Legacy Media? UK Pubcasters Balk At Outdated Term & Say “We’ve Got To Be Phoenixes Rising From The Ashes”

The phrase “legacy media” has been tossed around a fair bit at the Creative Cities Convention (CCC) this week but senior execs at the broadcasters are less than happy about it.

“Legacy media” was raised as a synonym for the public broadcasters during yesterday’s session with YouTube boss Alison Lomax in order to differentiate between the older networks and the Google-owned social platform, as chatter about the future of broadcasting dominates here in Bradford.

But disgruntled mutterings about the term could immediately be heard in the crowd and at the All3Media-sponsored afterparty, as the likes of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 set out to prove they are looking to the future and are in no way, in fact, “legacy” brands.

Veteran ITV factual boss Jo Clinton-Davis laid down a marker this morning for these “legacy” channels to think more deeply about where they premiere their content, whether it be terrestrial, BVoD or YouTube.

“We may be legacy media but f**k me we’ve got to be phoenixes rising from the ashes,” she said. “We have to be resurgent and find these new places for the audience to see what’s there.”

Lomax was a good get for the Creative Cities. She shared the stage with Channel 4 digital execs who work across the network’s YouTube strategy, and the group spoke about how barriers are breaking down between traditional TV and social platforms as older age demographics become au fait with YouTube. One of the architects of that Channel 4 strategy, CEO Alex Mahon, is on the way out, and her replacement will likely need to think just as hard about YouTube as she has.

Speaking alongside a group of factual commissioners at rival networks this morning, Clinton-Davis said producers need to think first and foremost of pitching the best ideas, with less thought required around where a show lands.

“You don’t have to take on board the whole business landscape,” she said, as she addressed budding producers directly. “If you have a great idea that makes you stand out and has drama, spoiler alerts and repeatability then we can run with that. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. Come with a clear proposition.”

BBC daytime exec Helen Munson concurred, telling producers not to “overthink strategy” but rather leave it to the commissioners.

But Jo Street, who runs daytime, features and lifestyle commissioning for Channel 4, said that commissioners have a “duty of care to convey strategy and help the sector understand” where shows should play.

“We have a job in lifestyle because I don’t want anyone to hear that 8 p.m. [terrestrial slots] don’t matter anymore because they do,” she added. “People still watch a lot of telly on that thing in the corner of their living room at the time it is on. We have a job to convey that strategy, what it means and how it is changing.”

She used the example of Married at First Sight, which has been a huge streaming hit for Channel 4 but also pulls in strong overnights.

As broadcasters think more and more about how to retain young audiences, debates around the strength of linear, YouTube and where a show lands rumble on. Someone who will be thinking hard about these debates will be BBC Director General Tim Davie, who addresses the CCC later today. He may also be keen to put some distance between the notion of “legacy media” and his own 100-year-old organization.