At MPTS, speaker after speaker, including the director of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, voiced fears for the future of the UK TV industry.
The Media Production and Technology Show (MPTS) felt like a busy show but the energy from many leading creatives and executives belied the perilous state of UK TV production.
It doesn’t seem to matter whether you are a director with a strong track record or a runner trying to catch a break, the industry’s finances appear to be at breaking point with opportunities for work leaving freelancers high and dry.
“The shows that we cut our teeth on have gone,” said James Hawes, who directed the first season of Slow Horses for AppleTV+ and has just made feature film Amateur with Remi Malek. “We have to replace it otherwise...
You are not signed in
Only registered users can read the rest of this article.
NAB 2026 technology round-up: “The biggest shifts in media are no longer theoretical”
The 2026 NAB Show has wrapped after welcoming more than 58,000 registered attendees and a host of new tools and technologies intent on shaping the future of media.
NAB 2026 review: “Live immersive production is here, and it’s extraordinary”
If there is a single takeaway from NAB 2026 it’s that the broadcast media industry is rebalancing. The centre of gravity is shifting, the customer base is diversifying, and the definition of “media” is expanding across sectors.
Volumetric humans: The next frontier of immersive broadcast storytelling
Volumetric humans are moving from experimental captures to live, broadcast-ready assets, reshaping the creative opportunities and practical challenges of immersive storytelling and established production workflows across virtual and hybrid environments.
Spatial computing: “Instead of showing people a story, you’re letting them inhabit it”
Leveraging generative AI, computer vision, and data from real environments, spatial computing has opened the door for cutting-edge systems that blend the physical and digital worlds into a new frontier of human-technology interaction.
NAB preview: Automation, reinvention and politics to steal the show
NAB 2026 looks set to bring a raft of creativity and technological innovation, yet serious political and environmental questions remain.
.jpg)
