt Deegan introduces guests Patrick Young and James Warrington, who each pick a plus one.
• BBC crisis discussion2:00 · Panel discusses the BBC's handling of the Trump edit and the resignations of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness.
• ITV sale discussion20:00 · Panel discusses the potential sale of ITV's broadcast arm to Sky/Comcast.
• YouTube-Disney dispute30:00 · Panel discusses the carriage dispute between YouTube and Disney.
• Media Quiz35:00 · The Audio Network Media Quiz on TikTok-related news stories.

Notable quotes

“They shouldn't pay that man a dime.”

Patrick Young · 0:00

“I do believe it would have been his own decision. I know Tim well enough to know that if he says it's his decision you should take that at face value.”

Patrick Young · 0:00

“I think there's a risk that it falls in, it becomes something of a sort of charity case almost.”

James Warrington · 0:00

“If that's what we want to succumb to, then we're all going to be diminished.”

Patrick Young · 0:00

Discussed

Tim Davie · Deborah Turness · Robbie Gibb · BBC · ITV · Sky · YouTube · Disney

Also mentioned: Samir Shah · Gordon Rayner · Theresa Wise · Donald Trump · Michael Prescott · Charlotte Moore · Jane Turton · Alex Mahon · Trevor Phillips · James Harding · Jay Hunt · Kevin Bakhurst · Mark Thompson · Mark Byford · John Birt · Greg Dyke · Carolyn McCall · Elon Musk · David Aaronovitch · Stephen Lambert · Brendan Carr · Comcast · The Telegraph · Channel 4

Mentioned or recommended

• Panorama · tv show
• Celebrity Traitors · tv show
• The Traitors · tv show
• I'm a Celebrity · tv show
• The Crime Desk · other
• Lucy Letby series · other
• TikTok Radio · other
• British Broadcasting Challenge · other