ANNUAL REPORT4020
TELEVISION
SOCIETY
2
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Normal People , BBC
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## R O Y A L T E L E V I S I O N S O C I E T Y
A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 0
## **Board of Trustees report to members**
||**Forewords from RTS Chair and CEO**|**Forewords from RTS Chair and CEO**|4|
|---|---|---|---|
|**I**|**Achievements and performance**||8|
||1|Education and skills|9|
||2|Engaging with the public|21|
||3|Promoting thought leadership|33|
||4|Awards and recognition|38|
||5|The nations and regions|42|
||6|Membership and volunteers|46|
||7|Financial support|48|
||8|Our people|50|
||9|Summary of national events|54|
||10|Centre reports|56|
|**II**|**Governance and finance**||68|
||1|Structure, governance and management|68|
||2|Objectives and activities|71|
||3|Financial review|71|
||4|Plans for future periods|72|
||5|Administrative details|73|
||**Independent auditor’s report**||74|
||**Financial statements**||78|
||Notes to the financial statements||82|
Introduction and objectives Education and skills Public engagement Thought leadership Recognising excellence Nations and regions Membership and volunteers Financial support Our people National events Centre reports Governance and finance
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## **Principal Patrons**
BBC Channel 4
ITV Sky
Introduction and objectives Education and skills
## **International Patrons**
A+E Networks International Apple TV+ Discovery Networks Facebook Kinetic Content Liberty Global
## **Major Patrons**
Accenture All3Media Amazon Video Audio Network Avid Banijay UK Boston Consulting Group BT Channel 5 Deloitte Enders Analysis Entertainment One Finecast Freeview Fremantle GB News Gravity Media IBM
## **RTS Patrons**
Autocue Digital Television Group Grass Valley Isle of Media
NBCUniversal International Netflix The Walt Disney Company Viacom International Media Networks WarnerMedia YouTube
IMG Studios ITN Korn Ferry KPMG netgem.tv NTT Data OC&C Pinewood TV Studios S4C Sargent-Disc STV Group The Journalists’ Charity The Trade Desk UKTV Vice Virgin Media YouView
Lumina Search Mission Bay PriceWaterhouseCoopers Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Public engagement Thought leadership Recognising excellence Nations and regions Membership and volunteers Financial support Our people National events Centre reports Governance and finance
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Introduction and objectives
**Foreword from the Chair**
For many of us, 2020 was incredibly challenging personally and professionally. The television industry showed remarkable ingenuity and resilience navigating the many obstacles and, with safety and wellbeing firmly top of mind, managed to get so many programmes back into production to be enjoyed by viewers on broadcast channels and platforms around the world.
Television again showed what a critical role it plays in society, providing information and entertainment to a huge and diverse audience, keeping people company where they might otherwise be isolated. And, throughout the year, the RTS played its part, helping the TV community through its support, promotion and celebration of our industry.
The Society prioritised its bursary scheme for students, who have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. By providing financial assistance and access to our online masterclasses and events, the RTS worked to support students and alumni while keeping them engaged with the wider industry, and the industry with them.
Our regional and national centres represent the RTS around the British Isles and, like the production community, have adapted well to new ways of working, holding a series of rich and stimulating virtual events that were shared nationally and internationally. Opening up the events from the RTS to new audiences is something we would like to continue with in the future.
The Board of Trustees met regularly as the pandemic unfolded to ensure that the Society was on the best possible footing, and we worked closely with Theresa Wise and her team to manage through the crisis safely and effectively.
I would like to offer my thanks to Tim Davie and Anne Mensah, who stepped down during the year, and to welcome Yasmina Hadded and Sinéad Rocks to the team.
I would also like to thank the RTS
Patrons and to welcome our new patrons NTT Data and the Journalists’ Charity. For understandable reasons, a few companies have had to pause their spending during this past year and we hope to see them back soon once circumstances improve.
The TV industry has shown remarkable resilience during this crisis and I very much hope that the RTS, through its outstanding events and networking activities, will be at the heart of the ongoing recovery.
Jane Turton, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Education and skills
Public engagement
Thought leadership Recognising excellence
Nations and regions Membership and volunteers
Financial support
Our people National events Centre reports Governance and finance
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Introduction and objectives
7; It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has been a terrible year. How3 ever, I am proud to report that, with the help of our wonderful staff, volunteers and Patrons, the Society has been able to continue its mission to promote learning, skills development, thought leadership and debate within the TV industry. C)
The Covid-19 pandemic has inevitably taken a toll on our finances. In 2020, our income fell considerably. This was mainly due to the cancellation of key commercial events, especially the IBC trade fair in Amsterdam. As a result, we had to prioritise our activities and take significant steps to mitigate the shortfall. These included: producing our publications digitally; some staff cutbacks; and taking advantage of the furlough scheme and other Government support packages. Thanks to the commitment of our stakeholders and the health of our financial
**Foreword from the Chief Executive**
reserves, we remain optimistic about the future.
Following the March lockdown, our digital team worked tirelessly with the national events team and regional centres to ensure the seamless delivery of online masterclasses, events and awards ceremonies, as well as the RTS Digital Convention in the autumn. We produced a digital edition of the Society’s monthly magazine, _Television_ , and used social media channels to keep our members and stakeholders up to date with RTS and industry developments. Our meetings, juries and committees were all able to continue working using Zoom and similar technologies.
Educational work was a major priority during 2020. RTS bursaries continued to support students and alumni, with 40 new technology and production bursaries awarded during the year. The scheme has supported more than 200 students since its inception in 2014, with 40% over this period coming from ethnic-minority backgrounds and 14% having a disability. Bursary recipients are now referred to as “bursary scholars” to reflect their talent and skills.
The RTS Futures Television Careers Fair was held in person in February, drawing a bumper crowd of 1,300, while the RTS Midlands TV Careers Fair – headlined by _Line of Duty_ creator Jed Mercurio – offered 20 hours of live-streamed sessions, masterclasses and workshops over four days in October, and attracted 1,560 unique attendees. Our students also benefited from November’s RTS ›
Education and skills
Public engagement
Thought leadership
Recognising excellence
Nations and regions Membership and volunteers Financial support
Our people National events Centre reports Governance and finance
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Introduction and objectives
› Student Masterclasses, which offered eight fascinating sessions and received 1,520 live viewings.
The Society’s events team was kept busy. Early-evening events morphed into lunchtime events, with 14 held during the year. Together with 13 RTS Futures events, these attracted a live attendance of 3,000. Highlights included: “The industry impact of Covid-19”; “Defining diversity”; “Why the nation loves property shows’’; “Can TV save the planet?”; and “In conversation with Sally Wainwright: The people’s writer”.
Autumn’s RTS Digital Convention, sponsored by YouTube, offered a series of stand-out events, including Tim Davie’s first interview as BBC Director- General, sessions with CEOs Alex Mahon, Carolyn McCall and Cécile Frot-Coutaz, and an in-conversation event on artificial intelligence with Prof Lord Darzai and Dr Alan Karthikesalingam. The Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture was replaced by two online panel discussions on the crisis in public service broadcasting.
The RTS Television Journalism Awards and some of our centre award ceremonies took place before the March
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The RTS Programme Awards
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were presented online
wa
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lockdown; subsequently, all events were held virtually. The RTS Programme Awards dinner in March had to be cancelled at short notice and was replaced with a hugely successful online event hosted by Paul Merton at Grosvenor House Hotel. The centres and head office held several online ceremonies during the year, culminating with November’s RTS Craft & Design Awards, presented by Mim Shaikh and Anne Mensah. We were
touched that our Patron, HRH Prince Charles, used the occasion to pay tribute to TV’s workforce.
The centres continued to put on an impressive array of events, although, due to a cutback in paid support, there was a small fall in the number of sessions. However, making the most of digital technology, there was a 30% increase in the average attendance for centre events in 2020, compared with the previous year.
Highlights included: an RTS Republic of Ireland event on hit drama _Normal People_ ; “Writing _The Salisbury Poisonings_ ” from the Northern Ireland Centre; and RTS East’s “Captain Tom: The inside story of a lockdown megastar”. RTS London put on an astonishing 19 events, including a session on Sky Arts’ _Portrait Artist of the Week_ , featuring a panel that included the show’s presenter, TV legend Joan Bakewell. The membership department was busy during the year. Despite the financial pressures wrought by the pandemic and the fact that some membership benefits had to be curtailed, the RTS lost only 5% of its membership, which now stands at 4,767 (compared with 5,030 at the end of 2019).
I would like to thank all our wonderful volunteers, Trustees, Patrons and staff who have helped to maintain the relevance and vibrancy of the Society in the face of the unprecedented and tragic events of 2020. It is my profound hope that life for us all will get better in 2021.
Theresa Wise, Chief Executive
Education and skills
Public engagement Thought leadership Recognising excellence Nations and regions Membership and volunteers Financial support Our people National events Centre reports Governance and finance
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Introduction and objectives
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Deadwater Fell , ITV
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## **Strategic objectives**
The RTS is an educational charity. Our objects are the advancement of public education in the practice, technology, art and science of television and allied fields and the advancement of the arts and culture, in particular by promoting and encouraging the achievement of high standards of creativity in television and allied fields.
Under charity law, an educational charity should demonstrably promote, sustain and increase individual and collective knowledge and understanding of specific areas of study, skills and expertise.
The RTS’s programme and skills awards, regional events, lectures, national events, masterclasses, educational cash bursaries and publications are designed to achieve these aims. Charity Commission guidance includes “training (including vocational training) and life-long learning” and “the development of individual capabilities, competences, skills and understanding” within this remit.
The Society conforms to Charity Commission guidance covering “research foundations and think tanks… learned societies [and] organisations that educate the public in a particular subject [employing] information media such as the internet, radio, television… seminars, conferences and lectures”.
The Society is a registered charity 313728 and was founded in 1927.
To promote and enhance the benefits of learning and skills development associated with television, educating people across all ages, cultures and capabilities, with an emphasis on young people looking to a career in television
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To engage the broader public in promoting a wider 2 understanding of the relevance and enjoyment of television, recognising the importance of the medium to society worldwide
To promote thought leadership by providing a 3 forum for discussion and research into the practice, technology, art and science of television
To promote and encourage the achievement of high standards of creativity and technology in television 4 and its allied fields
To support the Society in the nations and regions in 5 engaging with the industry, its members and the public
To promote and develop the Society’s membership and volunteer base in pursuing industry aspirations and in 6 contributing to industry learning
To ensure a sound and sustainable basis for continued operation and delivery of the Society’s objectives
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Education and skills
Public engagement
Thought leadership
Recognising excellence
Nations and regions
Membership and volunteers
Financial support
Our people
National events
Centre reports
Governance and finance
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Introduction and objectives
## **Part One**
## Achievements and performance
Education and skills Public engagement Thought leadership Recognising excellence
Nations and regions
Membership and volunteers
_The Repair Shop_ , BBC
The Board of Trustees (who are also the
directors of the Royal Television Society for the purposes of company law) present their annual directors’ report and consolidated accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies House purposes.
The Trustees’ Report highlights the ways in which the Society’s activities have provided genuine benefit to the public at large.
In 2017, a three- to five-year strategy was adopted by the Board of Trustees,
which builds on the achievements of the five-year strategic plan for growth adopted in 2012. The main thrust of this plan is to strengthen relationships with industry stakeholders to consolidate the Society’s considerable achievements over recent years in expanding its educational work, membership and public engagement.
The overall theme of nurturing successful initiatives will be supported by the right skills base in the organisation and appropriate cost management to ensure that resources are available to sustain and improve the quality of RTS activities.
Financial support
Our people
National events
Centre reports Governance and finance
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
To promote and enhance the benefits of learning and skills development associated with television, educating people across all ages, cultures and capabilities, with an emphasis on young people looking to a career in television
**Public engagement**
**Tought leadership Recognising excellence**
**Nations and regions**
Education and skills
**1 IMPROVING SOCIAL MOBILITY IN TV: RTS UNDERGRADUATE BURSARIES**
“2020 – where to even start?” to quote RTS bursary scholar Shona Fegan, who graduated during the year from Coventry University with a first-class honours degree in journalism. As 2020 began, we looked set for
another exciting and productive year.
RTS Futures TV Careers Fair 2020
Senior BBC reporter Ashley John- Baptiste **Membership** agreed to act as an ambassador for **and volunteers** our TV Production Bursary programme. Ashley was taken into care at a young **Financial** age, overcame his difficult start in life and **support** now has a thriving career at the BBC. He is a great role model for our students **Our** and has already been a huge asset to **people** our team, taking part in our programme launch, meeting and inspiring our scholars, spreading the word about the bursaries **National** and helping decide on our latest round of **events** bursary awards.
While 2020 was a trying time for everyone, our scholars faced some of the
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
greatest challenges: lectures switched to online learning; exams cancelled; and final projects completed remotely. Several of our graduates had offers of placements or internships withdrawn, and the job market collapsed as filming and production went into lockdown. For the new entrants, there were many challenges in meeting and making new friends, as socialising was restricted when it wasn’t banned altogether.
The impact of Covid-19, and the subsequent lockdown, on the mental health of young people has been devastating. The Youth Index survey carried out by the Prince’s Trust found that one in four young people felt unable to cope. “They face a disrupted education, a shrinking jobs market and isolation from their friends and loved ones and, as a result, too many are losing all hope for the future,” said Jonathan Townsend, CEO of Princes Trust UK.
At the start of lockdown, in March 2020, the bursary team made phone calls to numerous students to understand the challenges they faced and how best to support them. Some were living in very difficult circumstances, unable to return home because of elderly or sick parents, work commitments or because they were estranged from their family.
In the face of this new and uncertain environment, we felt our existing scholars were a high priority and so we provided online events to help them with professional and pastoral support.
From our calls, it was clear that the disruption experienced by our students was having an impact on their progress and wellbeing, so we knew that it was more important than ever to keep in touch with them and keep them connected with the industry.
The RTS ran a series of “Wednesday weekly webinars” in partnership with
Ali Rasoul was one of 20 students to receive the RTS bursary scholarship in 2017 and has gone on to start his own independent film-making and content creation company
**Public engagement Tought leadership Recognising excellence**
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**Introduction and objectives**
A*© RTS bursary scholars All3Media’s talent team, Anouk Berensden and Tamara Durnsford, who provided drop-in surgeries where students could talk about challenges with their courses or anxieties about getting into the = — / industry. The practical and appropriate — [Aa og ee Anee suggestions from the All3 team and other i a. seo, a[W20°-:][ 9] speakers who ran sessions for us were greatly appreciated by our students.
In total, we facilitated 24 exclusive sessions for our bursary scholars (the full list is on page 12). These ranged from winning and delivering commissions, delivered by STV’s Craig Hunter, to delving into the world of AI and cyber security, courtesy of the BBC. Many thanks to All3Media, the BBC, Candour, ITV, STV, The Trade Desk and all the bursary alumni who took time out from their busy schedules to make these events happen.
many of our students. Final-year journalism student Mahnoor Akhlaq said in her end-of-year video: “The RTS really looked after us and it kept us all connected. It set up brilliant things such as Zoom calls with organisations like ITV to make sure we were still engaged with the industry, and
so we had something to keep ourselves busy with.” (Student end-of-year video diaries can be found here.)
Our scholars particularly value the help and support provided by our volunteer mentors. They work with our TV production and journalism students to provide
The online sessions have proved to be a source of comfort and engagement for
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RTS Mentor Nima Elbagir, CNN
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## **RTS bursary virtual events 2020**
8 April All3media weekly Wednesday webinar 22 April All3media weekly Wednesday webinar 29 April All3media weekly Wednesday webinar 30 April How to break into TV: ITV talent team tips 6 May All3media weekly Wednesday webinar 14 May “A day in the life: True Vision Yorkshire’s response to coronavirus” 20 May All3media weekly Wednesday webinar 27 May Graduate session 1 :“Getting a foot in the door” with Florence Watson, script editor, _Call the Midwife,_ and Suzanne Pearson, freelance researcher/self-shooter
1 June RTS Bursary students “meet and greet” with RTS Bursary Ambassador Ashley John-Baptiste 10 June Graduate session 2: “My year at Sky News” with Dean Massey camera operator/editor, Sky News
17 June Graduate session 3: “Building a good CV – work experience/ placements” with Richard Walker, shooting researcher/data wrangler, and Paula Ugochukwu, content creator/assistant producer 18 June Dave Castell session, The Trade Desk 24 June Graduate session 4: “What’s so special about working in Scotland?” with Emma Duncan, journalist, Newsquest and Colin Macrae, freelance film-maker, Mlung Media 1 July Graduate session 5: Kyle Shiels, researcher/self-shooter and Abi Freeman, TV executive/team assistant, Angelica Films 7 July “Winning and delivering commissions” with Craig Hunter, STV Productions
8 July “ITV Studios: Getting into casting”
15 July BBC session: Tech students
21 July “Behind the scenes at STV: Regional and national news” with Steven Ladurantaye, STV Productions
- 21 October RTS technology bursary induction
- 28 October RTS TV production bursary induction 28 October RTS bursary TV quiz
- 25 November “From linear to connected TV: The impact of technology on content and vice versa” with Dave Castell, The Trade Desk
2 December “What happened next?” Session on mentoring with Adam Mann, assistant producer (bursary alumnus, graduated 2017) and James Rogan (director, producer and founder. Rogan Productions) 16 December RTS bursary Christmas catch-up
insights into the industry, give them feedback on their work, CVs or applications, and generally equip them to get a foot in the door. We currently have 45 mentors who are actively mentoring our students. We really appreciate their time and energy in supporting this scheme.
This year, new mentor recruits include Reeta Chakrabarti, Mobeen Azhar, Nima Elbagir, Ayela Butt, Pete Ogden and Rob Taylor.
We recruited 40 new bursary students to the programme in 2020. This newest cohort takes the number of bursaries
**Introduction and objectives**
Graduate session speaker Florence Watson
**Education and skills**
**Public engagement**
awarded since 2014 to more than 200. We are very grateful to STV, All3Media, **engagement** YouView and Disney for generously supporting this programme. **Tought** A Steve Hewlett Scholarship was **leadership**
A Steve Hewlett Scholarship was awarded to Khadija Uddin, who is studying journalism at Cardiff University. This bursary is paid for by the Steve Hewlett Memorial Fund, which held two online events on “British broadcasting in crisis” in place of the usual Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture.
**Recognising excellence**
**Nations and regions**
Bursary recipients are now referred to as “bursary scholars” to reflect the talent and skill of our students.
**Membership and volunteers**
For the students awarded bursaries in the autumn, we provided a welcome pack and we set up online induction sessions. Megan Fellows devised and ran an “RTS bursary television quiz”, using Zoom break-out rooms, to give the scholars a chance to get to know each other.
**Financial support**
**Our people**
**National events**
We would, of course, have preferred to
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have met our newest cohort face to face at the annual RTS Student Masterclasses and RTS Patrons’ Dinner, but the masterclasses were delivered online and the dinner unfortunately had to be cancelled.
Despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, we continue to help our students find work once they graduate. Of our original 2014 cohort, 94% are now working in television, film, journalism or communications. Some are now moving into specific roles, including script editor, assistant producer and production management assistant. Dean Massey, a camera operator/editor at Sky News, made the Society proud by winning a 2020 Bafta for his footage of the Hong Kong demonstrations.
Looking at this year’s graduates, eight out of 18 television production and journalism students have secured jobs in the industry to date. We are currently working hard to help the others to identify opportunities as the industry finds ways of continuing to create content in a difficult environment.
We very much appreciate the many people who have helped us to support our scholars this year, whether as funders, mentors, ambassadors or champions of the scheme. We would also like to thank our bursary scholars for their courage and determination in a very difficult year.
_Call the Midwife_ , BBC
**Introduction and objectives Education and skills Public engagement Tought leadership Recognising excellence Nations and regions**
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
## **2 GETTING STARTED IN TV: RTS FUTURES**
Providing practical advice to those hoping to break into and build careers in television is at the heart of many of the Society’s activities. This is particularly true of RTS Futures events, both national and regional, and careers days around the country.
## **The TV Careers Fair**
Some 1,300 people attended the RTS Futures careers fair at the Business Design Centre in London on 12 February (there were also 1,300 attendees in 2019, with 1,200 in 2018). The sponsors were IMG Studios, the National Film and Television School and Grass Valley.
The day’s five sessions included “Wonder women”, which brought together
successful female TV executives in conversation with presenter Ria Hebden. The other sessions were: “Get ready for your TV job”, run by theunitlist.com MD Jude Winstanley; “An alternative reality awaits: How to become a digital effects artist”; “Starting your career in sport TV”; and “How to get a job in continuing drama: BBC Studios needs you!”.
More than 40 broadcasters, production companies and industry bodies took stands in the exhibition hall, offering advice to those wanting to get into TV or currently working at its entry or lower levels. The fair also offered a CV clinic and all-day advice hub, “Ask me anything”, staffed by industry professionals.
Participating organisations included 4Talent, Access VFX, Barnet TV, BBC Early Careers, BBC Studios Comedy, BBC Studios Drama, Bectu, University of Bedforshire, Belfast Met Film and TV School, Calltime, Creative Access,
**Public engagement Tought leadership Recognising excellence**
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RTS Futures TV Careers Fair 2020
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
**Public engagement**
Creative England, Curve Media, Diva, Edinburgh International Television Festival, Endemol Shine UK, Envy, Goldsmiths, Grass Valley, Gravity Media, IMG Studios, ITN, ITV, ITV Studios, Mama Youth Project, the Media Trust, Milk VFX, NBCUniversal, the National Film and Television School, Presenter Promotions, RDF Television, Ruurd Fenenga/HighDef, Sara Putt Associates, Searchlight Recruitment, ScreenSkills, Sky Content Supply Chain, Sky News Archive, Studio Lambert, Timeline, Trevanna London, TriForce Creative Network, UKTV, Warner Bros International Television Production and YouView.
## **RTS Futures events**
These educational events are aimed at younger people interested in a career in television or just beginning to work in the industry. The number of people signed up for RTS Futures communications rose to 5,980 (there were 5,650 in 2019 and 4,580 in 2018).
Excluding the careers fair detailed above, 19 events were held online (there were nine in 2019 and seven in 2018). In 2019, at in-person events, ticket prices were £10 for RTS Futures subscribers and free for RTS Full Members. There was no charge for the online events. The first event of the year, a joint
_We Hunt Together_ , UKTV
session with UKTV, took place in April and featured an exclusive preview of episode 1 of the broadcaster’s new drama _We Hunt Together_ . It was followed by a Q&A with members of the cast, including Eve Myles. The following month, RTS Futures turned the spotlight on the BBC One series, _Life and Birth_ , which takes viewers inside Birmingham’s antenatal clinics, delivery suites and emergency operating theatres to witness new life coming into the world.
During the year, RTS Futures put on a number of events offering information and advice to young people trying to break into the industry. The first of these featured a panel of talent executives at the early-May event, “Ask me anything”. Later in the month, “How to get into TV – the basic basics” was led by Edi Smockum, Managing Director of Think Bigger!, which runs new-entrant schemes for Pact and Channel 4.
Three events in July offered more
**Tought leadership**
**Recognising excellence**
**Nations and regions**
**Membership and volunteers**
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
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Presenter Ade Adepitan
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**What I do for a living** Throughout the year, RTS Futures held a series of events that focused on particular roles within television. These sessions featured panels of current TV practitioners who discussed their jobs and offered tips on how to get started in specialist areas. The TV areas covered were: TV production offices; the camera department; mobile phone journalism; presenting, which featured Ade Adepitan and Anita Rani; the art department; continuing drama, with a focus on _Coronation Street_ and _Emmerdale_ ; the locations department; and motion graphics and visual effects.
## ~~$$~~
**Public engagement**
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advice for people at the very start of their RTS FUTURES EVENTS
television careers: “ITV talent manager engagement
Q&A”; “CV masterclass”; and “Getting
into broadcasting”, a joint event with Tought
Screenskills. 2,000 19 leadership
RTS Futures hosted two competitions
during the year: the Vlogstar Challenge Number of Recognising
1,500 events in
with the Media Trust and the inaugural excellence
the year
Futures 48 Film Challenge (jointly held
with RTS North East and the Border). 1,000 Nations and
The latter set aspiring film-makers the 9 regions
task of making a three-minute short in
7
just two days. 500 7
Membership
RTS Futures also cast its net wider.
and volunteers
In July, “TV’s global game” looked at
how UK programmes make their way 0
2017 2018 2019 2020 Financial
on to screens around the world in the
support
company of experts from Sony, Studio- The 2020 attendees figure is exclusively
canal and UKTV. In December, “Can online attendance
Total number of attendees
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**Membership and volunteers Financial support**
RTS Futures also cast its net wider. In July, “TV’s global game” looked at how UK programmes make their way on to screens around the world in the company of experts from Sony, Studiocanal and UKTV. In December, “Can TV save the planet?” explained how
**Our people**
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**Introduction and objectives**
programme- makers can alert audiences to the impact of climate change, as well as putting their own houses in order.
## **RTS Masterclasses**
Two days of virtual RTS Masterclasses for students and young entrants to the industry, featuring eight sessions, were held on successive days in early November. The four Student Programme sessions were joined by 1,070 people, while the Craft Skills audience totalled 1,170. The 2019 Masterclasses attracted 350 on the first day, which was devoted to programme genres (there were 438 in 2018); and 350 again (372 in 2018) for the sessions focused on craft skills. The 2019 and 2018 events were held at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in central London.
## **RTS Student Programme Masterclasses**
Four programme-makers and executives from different genres offered their insights. Documentary-maker George Amponsah’s films include _The Hard Stop_ , which examined the lives of two friends of Mark Duggan, whose shooting by police sparked riots in the UK in 2011. He revealed that
the start of his career had not been “quick and easy”. When he finally got a break in TV, he won his employers over by bringing enthusiasm to even the most menial of tasks.
Journalist Mobeen Azhar, a regular on BBC Three and whose film _Hunting for Prince’s Vault_ was a worldwide hit, said:
## **RTS MASTERCLASSES AND CAREERS EVENTS**
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3,500
3
3,000
Number of
2,500 events in
the year
2,000
1,500
3
1,000 3
3
500
0
2017 2018 2019 2020
Total number of attendees
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The 2020 attendees figure is a combination of physical and online attendance.
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RTS masterclass tutor and
documentary- maker George Amponsah
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
_All Creatures Great and Small_ , Channel 5
“There’s a lot of knocking on doors and waiting at 2:00am in car parks when it’s raining. You have to be prepared for how unglamorous it all is. You do it for the love.”
Screenwriter Lisa Holdsworth’s break came writing an episode of ITV’s _Fat Friends_ , having been employed by the series’ creator, Kay Mellor, as her PA. She has gone on to enjoy great success, writing episodes of _Call the Midwife_ and _All Creatures Great and Small_ .
The world of daytime TV may look very different to factual and drama but Emma Gormley, MD, daytime, ITV Studios, echoed the other masterclass speakers by highlighting the need for tact, tenacity and trust in building relationships with colleagues and programme contributors. Ruth Pitt (journalism), Alan Hayling (documentary), Carolyn Reynolds (drama) and Matt Pritchard (daytime and entertainment) chaired the Student Programme Masterclasses.
## **RTS Craft Skills Masterclasses**
The four sessions demonstrated television’s huge variety of creative roles. The cinematography session offered two experts from opposite ends of the shooting spectrum. Georgina Kiedrowski is frequently embedded with the cast on reality shows such as Channel 4’s _The Island with Bear Grylls_ , while cinematographer Nicola Daley works in high-end drama, and recently shot BBC Two’s _Harlots_ .
Sound supervisor Kate Hopkins, who has scooped multiple RTS, Bafta and Emmy awards, and Hong Kong-based location sound recordist Mark Roberts both specialise in natural history. For the BBC’s _Frozen Planet: On Thin Ice_ , Roberts travelled inside a moulin, a vertical shaft within an ice sheet. From the warmth and safety of the post- production studio, Hopkins mixed Roberts’ sounds.
The editing session brought together factual specialist Rahim Mastafa, who recently edited _The Real ‘Des’: The Dennis Nilsen Story_ , a companion doc to ITV’s factual drama _Des_ , and drama editor Celia Haining who has worked on _The Crown_ .
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**19 Introduction and objectives Education and skills** Finally, Russell Dodgson discussed the **3 RECOGNISING** RTS Student visual effects Framestore created for _His Dark Materials_ . The VFX supervisor, who **EXCELLENCE** Television Awards **Public** has a Craft Bafta for the BBC One drama’s **engagement** effects, is creative director of television at the VFX and animation studios. **RTS Student Television Awards** 692 entries _from_ **Tought** Andrew Sheldon (sound) and Helen Scott Emma Read (cinematography), The virtual awards ceremony on 26 June, sponsored by Motion Content Group, was 100 colleges _in_ **leadership** (editing and VFX) chaired the Student Craft Skills Masterclasses. watched live by 652 people and subse-quently by an additional 246 on YouTube. 13 RTS centres **Recognising excellence** In 2019, 364 students, tutors and industry figures attended the ceremony at the BFI 221 jurors _chose_ **Nations and RTS STUDENT TELEVISION** Southbank in London. **regions AWARDS ENTRIES** A total of 692 entries were received 290 nominees from 100 universities, colleges and **Membership** Postgraduate entries educational institutions around the UK. Total number of entries to 13 centre and **and volunteers** Undergraduate entries To exceed the 2018 number of entries one national awards contests 800 668 721 692 and almost match the figure for 2019 in the midst of a pandemic was a notable **Financial** 600 558 achievement (in 2018, there were 668 **support** entries from 90 universities; in 2019, there 400 were 721 entries from 95 institutions). **Our people** Undergraduate and Postgraduate 112 100 200 90 95 colleges awards were judged in six categories: Animation; Comedy and Entertainment; **National** 0 Drama; Factual; News; and Short Feature. **events** 2017 2018 2019 2020 Entries for the Undergraduate group were judged on a regional basis and these **Centre reports** _Tia,_ Undergraduate Short Form nominee **Governance** from the University of Central Lancashire **and fnance** ~~eZ~~
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regional winners were then put forward for national judging.
The national juries selected three nominees for each category and the winner was chosen by secret ballot. The Postgraduate nominees were
judged at a national level only. Undergraduate and Postgraduate awards were also judged in five craft skill categories: Camera work, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Writing.
A total of 23 awards were presented.
RTS Young Technologist of the Year 2020 Krystal Richards, CNN,
The winners and nominees came from a wide spread of media colleges across the UK and Ireland. Comedian and presenter Matt Richardson hosted the ceremony.
**RTS Young Technologist Award**
The 2020 award was made to CNN engineer Krystel Richards at a special online ceremony. Richards was on the BBC’s Broadcast Engineering Apprenticeship scheme, before joining WarnerMedia CNN Engineering as an associate broadcast-IT engineer.
Arran Paul was named runner-up for the award, receiving the Coffey Award for Excellence in Technology. Like Richards, he was on the BBC’s Broadcast Engineering Apprenticeship scheme.
The awards recognise potential future leaders in broadcasting and related technologies, and promote education in the science, practice, technology and art of television and its allied fields. They were established by the RTS with funds from the family of AM Beresford-Cooke, an engineer who contributed much to the development of British broadcasting technology.
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
**Public engagement**
To promote a wider understanding of the relevance and importance of the medium to society worldwide
**Tought leadership Recognising excellence**
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Engaging with fw” e f the public
**4 The RTS in the digital world**
New website content was created daily, and the RTS digital production team of two full-time staff and two interns promoted this, as well as Society events and initiatives, on social media.
Content ranged from features and interviews to daily updates of television news such as new commissions, talent searches and channel launches. The website featured interviews with
RTS award winner Guz Khan was profiled in _Television_
industry figures and award nominees, including Stephen Graham, Suranne Jones, Lucy Prebble, Aisling Bea, Russell Tovey, Youssef Kerkour, Micheal Ward, Masali Baduza, and David Nicholls.
When RTS events moved online in March, the RTS YouTube and Vimeo channels became essential platforms for presenting awards ceremonies, and both national and regional events were recorded and uploaded to the channels. Conversations with leading industry figures, panel discussions, masterclasses and awards were among these online events, including the RTS Programme
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## Attending an RTS
event in person before the first lockdown
Awards live stream, the RTS Craft & Design Awards, and the RTS Student Masterclasses, which allowed attendees to ask questions and start conversations using the live chat function.
Illustrated reports of all national and RTS Futures events were uploaded to the website the day following an event. More detailed reports continued to be published in _Television_ and were subsequently uploaded with the rest of the magazine content.
## RTS Twitter
The year’s planned RTS London Conference was adapted for an online 32,800 audience and retitled the RTS Digital followers Convention 2020. It was sponsored by YouTube, an RTS International Patron. The online sessions with industry leaders 2019: 29,600 such as Alex Mahon, Carolyn McCall and Cécile Frot-Coutaz had more than 8,000 views, with BBC Director-General Tim Davie’s session garnering over 3,600 views alone.
The Society’s website was accessed
## RTS LinkedIn
5,800
## followers
2019: 2,400
by 780,400 users in 2020 (a rise of 15% from 679,100 in 2019), which accounted for 1,691,000 page views (an increase of 3.5% from 1,634,000 in 2019). The most popular content on the site related to events and awards, particularly the RTS Programme Awards and RTS Tele vision Journalism Awards, and our education and training pages.
The site supports online payment for events booking and hosts a wide variety of educational material, as well as an archive of RTS publications.
RTS Instagram
4,600
## followers
2019: 3,100
**Introduction and objectives**
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
Unique Unique Unique views views views Top 10 webpages Top RTS website articles RTS videos by views RTS homepage 57,500 Who’s who in _Gangs of London_ 21,800 Piers Morgan Q&A: ‘The world’s Education and training pages 40,500 Nominations announced for gone nuts!’ RTS Cambridge 390,500 Awards pages 22,900 RTS Programme Awards 2020 11,800 _The Crown_ : Deconstructing Who’s who in _Gangs of London_ 21,800 Who’s who in _Versailles_ : the coronation 372,600 A guide to the French court 10,600 An evening with _Brassic_ creators Events page 16,600 Laurie Nunn on _Sex Education_ 10,000 Joe Gilgun, Danny Brocklehurst RTS Programme Awards 2020 12,200 and Danny Livingstone 49,400 Sky announces _Cobra_ 9,500 Nominations announced for Behind the scenes of _Dun Breedin’_ : RTS Programme Awards 2020 11,800 Who’s taking part in _SAS: Who Dares_ cast interviews (RTS North West) 18,000 _Wins – SU2C Celebrity Special_ ? 9,300 News and features 11,700 _TEOTFW_ ’s Jessica Barden Channel 4 commissions _Swingers_ 9,200 on her character Alyssa 17,000 Who’s who in _Versailles_ : A guide to the French court 10,600 _Race Across the World_ lands In conversation with Stephen Graham 16,200 celebrity series for BBC One 8,100 RTS Television Journalism Who is Jack Rowan? 14,300 Awards 2020 10,500 The shy genius Mackenzie Crook 7,700 Student drama masterclass Sky’s Beth Rigby: The woman with Sally Wainwright 12,700 shaking up Westminster 7,400 Jodie Comer on Villanelle in _Killing Eve_ 12,400 _Poldark_ : Anatomy of a hit 11,600
## **Social media**
The RTS digital team maintained an active social media presence, which continued to drive a significant proportion of the traffic to the Society’s website. They also live blogged from RTS national events and created multi media content to share on social media. The team live streamed the RTS Programme Awards 2020 and the RTS Craft & Design Awards 2020 on the RTS website through Vimeo, and the RTS Programme Awards nominations on the RTS’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.
The key statistics were:
- n The total number of RTS Twitter followers was 32,800 at the end of 2020 (up from 29,600 in 2019)
- n The RTS YouTube channel had
- 8,100 subscribers (a rise of 206% from 2,650 in 2019)
- n The RTS LinkedIn had 5,800 followers
- (a rise of 144% from 2,400 in 2019)
- n The RTS Instagram account had
- 4,600 followers (a rise of 48% from 3,100 in 2019)
- n Around 60% of all visits to the site were made on a mobile or tablet device.
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
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Brassic , Sky
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RTS YouTube
1,166,400 views
2019: 977,500
## **RTS online video**
The total number of video streams (or “views”) was 1,166,400, up 19% on the previous year (there were 977,500 streams in 2019). The total watch time was 15,665,000 minutes of videos on the RTS channels, up 65% from the previous year (9,471,700 minutes in 2019), and the average viewing time was 12'34" (up from 9'41" in 2019).
The most popular video was the Piers Morgan session Q&A from the RTS Cambridge Convention 2019, which
RTS YouTube
8,100 subscribers
2019: 2,650
was viewed 390,500 times, with a total watch time of 5,454,700 minutes. The second most popular video was the RTS event “Netflix’s _The Crown_ : Deconstructing the coronation”, which racked up 372,600 views with a total watch time of 6,644,500 minutes. The full session of this year’s “An evening with _Brassic_ creators Joe Gilgun, Danny Brocklehurst and David Livingstone” had 49,400 views, with a total watch time of 628,000 minutes. The website also hosted video diaries of RTS bursary scholars and films entered to the RTS Student Television Awards and the Futures 48 competition.
National and regional events were able to reach new audiences, with events such as RTS North West’s behind-the-scenes interview with the cast of _Dun Breedin’_ attracting more than 18,000 views. RTS Yorkshire’s in conversation event with Julian Norton of _The Yorkshire Vet_ was viewed over 3,100 times, and the RTS Midlands Careers Fair brought in a total of 2,400 views through online sessions and masterclasses.
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## **5 Spreading the word: publications**
The Society’s highly regarded monthly magazine, _Television_ , offers in-depth coverage of current media debates and developments, as well as focusing on the best shows and the talent that makes them. It also includes reports on Society events and award ceremonies from around the UK and Ireland.
_Television_ cast its net wide in 2020, offering features on many of the year’s most important programmes, including _Normal People, I May Destroy You, Small Axe, Adult Material_ and _Bridgerton_ . A new feature, “Comfort Classic”, offered a look back at some of the nation’s most treasured TV shows such as _Only Fools_
_and Horses, Morecambe and Wise, The Sweeney, Blackadder_ and Michael Palin’s _Pole to Pole_ .
The magazine also addressed some of the biggest issues affecting the TV industry: the future of public service broadcasting; the impact of the US streamers; the Black Lives Matter movement; TV production during the pandemic; the effects of Brexit; and lockdown viewing.
It looked at the work of key industry figures and talent, including: _Doctor Foster_ and _Life_ writer Mike Bartlett; Nick Frost of _Shaun of the Dead_ fame; ITN Chief Executive Anna Mallett; comedian Joe Lycett; ScreenSkills CEO Seetha Kumar; Jay Blades, presenter of _The Repair Shop_ ; Ade Rawcliffe, ITV’s director of diversity and inclusion; and Jeff Shell, the new CEO of NBCUniversal.
“Working Lives” looked at the jobs of
**Introduction and objectives**
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**Introduction and objectives**
behind-the-scenes talent, such as the make-up artist, stunt co-ordinator, Foley artist, military advisor and production designer.
_Television_ ’s “Our Friend” column is devoted to the world of TV outside London. During the year, guest columnists included John Whiston from Leeds, Agnes Cogan from Ireland, Graeme Thompson from the North East and Vikkie Taggart from Belfast. The column also offered an international perspective, with a piece from Guadaloupe by the executive producer of _Death in Paradise,_ Tim Key.
The TV diarists featured in _Television_ covered a huge variety of subjects and included _Newsnight_ editor Esmé Wren, head of Sky News John Ryley, screenwriter and doctor Dan Sefton, who
returned to work in the NHS during the pandemic; documentary film-maker Brian Woods, actor Warwick Davis and the President of Vice Studios, Kate Ward.
_Television_ is published 10 times a year and normally has a print run of a little under 6,000. Most copies are posted to RTS full Members and 800 copies are distributed via the larger Patron companies. Some 400 of these go directly to their senior staff; the remaining 400 are placed in news-stands in the lobby areas of nine Patron buildings across the UK for staff and visitors to read or take away.
The print version was suspended in April due to the coronavirus pandemic. For the remainder of 2020, _Television_ appeared as an online magazine, and each issue was emailed to 7,980 recipients.
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
## **6 RTS partnerships: joint events**
The Society is committed to building relationships with other bodies where such co-operation enables the RTS to increase its impact, influence and effectiveness. During the year, it jointly organised four national and many local activities with partners. Details of the local events can be found on pages 56 to 67.
**Are you staying safe and well?** Mental wellbeing in the TV industry during Covid-19 and beyond
This event, hosted by the RTS and the Film and TV Charity, heard how the industry’s freelance workforce is suffering mentally and financially during the pandemic. The panel included RTS bursary scholar Charlie McMorine who said: “For us, as graduates, we don’t know when we
will be able to make our break into
the industry.”
The Film and TV Charity’s CEO, Alex Pumfrey, said that, as well as health benefits, there was also a business case for looking after people’s mental health. “This isn’t a cost,” she insisted, highlighting research from Deloitte that found that “there is a £5 return for every £1 you invest in mental health”.
**Making a drama out of a crisis** Richard Curtis argued that environmental programming doesn’t have to be “boring, didactic or terrifying – it can be funny, interesting, educational and personal” – at an RTS event on sustainability, held with Global Action Plan and supported by Albert, Bafta’s TV and film environmental initiative. The comedy writer was speaking at an online session in early October that looked at how environmental issues can be addressed in TV comedy and drama.
RTS events and articles looked at mental health in the television industry
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Clockwise from top left: Sir Peter Bazalgette, ITV; Claire Enders, Enders Analysis; Mark Thompson, _The New York Times_ ; and Janine Gibson, _FT_
## **Steve Hewlett Scholarship events**
The Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture, in memory of the late broadcaster and journalist, is jointly organised with The Media Society. This year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was replaced by two Steve Hewlett Scholarship events in early December, hosted by the RTS and The Media Society and chaired by former BBC and ITV journalist John Stapleton, on the health of the country’s TV industry. In the first, “British broadcasting in crisis? The public service broadcasters”,
Steve Hewlett Scholarship sessions
3,000 views
ex-controller of Radio 4 Mark Damazer argued that pubic service broadcasting was “alive and kicking”. Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon added that “the public have relied on, valued and cared about public service broadcasters, perhaps more than they have done in decades” during a year dominated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Turning to the BBC and the Government’s attitude to it, the corporation’s former Director-General Greg Dyke said: “I think it’s time they started valuing it for what it does and what it is.”
At the second event, a panel of media grandees assessed how the UK’s public service broadcasters were responding to the US streamers. It featured a panel of heavy hitters: ITV Chair Sir Peter Bazalgette, ex-BBC and _The New York Times_ supremo Mark Thompson, Janine Gibson, assistant editor at the _FT_ , and analyst Claire Enders.
Bazalgette described the streamers as “frenemies” – as well as rivals, they were also “important customers for UK producers”. Thompson added that, thanks to the streamers, “money was pouring into the UK”.
The two sessions secured a cumulative viewership of over 3,000 by the year end.
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## **7 RTS early-evening and online events**
Four in-person and 14 online events, making 18 in total, were held in 2020 (there were 11 in 2019 and 10 in 2018). The Society’s national events allow members and the general public to hear and question television’s top talent and leaders on a wide range of issues.
## **In conversation with Ian Katz**
The Channel 4 director of programmes told the RTS in January how he was seeking to put clear blue water between the broadcaster and the streaming giants. Katz said that, despite the streamers’ bigger budgets, the UK broadcaster offers producers the personal touch that Netflix et al lack.
## _**Brassic**_ **screening plus Q&A**
Later that month, in advance of the second outing of _Brassic_ , Sky One’s tale of Lancashire lads on the scam, the RTS heard from writer Danny Brocklehurst, executive producer David Livingstone and actor Joe Gilgun, who brought his effervescent personality to the stage.
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RTS EARLY-EVENING
AND ONLINE EVENTS Jamie: Keep Cooking and
Carry On , Channel 4
10,000
Mats | F
18
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
Number of
events in
3,000 the year
oe gma
2,000
11
10 Making a Monster Flesh and Blood
1,000 11 screening plus Q&A screening plus Q&A
In February, the experts behind the new Later in February, the key creatives who
0 Crime+Investigation series Making a made ITV’s Flesh and Blood explained
2017 2018 2019 2020
Total number of attendees
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In February, the experts behind the new Crime+Investigation series _Making a Monster_ delved into the minds of mass murderers. Sunday Times Crime Club editor Karen Robinson interviewed the psychologists, following the premiere of the series opener about the life of Gloucester mass murderer Rose West.
Later in February, the key creatives who made ITV’s _Flesh and Blood_ explained how the prime-time programme, which boasted a stellar cast including Francesca Annis, Stephen Rea and Imelda Staunton, grew from a family drama into a fully fledged thriller.
2020 attendance figure is overwhelmingly comprised of online attendees
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**Introduction and objectives**
Sally Wainwright interview
## 6,400 views
## **In conversation with Sally Wainwright**
The Society’s first online event of the year in May saw the renowned scriptwriter discuss her career in the company of Endemol Shine UK COO Lucinda Hicks. Wainwright, who was busy writing the second series of hit BBC drama _Gentleman Jack_ , told the RTS: “My imagination doesn’t seem to click in if what I’m writing doesn’t feel real, or if it’s phoney, or if something feels a bit cheesy or sentimental.”
Their conversation was watched more than 6,400 times during the year.
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Sally Wainwright (left) in
conversation with Lucinda Hicks
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## **Industry impact of Covid-19**
Later that month, Damian Green MP, a member of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Thinkbox CEO Lindsey Clay, analyst Claire Enders and Sean McGuire, MD of consultancy Oliver & Ohlbaum, examined the economic fallout Covid-19 has had on the TV industry.
## **Why we love… property shows**
Shows that hook into viewers’ love of their homes were here to stay, reckoned the panel at the Society’s first event of a busy June. “We invest so much in where we live and how we live,” said Kirstie Allsopp, co-host of long- running Channel 4 show _Location, Location, Location_ . Nick Knowles, whose credits include BBC One’s _DIY SOS_ , added: “For the past 20 years or so, we’ve become obsessed with increasing the value of our homes. Our homes have become a commodity.”
## **Lockdown viewing**
Viewing of linear channels surged during the first lockdown, but the biggest victors were the on-demand services such as Netflix. This was the message at an RTS event that featured Justin Sampson, CEO of ratings body Barb; Digital UK CEO Jonathan Thompson; BBC head of content portfolio and audiences Rachel Shaw; and Martin Greenbank, head of advertising research and development at Channel 4.
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**Introduction and objectives**
_Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway_ being shot without a studio audience
**Education and skills**
**Public engagement Tought leadership**
## **In conversation with Fran Unsworth**
The BBC’s director of news and current affairs stressed the need for impartiality, regardless of whatever battles between the BBC and the Government might be going on behind the scenes. She was interviewed by former ITN CEO and editor-in chief Stewart Purvis.
## **Back in production**
The audience for this webinar heard that shows as different as ITV’s _Coronation Street_ , the BBC’s _Top Gear_ and Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch had all learnt how to adapt their production routines to keep the cast and crew safe in the age of Covid-19.
## **TV brand cut-through re-envisioned**
In early July, this RTS event looked at whether TV brands could still find an audience in today’s cluttered landscape. Yes, said the panel of experts, but only those broadcasters with the best content and strongest brands would prosper.
## **In conversation with James Purnell**
Later that month, the BBC’s then director of radio and education explained to journalist Miranda Sawyer how the BBC acted fast to transform its education service in lockdown.
Purnell said: “Public service broadcasting is important in normal times but, in a moment of crisis, we are reminded why we need public service media.”
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
## **Surviving Jeffrey Epstein**
In late August, the Society offered an exclusive preview of new A+E Networks UK documentary _Surviving Jeffrey Epstein_ , which told the story of the systematic abuse of under-age girls by the disgraced billionaire New York financier from those who endured it – his victims. The online audience then heard how the programme was made from executive producer Robert Friedman and co-directors Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg.
## **Defining diversity: That’s easy**
In September, an RTS panel raised some big questions about the TV sector’s inability to foster a genuinely diverse workforce. Marcus Ryder, visiting professor at the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, recommended: “Ofcom needs to define diversity and to set minimum standards for the broadcasters that it regulates.”
## **Winners, losers, own goals: Live sport in lockdown**
Later that month, some of the leading figures in sports broadcasting recalled the day in March when coronavirus brought down the curtain on live sport. They then explained how, using remote production, they were able to bring it back to our screens for an audience eager for entertainment.
## **Why we love… reality TV**
In October, a panel, chaired by a former _Celebrity Big Brother_ winner, the charismatic Rylan Clark-Neal, discussed the ingredients of a successful reality show. Richard Cowles, director of entertainment at ITV Studios, said that, to succeed, a reality series needed “twists and turns, dilemmas and relatable characters who people can get behind and love”.
Dance troupe Diversity on ITV’s _Britain’s Got Talent_
## _**Death in Paradise**_ **Q&A**
In December, the stars of the long-running BBC drama, Ralf Little, Don Warrington and Joséphine Jobert, talked about filming on the fictional Caribbean island of SaintMarie – in reality, Guadeloupe. They were joined by the show’s executive producer, Tim Key.
## **TV’s most memorable political moments**
To end the year, An RTS Christmas special event, hosted by ITN’s Tom Bradby, looked at gems of the political interview from the 1950s to the present day. An eclectic panel featured _Line of Duty_ creator Jed Mercurio, John Whittingdale MP, Minister of State for Media and Data, and former Labour advisor and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika.
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Tim Davie, Director-General, BBC
aT Sa
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Thought leadership
To promote thought leadership by providing a forum for discussion and research into the practice, technology, art and science of television
**Introduction and objectives Education and skills**
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## **8 RTS DIGITAL CONVENTION 2020**
The biennial RTS London Conference was replaced this year by the online RTS Digital Convention 2020, a series of six online events with the heads of the major UK terrestrial broadcasters, as well as sessions
with then-head of YouTube, EMEA, Cécile Frot-Coutaz. Sky Studios CEO Gary Davey and the distinguished surgeons Professor Lord Darzi and Dr Alan Kathikesalingam. The convention ran from September to the first day of December.
## **In conversation with Tim Davie**
Shortly after he was installed as the BBC’s 17th Director-General, Tim Davie
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**Introduction and objectives Education and skills**
R O Y A L T E L E V I S I O N S O C I E T Y A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 0
was the first speaker at the RTS’s Digital Convention 2020, when he was interviewed by the Society’s CEO, Theresa Wise. He covered a wide range of topics, such as diversity, impartiality, competing with the tech giants, increasing revenue from the BBC’s commercial activities, BBC pay and the corporation’s important role as a global ambassador for Britain. Davie also argued that the BBC’s policy on abolishing free licences for those over-75s who do not receive
pension credit was correct. Throughout, he stressed that the BBC needed to be valued by all licence-fee payers, regardless of where they lived in the UK or their social class.
## **In conversation with Alex Mahon**
“In a crisis, when you have to change really fast, Channel 4 is actually amazing,” Alex Mahon, told Tim Hincks, co-CEO of production company Expectation. The
## **ATTENDANCE AT RTS ANNUAL CONFERENCES**
> RTS Digital 8,000 Convention 6,000 500 400 LondonRTS RTS LondonRTS RTS 4,000 Conference Cambridge Conference Cambridge 300 Convention Convention 200 2,000 100 0 0 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Alex Mahon, CEO, Channel 4
The biennial RTS Cambridge Convention and RTS London Conference are held on alternate years
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**Introduction and objectives**
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Carolyn McCall, CEO, ITV
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broadcaster’s CEO recalled how Channel 4 responded to the March lockdown: “It was clear to us that we should say something back to Britain about what was happening. It was the exact opposite of what the SVoDs would be doing. If you were watching Netflix, it would be _Tiger King_ , which was not saying anything about Britain or the pandemic. _Tiger King_ didn’t bring people together to face an unseen enemy.”
Hincks asked whether Channel 4 could compete on scripted content with the US streamers? “You can’t compete at the same budget point... but you can definitely compete on new writers, new directors and on new and important work.” Mahon cited two upcoming dramas as examples of Channel 4’s commitment to new work: _Adult Material_ , set in the porn industry, and Russell T Davies’s latest series, _It’s a Sin_ , about the 1980s Aids pandemic.
## **In conversation with Carolyn McCall**
The ITV Chief Executive offered a robust defence of public service broadcasting during her conversation with _ITV News London_ and _Loose Women_ presenter Charlene White. McCall said that the first Covid-19 lockdown had “brought home to a lot of people” the importance of having “a trusted [TV] source, [with no] disinformation”.
She added: “A lot of the stuff that goes on air would not be made if it wasn’t for the fact that there are public service broadcasters.”
During a wide-ranging discussion, McCall also talked about the Black Lives Matter movement, BritBox, ITV’s digital strategy and its response to the coronavirus epidemic.
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**Introduction and objectives**
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## **In conversation with Professor Lord Darzi and Dr Alan Karthikesalingam**
The two distinguished surgeons discussed technology’s role in unlocking the future of healthcare. Dr Alan Karthikesalingam, a surgeon scientist and research lead at Google Health UK, said his ultimate aim was to “intervene earlier and prevent folks from getting sick before they do”.
Dr Karthikesalingam was in conversation with Professor Lord (Ara) Darzi, President of the British Science Association, and discussed a potentially useful tool, not only in the fight against coronavirus, but also to aid healthcare as a whole – artificial intelligence. “A few years ago, it was being used to do things such as play chess. The same systems are now being used to predict the protein structure of this virus,” explained Karthikesalingam.
From left: Professor Lord Darzi, Dr Alan Karthikesalingam and Cécile Frot-Coutaz, head of YouTube EMEA
## **In conversation with Cécile Frot-Coutaz**
The then head of YouTube, EMEA, interviewed by Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media, argued that broadcasters seeking young audiences would be smart to cement their ties with the video-sharing platform. Referencing data that showed an unnamed French broadcaster boosted its audience by around 6 million 18- to 24-year-olds thanks to its presence on YouTube, Frot-Coutaz said. “These young people don’t watch the service’s TV channel. Those numbers are not about to change.”
Safety, she said, “is one of our biggest priorities,” stressed Frot-Coutaz. “It’s where we’ve probably invested most heavily, in machine learning [to detect potentially harmful videos] and in people. You invest a lot [in safety] but it’s never going to be perfect. It’s super important but, if you quantify it, it’s actually a small problem. The content that you would describe as bad is less than a fraction of 1% of what’s on YouTube.”
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
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## **In conversation**
## **with Gary Davey**
The CEO of Sky Studios, outlined his approach to commissioning standout shows such as _Chernobyl, Gangs of London_ and _I Hate Suzie_ in conversation with Kirsty Wark.
He told the broadcaster and _Newsnight_ presenter that he was in his dream role at Sky Studios: as “the gamekeeper turned poacher – having been a broadcaster all my life and now being a supplier”.
Davey added: “What matters first is the story.… Then, finding the right people – the writers, producers, directors, cinematographers and [only then] on-camera talent to fit the story. It might be an old-fashioned approach, but I think it’s the one that works best.”
## **9 PUBLIC LECTURES**
In normal years, the Society organises a number of annual and periodic lectures. This year, because of the pandemic, it was not possible to hold any of these public lectures. The Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture was replaced by two Steve Hewlett Scholarship events (see page 28).
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**Introduction and objectives**
## Recognising excellence
To promote and encourage the achievement of high standards of creativity and technology in television and its allied fields
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RTS award winner Tamara Lawrance in _The Long Song_ , BBC
## **10 RTS AWARDS**
The Society’s awards are highly respected throughout the television industry.
This year, only the RTS Television Journalism Awards at the beginning of the year were held in front of a live audience. The ceremonies, which are produced
by RTS Enterprises, are well attended because of the integrity of the judging process, the refinement of award categories that take into account emerging technologies and new areas of creative expertise, and the level of professionalism with which they are mounted.
The Society is extremely grateful to the awards judges and presenters, all of whom donate their services.
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RTS award winners Emily Maitlis, BBC (above), and Christiane Amanpour, CNN International
## **RTS Television Journalism Awards 2020**
The awards were presented at the end of February at the London Hilton, Park Lane. A total of 545 people attended the ceremony, which was hosted by Sky News presenter Anna Botting and sponsored by Avid (compared with 587 people in 2019 and 560 in 2018). Nineteen awards were made.
_Newsnight_ enjoyed a fruitful night. Emily Maitlis was named Network Presenter of the Year, for the second year running, for her work on the BBC Two programme, which also won the Daily News Programme of the Year award, as well as the Scoop of the Year and Interview of the Year categories for its interview with Prince Andrew.
CNN International’s Nima Elbagir was named Television Journalist of the Year, while Journalist Christiane Amanpour won the Outstanding Contribution award.
For the third year running, Sky News was named News Channel of the Year and its sports journalist, Martha Kellner, received the Young Talent of the Year award.
Of the 274 awards jurors, 20% described their background as black, Asian or minority ethnic, and 45% were female.
## **RTS Student Television Awards 2020**
Full details are in the education and skills section on page 19.
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Live streaming the RTS Programme Awards 2020
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RTS Television Journalism Awards
246 entries 57 nominees 274 jurors
## **RTS Programme Awards 2020**
Hosted by comedian Paul Merton, the awards were presented behind closed doors in mid-March at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, in partnership with Audio Network, and streamed to nominees and viewers at home.
A total of 1,468 people watched the virtual ceremony live or on catch-up. The 2019 awards were held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, in mid-March and attracted an audience of 931 (compared with 880 in 2018).
Stephen Graham and Tamara Lawrance scooped the acting awards at the ceremony, for their performances in, respectively, the Channel 4 drama
RTS Programme Awards 2020
510 entries 81 nominees 199 jurors
## _The Virtues_ and BBC One’s _The Long_
_Song_ . The Drama Series and the Single Drama awards both went to the BBC for _Gentleman Jack_ and _The Left Behind_ , respectively. The Writer – Drama award was presented to Craig Mazin for Sky Atlantic’s _Chernobyl_ . BBC Three’s _Fleabag_ landed the Comedy award and its writer and star, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, picked up the Writer – Comedy prize.
Channel 5 was named RTS Channel of the Year, while the Judges’ Award went to independent producer Jane Featherstone. A total of 28 awards were presented at the RTS Programme Awards. Of the 199 awards jurors, 32% described their background as black, Asian or minority ethnic, and 56% were female.
RTS award winner Stephen Graham in _The Virtues_ , Channel 4
RTS Craft & Design Awards 2020
826 entries 84 nominees 122 jurors
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## **RTS Craft & Design Awards 2020**
This year, the awards were held as an online ceremony, hosted by broadcaster Mim Shaikh and the Chair of the Awards, Anne Mensah, in late November. The virtual ceremony was watched by 1,406 people by the end of 2020. In 2019, the ceremony was held at the London Hilton, Park Lane in front of an audience of 443 people (compared with 384 in 2018).
Two BBC dramas won a pair of awards each at the ceremony: Lenny Abrahamson (Director – Drama) and Suzie Lavelle (Photography – Drama and Comedy) for _Normal People_ ; and Joel
RTS award winners _I May Destroy You_ (right) and _His Dark Materials_
Collins (Production Design – Drama) and the Design – Titles category for _His Dark Materials_ . The Outstanding Achievement award was presented to casting director Nina Gold and the RTS Special Award was made to Michaela Coel for her drama _I May Destroy You_ .
In total, 30 awards were presented at the ceremony. Of the 122 awards jurors, 22% described their background as black, Asian or minority ethnic, and 43% were female.
## **RTS Fellowships**
The Society did not award any Fellowships in 2020.
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## The nations and regions
To support the Society in the nations and regions in engaging with the industry, its members and the public
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McDonald & Dodds , ITV
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## **11 RTS CENTRES**
The Society is hugely proud of the work done by its network of volunteers across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Its infrastructure of 15 centres offered an impressive variety of events and awards ceremonies, despite the constraints of the coronavirus pandemic.
All RTS national and local activities are aimed at advancing the understanding
of television and its related fields. Workshops, public events, schools outreach programmes and awards all play their part in building knowledge about television.
Some 105 of the 185 events held by the Society in 2020 (129 of 162 in 2019 and 137 of 166 in 2018) were hosted by its centres, whose activities are described on pages 56 to 67 of this report.
The centres’ Programme Awards are generally their largest and most prestigious events of the year. This year,
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**Introduction and objectives**
## **RTS CENTRES**
## **Wales**
Chair: Edward Russell
**Education and skills**
**Devon and Cornwall**
Chair: Rick Horne
## **East**
Chair: Tony Campbell
**Public engagement**
**Isle of Man**
Chair: Jon Quale
**London**
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Chair: Phil Barnes
**Midlands**
Chair: Kully Khaila
**Recognising excellence**
**North East and the Border**
Chair: Will Nicholson
## **Northern Ireland**
Chair: Fiona Campbell
**North West**
Chair: TBA
**Republic of Ireland** Douglas Chair: Agnes Cogan **Scotland** le Chair: Stephen O’Donnell Leeds **Southern** Dublin Salford Chair: Stephanie Farmer **Thames Valley** Norwich Chair: Tim Marshall Birmingham **West of England** 4[e] Cambridge Chair: Lynn Barlow
**Yorkshire** Chair: Fiona Thompson
The areas served by centres are not mutually exclusive. The cities where each centre meets most often are shown
the majority of these ceremonies were online; only those at the start of 2020 were held in person.
RTS Cymru Wales, whose awards include industry professional and student categories, attracted an audience of 175 in February to Cineworld, Cardiff (in 2019, there were 160 at the University of South Wales Atrium, Cardiff). The same month, the North East and the Border Awards, also covering professional and student categories, took place at the Newcastle Gateshead Hilton. The audience of 400 matched those of 2018 and 2019.
ITV’s _Coronation_
_Street_ celebrated
its 60th anniversary during the year
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**Introduction and objectives**
_The Yorkshire Vet_ , Channel 5
In March, the RTS East Awards, covering industry professionals and students, drew an audience of 120 to the Assembly House in Norwich (there were 130 in 2019 and 160 in 2018). The RTS Southern Awards, held shortly before lockdown, were attended by 170 people at Winchester Guildhall (compared with 240 in 2019 and 245 in 2018). The awards, for both professional and student categories, were also streamed live.
The Society’s Student Television Awards in the early months of the year were held in person. The RTS North West Student Awards in February attracted an audience of more than 250 students, lecturers, family and friends to the Lowry in Media City, Salford (a similar number to previous years). Earlier in the day, 150 students (there were 200 in 2019) attended the centre’s student conference.
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The RTS West of England Student Awards were held at The Everyman Cinema in Bristol, attracting an audience **Public** of 95 (there were 110 in 2019), RTS York- **engagement** shire’s Student Awards drew 300 attendees to Leeds College of Music (compared **Tought** with 350 in 2019) and the RTS Scotland **leadership** Student Television Awards at the Everyman Cinema in Glasgow were held in **Recognising** front of an audience of 100 (there were **excellence** 93 in 2019).
Many centres hosted events for students and young people. RTS Southern again organised its annual “Meet the professionals” event, which was attended by more than 150 students from Bournemouth, Winchester and Solent universities (in 2019, there were 230 students).
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The RTS Midlands Careers Fair returned for a third year, but this time online. Held over four days, the fair brought together people from across TV for 20 hours of live-streamed sessions. It attracted 1,560 unique attendees over the four days, compared with 900 in 2019 and 600 in 2018.
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**Education and skills**
One standout event that showed how the human spirit could triumph during the pandemic was RTS East’s virtual event, “Captain Tom: The inside story of a lockdown megastar”. _ITV News Anglia_ reporter Rebecca Haworth revealed how she broke lockdown’s good news story, the late Captain Sir Tom’s charity walk.
Centre events showcased on- and offscreen talent. RTS North West welcomed Christopher Eccleston and writer Peter Bowker to discuss their work together over the years, including BBC One drama _The A Word_ . Later in the year, Mike Bartlett’s new Manchester-filmed drama _Life_ was the subject of a panel discussion that included the writer and cast members such as Alison Steadman, Adrian Lester and Victoria Hamilton.
RTS London turned its spotlight on Sky Arts’ _Portrait Artist of the Week_ with a panel that included presenter Joan Bakewell and channel head Phil EdgarJones. The popular presenter and historian Dan Snow discussed his TV career at an RTS Southern event, while RTS West of England hosted a screening of new ITV detective drama _McDonald & Dodds_ , followed by a Q&A session with the show’s creator Robert Murphy and one of its stars, Jason Watkins.
RTS Republic of Ireland celebrated the undoubted hit of lockdown, _Normal People_ , in the company of the drama’s location recordist Niall O’Sullivan and sound mixer Steve Fanagan. RTS Yorkshire highlighted regional productions and talent with a series of eight talks, including Julian Norton and Peter Wright from hit Channel 5 series _The Yorkshire Vet_ .
Two centres, London and, in particular, Thames Valley, put on a number of technology events, reflecting the Society’s traditional focus on broadcast engineering.
_Portrait Artist of the Week_ , Sky Arts
The Society is grateful for the support its centres received from broadcasters, production companies and universities in their regions. It would also like to express its gratitude for the hard work of the centre Chairs who stepped down during the year: Judith Winnan (Cymru Wales); Michael Wilson (Isle of Man); Caren Davies (Midlands); April Chamberlain (Scotland); and Tony Orme (Thames Valley).
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Joint RTS/ITV screening and Q&A for _Flesh and Blood_
Membership & volunteers
To promote and develop the Society’s membership and volunteer base in pursuing industry aspirations and in contributing to industry learning
reduction in new people joining during the year: 363 joined, 589 fewer than in 2019. Conversely, the number leaving during 2020 was lower than the previous year: 631 in 2020, compared with 754 in 2019. This equates to a membership churn rate of 12.54% in 2020, compared with 15.54% the year before.
## **12 RTS MEMBERSHIP**
Unsurprisingly, Covid-19 had an impact on RTS membership in 2020, although this was less severe than anticipated. The Full Membership total decreased by 263 to 4,767, a drop of 5% (there were 5,030 members in 2019 and 4,849 in 2018). This decrease was primarily due to a
RTS Student Membership increased to 3,749 in 2020 (there were 3,541 in 2019 and 2,716 in 2018), which showed
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**Introduction and objectives**
continued engagement with students during what must have been a difficult time for them.
## **RTS MEMBERSHIP**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
RTS Full Members
Several new partnerships, especially
in the digital environment, including the RTS Student Members
Edinburgh TV, Wildscreen and SMPTE
2020 festivals, contributed greatly to the
5,000
benefits offered to members. Existing 5,030
4,849
online benefits such as Broadcast and 4,767
4,560
C21 subscription discounts, as well as
the benefits of a free subscription to 4,000
Television magazine, were popular with
members. 3,749
The closure of H Club London was a 3,541
loss of one of the Society’s long-standing 3,000
and valued benefits, but the continuation
of benefit partnerships with The Square 2,716
Club, The Colmore Club and Glasgow 2,258
Art Club, despite the difficulty of oper- 2,000
ating such venues during the year, was
a notable achievement. The Society
plans to add a replacement venue within
London to the benefit portfolio as soon 1,000
as circumstances permit.
0
2017 2018 2019 2020
Number of members
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## **13 RTS RECOGNITION**
The RTS is very grateful to its Royal Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales, its Vice-Presidents, the Trustees of the Society, all the RTS Committee Chairs, Centres Council Members and Officers for giving so much of their time.
## **14 RTS VOLUNTEERS**
The success of the Society’s activities is dependent on the expertise and dedication of its many volunteers who plan and deliver different aspects of its programme. These include not only the members of centre committees and national specialist committees, but awards jurors, contributors to _Television_ , event speakers, panellists and producers. Details of volunteers were recorded for insurance and health and safety purposes in the course of the year.
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## Financial support
To ensure a sound and sustainable basis for continued operation and delivery of the Society’s objectives
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= A ee
Panning for gold: The
Luminaries, - BBC
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## **15 PATRONS**
The Society was delighted to welcome two Major Patrons, NTT Data and the Journalists’ Charity. Three companies, CGTN, Red Bee Media and YMU, ended their support.
We were also grateful for the sponsorship of the RTS Television Journalism Awards by Avid, the RTS Programme Awards by Audio Network, the RTS
Student Television Awards by the Motion Content Group and the RTS Craft & Design Awards by Netflix.
IMG Studios, NFTS and Grass Valley sponsored the RTS Futures Television Careers Fair, while YouTube was the headline sponsors for the RTS Digital London Convention.
Owing to the pandemic, some Patrons
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**Education and skills**
## **16 FUNDRAISING ACTIVITiES**
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## RTS Futures TV Careers Fair 2020
froze their donations in 2020. The RTS is optimistic that they will resume their support as restrictions ease and we are keeping in close contact with them. The Society is grateful to all the Patrons and sponsors that have been able to support its mission and activities, despite the unprecedented circumstances.
The Society’s two wholly owned subsidiaries – RTS Enterprises Ltd, which organises awards events and conferences, and RTS (IBC) Ltd – saw their income reduced substantially this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. RTS Enterprises Ltd held a number of awards events and a digital conference during the year. RTS (IBC) Ltd holds an 18% interest in the IBC conference and exhibition.
## **17 IBC**
The international broadcasting technology exhibition and conference, usually held in Amsterdam in September, was cancelled this year due to concerns for exhibitor and attendee safety, and its ability to deliver an event of the quality expected of IBC.
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
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The RTS Board of Trustees sets the Society’s strategy and is legally responsible for the charity’s management and performance
Attendance at Trustee meetings was as follows: Jane Turton (Chair), 7/7; Lynn Barlow, 7/7; Julian Bellamy, 6/7; Tim Davie, 3/6; Mike Green, 7/7; Yasmina Hadded, 1/1; David Lowen, 7/7; Anne Mensah, 2/6; Jane Millichip, 7/7; Simon Pitts, 7/7; Sarah Rose, 6/7; and Rob Woodward, 4/7.
## **18 GOVERNANCE**
The Board of Trustees met seven times in the course of the year (in February, March, May (two interim meetings), June, September (another interim meeting) and November). The Trustees have complied with their obligation to have regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. The guidance is the benchmark against which the Society’s activities are measured.
The Trustees receive no remuneration for their work on behalf of the Society.
## **Governance review**
At its AGM in June 2020, the Society approved a new set of Articles of Association. These were formally approved by
Conference reception (RTS London Conference 2018)
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**Introduction and objectives**
the Charity Commission on 17 July 2020. They are available for inspection at the Charity Commission and can be viewed on the Society’s website.
During 2020, a further internal review of the Society’s governance structure was carried out by the Honorary Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer and completed, with the approval of the Board of Trustees, in November 2020. The intention was to map the Society’s documentation, processes and structure using the voluntary Code of Charity Governance as a benchmark and revise where appropriate.
HRH The Prince of Wales, the Society’s Royal Patron delivered a video message to the RTS Craft & Design Awards 2020
The Honorary Treasurer conducted a survey of trustees’ opinions and recommendations on the working of the Board. At its meeting in June 2020, the Board of Trustees agreed that its governance was fit for purpose but considered there would be merit in instituting some further measures.
Improvements agreed included a review of Trustee and Chair performance before reappointment, new role descriptions for Trustees and Officers, updated terms of reference for committees, further financial controls relating to regional centres following system changes, a revised scheme of delegation, a revised schedule of matters reserved for the board, improved induction for new Trustees, and training options for Trustees.
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**Introduction and objectives**
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## **RTS CHIEF EXECUTIVE**
## **CHAIR OF RTS TRUSTEES**
**VICE-CHAIR OF RTS TRUSTEES**
## **RTS HONORARY SECRETARY**
## **RTS HONORARY TREASURER**
## **RTS TRUSTEE**
**Lynn Barlow** is Chair of RTS West of England and assistant vice-chancellor, creative and cultural industries engagement at the University
**Theresa Wise** has been **Jane Turton** has been CEO **Simon Pitts** has been CEO **David Lowen** is responsible **Mike Green** is a Fellow of RTS West of England and CEO of the Royal Television of All3Media since 2015. of STV since 2018. Previously, for the Society’s governance, the Institute of Chartered assistant vice-chancellor, Society since 2013. Before joining All3Media in he was Managing Director honours and awards. He is Accountants in England and creative and cultural industries Previously she ran her own 2008 she was ITV’s director of online, pay TV, interactive director of RTS (IBC) Ltd and Wales, and a former deputy engagement at the University media consultancy and of commercial and business and technology at ITV. RTS Enterprises Ltd, and group finance director of ITV. of the West of England. worked for the Walt Disney affairs. a former ITV programmeCompany. maker and executive. **RTS TRUSTEE RTS TRUSTEE RTS TRUSTEE RTS TRUSTEE RTS TRUSTEE RTS TRUSTEE Julian Bellamy** has been **Yasmina Hadded** has been **Jane Millichip** has been **Sinéad Rocks** is Channel 4’s **Sarah Rose** is chief **Rob Woodward** is a media, Managing Director of ae director of business affairs, chief content officer of Sky Achaa first Managing Director for operating and commercial technology and communiITV Studios since 2016. original series, at Netflix since Studios since July 2020. nations and regions and is officer, UK at ViacomCBS cation specialist, and is Chair He is a former head of 2019 and was previously Previously, she was MD the lead executive at the Networks International. of the Met Office. He was programming at Channel 4 head of business affairs at of Sky’s production and broadcaster’s new National She previously worked at CEO of STV until 2017 and and controller of BBC Three. Lookout Point. distribution arm, Sky Vision. HQ in Leeds. Channel 4 and ITV. previously at Channel 4.
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## **Who’s who at the RTS**
## **Royal Patron**
HRH The Prince of Wales
**Vice-Presidents**
David Abraham Dawn Airey Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE FRS Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE Mike Darcey Greg Dyke Lord Hall of Birkenhead Lorraine Heggessey Armando Iannucci OBE Ian Jones Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon OBE David Lynn Sir Trevor McDonald OBE Ken MacQuarrie Gavin Patterson Trevor Phillips OBE Stewart Purvis CBE Sir Howard Stringer
## **Officers**
Jane Turton, Chair of RTS Trustees Simon Pitts, Vice-Chair of RTS Trustees David Lowen, Honorary Secretary Mike Green, Honorary Treasurer
## **Board of Trustees**
Jane Turton (Chair) Lynn Barlow Julian Bellamy Mike Green Yasmina Hadded David Lowen Jane Millichip Simon Pitts Sinéad Rocks Sarah Rose Rob Woodward
## **Centres Council**
Lynn Barlow, Chair, West of England Centre Phil Barnes, Chair, London Centre Fiona Campbell, Chair, Northern Ireland Centre Tony Campbell, Chair, East Centre Agnes Cogan, Chair, Republic of Ireland Centre Stephanie Farmer, Chair, Southern Centre Rick Horne, Chair, Devon and Cornwall Centre Kully Khaila, Chair, Midlands Centre Tim Marshall, Chair, Thames Valley Centre Will Nicholson, Chair, North East and the Border Centre
Stephen O’Donnell, Chair ,Scotland Centre Jon Quale, Chair, Isle of Man Centre Edward Russell, Chair, Wales Centre Fiona Thompson, Chair, Yorkshire Centre (North West Centre Chair TBA)
## **Committee Chairs**
**Archives** Dale Grayson
**Awards Policy and Fellowship** David Lowen
**Craft & Design Awards** Anne Mensah
**Diversity** Angela Ferreira
**Early Evening Events** Heather Jones
## **Education**
Graeme Thompson
## **Programme Awards**
Kenton Allen
## **RTS Futures**
Alex Wootten
## **RTS Technology Bursaries**
Simon Pitts
## **Student Television Awards**
Siobhan Greene
## **Television Journalism Awards**
Simon Bucks
**Introduction and objectives**
## **Head Office**
**Education and skills**
**Chief Executive** Theresa Wise **Finance Director** Andrea Elsworth **Financial Controller** Zahid Javed **Public Finance Manager** Angela Sacre **engagement Finance Assistant** Liston Rodrigues **Corporate Development Manager** Kasia Moleda **Tought RTS Bursaries Administrator** Anne Dawson **leadership Bursary and Centres Liaison Co-ordinator** Megan Fellows
**Public engagement**
**Recognising excellence**
## **Events**
**Events Manager** Jo Sampson **Senior Events Co-ordinator** Jamie O’Neill **Events Co-ordinator** Kirsty Whittaker
**Nations and regions**
## **Membership**
**Membership Head of Membership** Lewis Butcher **and volunteers Membership Co-ordinator** Ruqiya Ali
**Financial support**
## **Publications**
**Editor,** _**Television**_ Steve Clarke **News Editor,** _**Television**_ Matthew Bell **Production and Design,** _**Television**_ Gordon Jamieson **Editorial Adviser** Sue Robertson
**Our people**
**National events**
## **Digital Team**
**Digital Editor** Kate Holman **events Digital Content Producer** Imani Cottrell **Online Content Producer** Harry Bennett **Centre Online Content Producer** Caitlin Danaher **reports Governance and fnance**
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## National events
The RTS organised 80 national public events in 2020 and a further 105 through its local centres
## **January**
- 21 January RTS Early-evening event: In conversation with Ian Katz
- 30 January RTS Early-evening event: _Brassic_ screening plus Q&A
## **February**
- 4 February RTS Early-evening event: _Making a Monster_ screening plus Q&A 12 February RTS Futures: Television Careers Fair 2020 20 February _Flesh and Blood_ screening plus Q&A
## **April**
- 8 April RTS Bursary event: All3media Wednesday webinar 22 April RTS Bursary event: All3media Wednesday webinar 29 April RTS Bursary event: All3media Wednesday webinar 30 April RTS Bursary event: How to break into TV: ITV talent team tips
- 30 April RTS Futures: _We Hunt Together_ screening plus Q&A (joint event with UKTV)
## **May**
- 5 May RTS Futures: Ask me anything
- 6 May RTS Bursary event: All3media Wednesday webinar
- 11 May RTS Futures: How to get into TV: The basic basics
- 13 May RTS Futures: Working in a television production office workshop
- 14 May RTS Bursary event: A day in the life: True Vision Yorkshire’s response to coronavirus
**----- Start of picture text -----**
RTS speaker:
Ian Katz, Channel 4
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- 18 May RTS event: In conversation with Sally Wainwright
- 20 May RTS Bursary event: All3media Wednesday webinar 21 May RTS event: Industry Impact of Covid-19
- 21 May RTS Futures: Making of _Life and Birth_ masterclass
- 26 May RTS Futures: Getting started in the TV camera department
- 27 May RTS Bursary event: Graduate session 1: Getting a foot in the door
## **June**
- 1 June RTS Bursary event: RTS Bursary students meet and greet RTS Bursary Ambassador Ashley John Baptiste
- 2 June RTS event: Why we love… property shows
- 4 June RTS event: Lockdown viewing
- 4 June RTS Futures: An introduction to mobile phone journalism 9 June RTS Futures: The life of a presenter
- 9 June Joint event: Mental wellbeing in the TV industry during Covid-19 and beyond (with The Film and TV Charity)
- 10 June RTS Bursary event: Graduate session 2: My year at Sky News
- 11 June RTS event: In conversation with Fran Unsworth
- 16 June RTS Futures: Working in the TV art department
- 17 June RTS event: Back in production
- 17 June RTS Bursary event: Graduate session 3: Building a good CV 18 June RTS Bursary event: Dave Castell, The Trade Desk
- 24 June RTS Bursary event: Graduate session 4: What’s so special about working in Scotland?
**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills Public engagement**
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RTS Student Television Awards winner, _Margin of Terror_
## **July**
- 1 July RTS Bursary event: Graduate session 5: Kyle Shiels and Abi Freeman 2 July RTS Futures: TV’s global game
- 7 July RTS Bursary event: Winning and delivering commissions, Craig Hunter, STV Productions
- 8 July RTS Bursary event: ITV Studios: Getting into casting
- 8 July RTS Futures: ITV talent manager Q&A
- 9 July RTS event: TV brand cut-through re-envisioned
- 15 July RTS Bursary event: BBC session: Tech students
- 21 July RTS Bursary event: Behind the scenes at STV: Regional and national news, Steven Ladurantaye
- 22 July RTS Futures: CV masterclass
- 23 July RTS Futures: Vlogstar challenge online workshop (joint event with Media Trust)
- 30 July RTS event: In conversation with James Purnell
- 30 July RTS Futures: Getting into broadcasting (joint event with Screenskills)
## **August**
20 August RTS event: _Surviving Jeffrey Epstein_
## **September**
- 17 September RTS Digital Conference 2020: In conversation with Tim Davie 22 September RTS event: Defining diversity: That’s easy
- 24 September RTS event: Winners, losers, own goals: Live sport in lockdown 26 September RTS Digital Conference 2020: In conversation with Alex Mahon 28 September RTS Futures: Working in continuing drama: _Coronation Street_ and _Emmerdale_
## **October**
1 October Joint event: Making a drama out of a crisis (with Global Action Plan) 9 October RTS Futures: Futures 48 film challenge (joint event with NETB) 13 October RTS Digital Conference 2020: In conversation with Carolyn McCall 19 October RTS event: Why we love… reality TV
19 October RTS Digital Conference 2020: In conversation with
Professor Lord Darzi and Dr Alan Karthikesalingam
21 October RTS Futures: Getting started in the TV locations department 21 October RTS Bursary event: RTS technology bursary induction 28 October RTS Bursary event: RTS TV production bursary induction 28 October RTS Bursary event: RTS bursary TV quiz
## **November**
- 4 November RTS Student Programme Masterclass: Documentary 4 November RTS Craft Skills Masterclass: Cinematography 4 November RTS Craft Skills Masterclass: Sound
- 4 November RTS Craft Skills Masterclass: Editing
5 November RTS Craft Skills Masterclass: VFX
- 5 November RTS Student Programme Masterclass: Journalism
- 5 November RTS Student Programme Masterclass: Drama
- 5 November RTS Student Programme Masterclass: Daytime and
Entertainment
- 17 November RTS Digital Conference 2020: In conversation with Cécile Frot-Coutaz
- 25 November RTS Bursary event: From linear to connected TV, Dave Castell, The Trade Desk
## **December**
- 1 December RTS Digital Conference 2020: In Conversation with Gary Davey
- 2 December RTS Bursary event: What happened next? Mentoring
- 3 December RTS Futures: Can TV save the planet?
- 3 December RTS event: _Death in Paradise_ Q&A
- 7 December Joint event: Steve Hewlett Scholarship event: Broadcasting in crisis part one (with the Media Society)
- 8 December Joint event: Steve Hewlett Scholarship event: Broadcasting in crisis part two (with the Media Society)
- 12 December RTS Futures: Kick-start your career in motion graphics and VFX
- 16 December RTS event: RTS Christmas special: TV’s most memorable
- political moments
- 16 December RTS Bursary event: RTS bursary Christmas catch-up
**Introduction and objectives**
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**Introduction and objectives**
_Sex Education,_ Netflix
## Centre reports
The RTS in the nations and regions
When the pandemic put an end to live events, the centre decided to focus on a few, large online events and offer a voice to the industry. The first, “Broadcasting in Wales: Lockdown and beyond”, took place in June and featured Rhodri Talfan Davies from BBC Wales, Phil Henfrey (ITV Wales) and Owen Evans (S4C).
## **CYMRU WALES**
In 2020, the centre held six events, three in person and three online. In both 2018 and 2019, it put on 10 events.
The year began with an advance screening of the first episode of series 2 of Netflix drama _Sex Education_ , which is filmed in Wales, followed by a Q&A with the director, producer and other crew. The event was jointly held with Bafta Cymru.
The centre was honoured when S4C asked it to host a discussion with its Chair, Rhodri Williams, which was streamed from the broadcaster’s Llanelli studios in October. The following month, the centre interviewed Welsh presenter Owain Wyn Evans about his career, which has taken him from being a children’s presenter on S4C to giving the weather reports for _BBC North West Tonight_ .
The centre held its RTS Cymru Awards, which included industry categories, as well as the long-running student awards, in February at Cineworld, Cardiff. TV presenters Sean Fletcher and Ruth Wignall hosted the ceremony, which attracted an audience of 175 (in 2019, there were 160 at the University of South Wales Atrium in Cardiff).
Judith Winnan stepped down after
three very successful years as Chair of the centre in March.
Edward Russell, Chair
**Education and skills**
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**Introduction and objectives**
## **DEVON AND CORNWALL**
The centre held two events during the year, both online, compared with four in both 2018 and 2019.
With some careful planning and effort from Neil Edwards and his team, we were able to put on our Student Television Awards, which were celebrating their 25th year, online in May. Hosted by the Plymouth-based brothers Pasha and Uzzi from E4’s _Tattoo Fixers_ , the awards saw Falmouth University win four of the five main prizes.
Another online session quickly followed, a Q&A on the impact of Covid-19 and the lockdown on the region’s BBC newsroom, and the post-production and camera departments of Twofour. Hosted by Simon Willis, with Daisy Griffith from BBC South West’s _Spotlight_ and Rick Horne, head of facilities at Plymouth-based Twofour, it was one of the first RTS Zoom events. Rick Horne, Chair
Captain Sir Tom Moore
## **EAST**
During 2020, the centre held five events, four physical and one online (there were eight in 2019 and five in 2018). The first, in January, was a well- attended networking event in Norwich, followed, the next month, by a fascinating interview with Chloe Thomas, director of _Victoria_ and _Harlots_ , in Cambridge.
In March, a week before lockdown, the centre held its RTS East Awards, covering professional and student categories. The ceremony, which attracted an audience of 120 (there were 130 in 2019 and 160 in 2018), was hosted by Becky Jago, co-presenter of _ITV News Anglia_ , and Stewart White, who presents regional BBC news programme _Look East_ , at the Assembly House in Norwich.
At the centre’s first virtual event in November, “Captain Tom: The inside story of a lockdown megastar”, ITV News Anglia reporter Rebecca Haworth revealed how she broke the good-news story of the first lockdown, Captain Tom’s charity walk.
Tony Campbell, Chair
**Education and skills**
## **ISLE OF MAN**
**Public engagement**
The centre ran three events, one physical and two online, during 2020, the same number as in its first full year of opera- **Tought** tion, 2019. **leadership**
In January, the centre had an RTS stand at the Isle of Man Careers Exhibition in Ballakermeen High School, Douglas, and talked to more than 40 students interested in working in television, both in front and behind the camera. Sam Bowers from RTS Futures, and filmmaker and lecturer Athena Mendis also discussed the opportunities available to young people in the media industry. ›
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Public engagement Tought leadership**
**Recognising excellence**
## Prominent lockdown TV: _Tiger King_ , Netflix
**Education and skills**
## **LONDON**
› RTS Isle of Man’s maiden Zoom
event in early May, “The new news: How journalists are covering Covid in the Isle of Man”, brought together three of the island’s leading journalists: the BBC’s Alex Bell; Josh Stokes from ITV; and PMC TV correspondent Paul Moulton. All three had attended the Manx Government’s coronavirus briefings.
In October, the centre put on “ITV News and the Isle of Man”, which again featured Stokes, this time in the company of Granada’s head of news, Lucy West. Moulton, who is also secretary of RTS Isle of Man, chaired the event.
I would like to thank the committee and outgoing Chair Michael Wilson for their work and support this year. Jon Quayle, Chair
7 The year saw the centre move much of its programme of events online and launch ae the RTS London Podcast. In total, it hosted ~~a~~
The year saw the centre move much of its programme of events online and launch the RTS London Podcast. In total, it hosted 17 events, as well as helping (with RTS Yorkshire) to organise two outings for the RTS Nations and Regions Quiz. Four of these 19 events were held in person, the remainder were online. The centre held 13 events in 2019 and 14 in 2018.
It partnered with a variety of organisations throughout the year, including Deloitte, The Children’s Media Foundation, the RTS Archives Group, Access:VFX, the DTG, the IET, IBC and the DPP. Online reach for the events was in excess of 12,000 streams — 11,500 views on YouTube and 875 downloads of the podcast.
short series of events held at Deloitte: “The future of TV” looked at how technology and audience behaviour might shape TV over the coming decade, while “The future of the BBC”, chaired by Roger Bolton, looked at the challenges facing the corporation. “Protecting our TV heritage” in March was the centre’s final in-person event of the year.
The year started conventionally enough with “Are the kids alright? The future of children’s TV” at the University of Westminster.
The next two events were part of a
The Student Television Awards were
live-streamed in the week before the first lockdown. May’s “Standing out while staying in” was a joint panel session with Access:VFX. In the same month, “Lockdown TV: What people watch”, with contributions from Barb and ThinkBox, was the centre’s first pre-recorded session.
In early June, the centre joined with the DTG for “Lockdown TV tech”. The following week, it put the spotlight on Sky Arts’ ›
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**Introduction and objectives**
_Flirty Dancing_ , Channel 4
› _Portrait Artist of the Week_ , with a panel that included presenter Joan Bakewell and channel head Phil Edgar-Jones. At the end of the month, the centre celebrated the 60th anniversary of the opening of Television Centre with a programme combining rare archive footage, recollections from Philip Schofield and cameraman Roger Bunce, and the participation of the BBC’s head of history, Robert Seatter. It was the year’s most popular event for the centre, with more than 3,000 views to date.
In July, “It’s all about the sound” featured a pre-recorded interview with the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the RTS Craft & Design Awards, sound supervisor Michael McCarthy. At a live YouTube session in August, “AI in lockdown: An indie’s innovation”, Arrow Media International revealed how it had been using artificial intelligence to source footage for shows.
September saw “And they say engineers are boring!”, a guided online tour through the history of broadcast TV tech
from the inimitable Norman Green. In October, the centre looked at the IBC’s Accelerator programme.
“How to survive in streaming”, in October, included panellists from London, Germany and the US, and was followed by “2020 Vision: The view from the DPP” a month later. The programme of events for the year concluded with a session on Channel 4 show _Flirty Dancing_ , hosted by super-fan Gaby Roslin. Phil Barnes, Chair
## **MIDLANDS**
During the year, the centre put on six events, one physical and five online (there were 14 in 2019 and 18 in 2018).
In March, the centre held an “Anatomy of a hit” event in Birmingham, focusing on one of the country’s biggest shows, _I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!_ . Hosted by Heart’s Kevin Hughes, the panel included Richard Cowles, director of entertainment at ITV Studios.
Later that month, the centre’s Student Awards moved online and Sir Lenny Henry again put his name to a special award.
In June, “Emerging out of lockdown and beyond” featured BBC Daytime commissioner Lindsay Bradbury, Optomen TV’s Sarah Eglin and production executive Sabrino Ferro talking about production during lockdown. ›
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**Introduction and objectives**
› At the end of July, the centre put on a _Dancing on Ice_ masterclass on Zoom. Hosted by Richie Anderson, the event offered an insider’s view of working on the hit entertainment show.
In September and December, the centre took part in the RTS Nations and Regions Quiz, offering a round of questions on the Midlands.
The annual Careers Fair returned for a third year in October, but this time online. Held over four days and sponsored by the National Film and Television School, the fair brought together people from across the world of TV for 20 hours of live-streamed sessions, masterclasses and workshops. Talent who took part included _Line of Duty_ creator Jed Mercurio, BBC Sport director Barbara Slater and BBC cricket presenter Isa Guha. The centre also visited the set of BBC One daytime drama _Doctors_ in Birmingham. The fair attracted 1,560 unique attendees over the four days, compared with 900 in 2019 and 600 in 2018.
In November, the Midlands TV Awards were broadcast live from BBC Birmingham. The ceremony was hosted by TV presenter Tim Warwood, _Strictly Come_
_Dancing_ ’s Alan Dedicoat provided the voiceover and Steven Knight gave the welcome. The Baird Medal was presented to _Coronation Street_ ’s Sue Nicholls, and the BBC, Channel 4, Create Central and Film Birmingham supported the awards. I stepped down as Chair in December and left the committee. What an
experience it has been. I have had the _Dancing_ privilege of working with some phenom- _on Ice,_ enal people and I thank each and every ITV one of you for your support and contribution to the region via the RTS. Kully Khaila has taken over as Chair and I wish him all the success in the role. Caren Davies, Chair
## **NORTHERN IRELAND**
During the year, the centre held one physical and five online events, making six in total. The centre organised 11 events and one visit in 2019, and there were 12 events and 1 visit in 2018.
The centre kicked off 2020 with a networking event in partnership with Media Therapy, attended by more than 90 people from across the sector, including guest appearances by Jed Mercurio and Vicky McClure, respectively the creator and star of _Line of Duty_ .
In July, the centre held a virtual Student Awards on Facebook Live, hosted by UTV’s Eden Wilson. Later the same month, the writers of the BBC’s hit drama _The Salisbury Poisonings_ , discussed the writing process and how their experience in the newsroom shaped the script.
An RTS Futures Northern Ireland event in September, “Hit TV programme to binge-worthy podcast”, saw Lily Ames from Chalk and Blade discuss the BBC Sounds podcast series _Obsessed with…._ The centre participated in the RTS ›
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills Public engagement**
› Nations and Regions Quiz in Septem ber and provided a Northern Ireland questions segment.
In October, a workshop, “Returning to work post-lockdown”, featured David Mitchell and Abbie Long from MMW Legal, who answered questions on how best to manage returning to work. This was a closed event.
Later the same month, “Digital Cities Virtual: The key to TV development” saw Waddell Media’s Jannine Waddell and RTS Futures NI discuss how BBC & RTÉ’s _Gardening Together with Diarmuid Gavin_ was turned from an idea into a hit.
Patrick Kielty hosted the online ceremony of the RTS NI Programme Awards in November, which received a record 96 submissions. It featured a thank you speech from the Brian Waddell Lifetime Achievement recipient, actor Michelle Fairley. Vikkie Taggart, Chair
## **NORTH EAST AND THE BORDER**
During the year, the centre held five events, three in person and two online. It put on six events in 2019 and 12 in 2018.
The centre’s year began in February with a digital imaging masterclass at the Tyneside cinema. Presented by Caden Elliott, the event covered the history, roles and expectations of a digital imaging technician. Later that month, the centre’s Annual Awards ceremony took place at the Newcastle Gateshead Hilton, hosted by local comedian and writer Jason Cook, with the assistance of the voice of _Strictly Come Dancing_ , Alan Dedicoat. An audience of 400 (the same number as in 2018 and 2019) saw long-running CBBC drama _The Dumping Ground_ pip ITV drama _Vera_ at the post to win the coveted Drama
award. The RTS centre also presented student awards at the ceremony.
In October, the centre hosted, with RTS Futures, the “Futures 48 Film Challenge”, which set aspiring film-makers the task of making a three-minute short in two days. Centre committee member Daymon Britton was the driving force behind this event.
Finally, in December, the centre hosted its annual quiz. Will Nicholson, Chair
## _The Dumping Ground_ , BBC
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**Introduction and objectives**
## **NORTH WEST**
During 2020, the centre held four physical and five online events, making nine in total. In 2019, it put on 14 events (there were 12 in 2018).
The year started with a January masterclass from Frank Spotnitz, the writer and executive producer of _The X-Files._
In February, the centre held another successful RTS North West Student Awards, this year hosted by BBC Sport presenter Sally Nugent. More than 250 students (a similar number to previous years), lecturers, family and friends attended the event at The Lowry in Media City, Salford. Earlier in the day, 150 students (there were 200 in 2019) attended the RTS North West Student Conference.
The centre’s final in-person event of the year was in early March when actor Christopher Eccleston and writer Peter Bowker discussed their work together over the years, including BBC One drama _The A Word_ .
While the Covid-19 restrictions led to the cancellation of some events, such as the RTS North West Annual Big Quiz
and the annual TV awards in November, a number were held online, mainly through the RTS North West Facebook page.
In April, the centre hosted a live Q&A with acclaimed TV writer Russell T Davies and a session on lockdown drama _Dun Breedin’_ with creator and star Julie Graham, actors Angela Griffin and Denise Welch, and director Robin Sheppard.
In June, _BBC Breakfast_ ’s Naga Munchetty spoke to Salford-born actors Christopher Eccleston and Pooky Quesnel, who starred in the _The A Word,_ and its writer, Peter Bowker.
Mike Bartlett’s new Manchesterfilmed drama _Life_ was the subject of a panel discussion in September. Bartlett appeared with cast members Alison Steadman, Adrian Lester, Victoria Hamilton Calvin Demba and Melissa Johns.
In November, Don Warrington, Sally Lindsay and writer Chris Heath discussed _The World According to Grandpa_ , Channel Five’s new children’s show.
The centre would like to underline the major contribution of our events manager Rachel Pinkney in ensuring the smooth running of a large number of productions held over the last 12 months – and, indeed, for the past few years. Richard Frediani, Chair
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_The A Word_ , BBC
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
## **REPUBLIC OF IRELAND**
The centre held four events during the year; two were physical and two online. There were nine events in 2019 and eight in 2018.
At the beginning of the year, the centre worked with Virgin Media and the Dublin International Film Festival to showcase some of its past and present Student Television Awards winners during the festival.
In February, the centre hosted an evening with sailor, adventurer and sometime film-maker Enda O’Coineen. The following month, it hosted its Student Television Awards at RTÉ in Dublin in front of an audience of 80 (there were 138 in 2019).
In June, the centre held its first Zoom webinar, featuring the undoubted hit of lockdown, _Normal People._ The event discussed the art and craft of the drama’s sound in the company of location recordist Niall O’Sullivan and sound mixer Steve Fanagan.
In August the centre sadly accepted
the resignation, for family reasons, of former Honorary Secretary Marie Penston Graham, an invaluable and all-but-irreplaceable committee member, who had run our Student Tele vision Awards for many years.
In October, “Laughter in a time of lockdown” looked at the extremely successful Comic Relief telethon put on by RTÉ with the show’s producers Clare and Michael Hughes. Agnes Cogan, Chair
RTS Scotland’s Student Television Awards were held at Glasgow’s Everyman Cinema
## **SCOTLAND**
The centre held five events, four physical and one online, during the year (there were eight in 2019 and nine in 2018). The first event of the year celebrated Burns Night at the Glasgow Arts Centre in January. The following month, the Student Television Awards, sponsored by STV and hosted by STV entertainment reporter Laura Boyd, were held at the Everyman Cinema in Glasgow. The awards drew an audience of 100, compared with 93 in 2019.
At the end of February, the centre hosted “The network speaks” at Channel 4’s new Glasgow hub. This event was held in partnership with the Creative Diversity Network and was one of a series of events taking place at RTS centres across the UK that looked at regional solutions to the lack of diversity within the television industry.
In early March, the centre celebrated International Women’s Day 2020, in partnership with WFTV Scotland, by hosting a panel discussion and networking session ›
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**Introduction and objectives**
The RTS Southern Awards 2020 were held just before the first lockdown
**Education and skills**
## **SOUTHERN**
› at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.
The RTS Scotland Awards were held online in early June, and hosted by actor, singer and comic Karen Dunbar. An inaugural Judges’ Award went to BBC Scotland to mark the extraordinary achievements in its first year.
2020 has been a transitional period for the centre, with a number of changes to officers, including the Chair, April Chamberlain, who stepped down in September.
The second cohort of 10 STV/RTS Bursary Scholars has been recruited and the centre has welcomed and encouraged them to participate in its activities. Stephen O’Donnell, Chair
During 2020, the centre held four physical and one online event, making five in total. In 2019, it also put on five events (there were six in 2018).
In February, more than 150 students from Bournemouth, Winchester and Solent universities attended the centre’s “Meet the professionals” event. Hosted at Bournemouth University and chaired by Gordon Cooper, the event boasted a panel of 15 professionals, ranging from those at the start of their careers to senior television executives.
The following month, the centre held its annual Southern Awards, which featured both professional and student categories. _ITV News Meridian_ anchor Fred Dinenage and _South Today_ presenter Sally Taylor hosted the awards, which were also streamed live. Coronavirus affected the numbers inside the Winchester Guildhall (170, compared with 240 in 2019 and 245 in 2018), but this was compensated for by 7,500 views of the coverage online. The awards were sponsored by Bournemouth University,
Arts University Bournemouth, Solent University, and supported by BBC South and ITV Meridian.
Later the same month, at “In conversation with Dan Snow”, the popular presenter and historian discussed his TV career and his online channel History Hit TV.
In July, “Cracking the format: Alchemy or science” featured a strong panel of industry professionals with many years
of expertise in developing TV formats. They included Ricochet director of programmes Rob Butterfield and executive producer Heather Lamb, who discussed their hit BBC One show _The Repair Shop_ .
The centre’s usual autumn events, “Working in journalism” and the “Freelancers fair”, were postponed due to coronavirus.
Stephanie Farmer, Chair
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**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
## **THAMES VALLEY**
During the year, the centre held two events in person and a further 10 online, making 12 in total (there were five in 2019 and eight in 2018).
At the centre’s first event of the year in January, “21st-century film”, Adrian Bull and John Mahtani, co-founders of Cinelab London, argued that the demand for higher-quality content has led to a resurgence in film. Members also had the opportunity to visit the Cinelab film processing and scanning facilities.
In early March, students and industry professionals gathered at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham, Surrey to learn how to land a technical role in television.
The centre’s first online event, “News in the new norm” in April, saw Morwen Williams and Robin Pembrooke outline how BBC News had responded to the challenges of reporting during lockdown, not least by using smartphones. The following month, “Get your mojo working” offered a masterly exposition by the BBC
RTS Thames Academy’s Marc Settle on how to tell a Valley’s annual story on a smartphone. colloquium In June, “The future of the TV audience” was devoted discussed how production teams dealt to eSports with the absence of studio audiences and stadium crowds during lockdown. With the cancellation of NAB and IBC, “The future of trade shows” in July looked at what the future might look like from the point of view of exhibitor and attendee. In September, the centre’s annual colloquium was held virtually on three consecutive evenings. This year, the
event looked at “eSports for broadcasters”, a rapidly emerging sector that in 2019 reached over 400 million viewers worldwide.
In November, Thames Valley hosted “Keeping ahead of the game”, a fascinating anecdotal hour with Jeff Foulser, one of the UK’s foremost TV sport executives who has built Sunset+Vine into one of the most successful sports production companies in the world.
The centre rounded off the year with two events in December: “In celebration
of subtitling” and “Carols from King’s”. The latter looks at how the BBC put on its annual celebration of choral music, despite the coronavirus restrictions.
During the year, Tony Orme stepped down as Chair to focus on his PhD. The centre is hugely appreciative of the work he has put in to developing RTS Thames Valley. Tim Marshall, Chair
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## **WEST OF ENGLAND**
The centre held three physical and five online events during 2020, making eight in total (there were 11 in 2019 and nine in 2018).
“The network speaks”, hosted in partnership with the Creative Diversity Network, visited Bristol in late January. It was one of a series of events taking place at RTS centres addressing the lack of diversity in TV.
The winners of the RTS West of England Student Awards were announced in February at an awards ceremony at The Everyman Cinema in Bristol, which attracted an audience of 95 (there were 110 in 2019). The University of the West of England won in four of the five categories, while the Drama award went to the University of Gloucestershire.
Later that month, the centre hosted a screening of new ITV detective drama _McDonald & Dodds_ , followed by a Q&A session featuring the show’s creator Robert Murphy and one of its stars, Jason Watkins.
At the centre’s first digital event in July, “Light at the end of the tunnel”, regional indies talked about how they had coped with the coronavirus lockdown. It featured: Grant Mansfield CEO of Plimsoll Productions; Mike Jenkins from Blak Wave; True to Nature CEO Wendy Darke; and a voice from the broadcasters, Channel 4’s Sacha Mirzeoff.
In September, thanks to the efforts of Glenn Rainton, George Panayiotou and Gabe Weitz, the centre revealed the winners of its annual awards during a one-hour show. Netflix documentary _Last Breath_ , which tells the story of a diver who survived being trapped 100 metres under the sea with only minutes of breathable air remaining, scooped four awards. Comedian Deborah Frances White presented the awards for the second year running and Evolutions Bristol was the principal sponsor.
In October, the centre partnered with Wildscreen for two sessions about storytelling; one with award-winning drama writer, Jeff Pope; the other with Aardman.
_Locked In: Breaking the Silence_ , a life-affirming documentary for BBC Four’s Storyville strand, was the focus of the centre’s final event of the year. Lynn Barlow talked to the film’s director, Xavier Alford, Story ville commissioning editor Mandy Chang and editor Colette Hodges. Lynn Barlow, Chair
RTS award winner _Last Breath_
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## **YORKSHIRE**
During the year, the centre held 12 events, one physical and 11 online. The centre put on eight events in 2019 and seven in 2018.
In February, the centre held its Student Television Awards, hosted by _BBC Look North_ presenters Luxmy Gopal and Shirley Henry, attracting an audience of 300 people to Leeds College of Music (there were 350 at the awards in 2019).
Over the summer, the centre produced a series of eight “RTS Yorkshire Talks” with key figures from the regional TV industry. Anna Hall from Candour Productions talked about the rapid turnaround film her company made for Channel 4, _A Day in the Life of Coronavirus Britain_ . Centre Chair Fiona Thompson also spoke to Jo Schofield from The Film and TV Charity; Andrew White, series producer and presenter of _Walks Around Britain_ ; Air TV director Matt Richards; Julian Norton and Peter Wright from hit Channel 5 series _The Yorkshire Vet; Call the_
Gok Wan, presenter of _Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire_ , TLC
_Midwife_ writer Lisa Holdsworth and True North development executive Jo Haddock about _Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire._
Sally Wainwright and BBC One drama _Gentleman Jack_ enjoyed a successful evening at the RTS Yorkshire Awards in November, winning five prizes between them. The online ceremony was hosted by TV presenter Helen Skelton from The Hepworth Wakefield, and featured special guests including Alex Brooker, Steph McGovern, Amar Latif and Richard Madeley. Candour Productions, Daisybeck Studios, True North Post and Universal Production Music sponsored the awards.
Finally, the centre worked closely with RTS London Chair Phil Barnes to put on the RTS Nations and Regions Quiz, in September and December. Fiona Thompson, Chair
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## **Part Two**
**Education and skills**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Personal finance journalist and
broadcaster Martin Lewis OBE
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Governance and finance
## **1 Structure, governance and management**
## **Organisational structure**
The Society is UK-based, with its head office in London. It has centres in East, Isle of Man, Devon and Cornwall, London, Midlands, North East and the Border, North West, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Southern Counties, Thames Valley, Wales, West of England and Yorkshire.
## **Constitution**
Royal Television Society is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.
The Society has two trading subsidiaries, RTS Enterprises Limited and RTS (IBC) Limited, whose principal activities are the organising and staging of courses, exhibitions and other events related to television and broadcasting.
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- The Society’s governing body is the
- Board of Trustees, which comprises: n The Chair of the Board of Trustees n The Vice chair of the Board of Trustees n The Honorary Secretary n The Honorary Treasurer
- n One Person elected by the Principal Patrons Group
- n One person elected by those members of the Centres’ Council who represent centres in Scotland, Wales, NI and the RoI
- n One person elected by those members of the Centres’ Council who represent centres in England
- n Such numbers (not exceeding six) of additional persons co-opted by the Board of Trustees as the Board of Trustees may from time to time decide.
- All Trustees are appointed for three-
- year terms, renewable for a further two terms subject to Trustee review of performance at each renewal.
- Trustees receive a briefing document
- that includes rules and background on the governance of the Society. The Society ensures that Trustees are fully aware of their duties and responsibilities to the
charity and these are discussed at the regular meetings of the Board of Trustees and the Centre Officers. The Trustees reviewed the Society’s governance arrangements during the year, further detail is provided on page 51.
## **Royal Patron and Vice-Presidents**
The Society has appointed a Royal Patron and Vice-Presidents, who contribute to the Society but do not have a functional role in its governance. The Society is proud that HRH The Prince of Wales has been its Royal Patron since 1997.
The Vice-Presidents are distinguished figures in the television and wider community, available to add support to the Trustees and activities of the Society, though not holding the position or responsibilities of a Trustee or engaging in the Society’s governance.
The range and composition of the Vice-Presidents are regularly reviewed by the Honorary Secretary and Trustees.
**Pay policy for senior staff**
The Directors consider the board of directors, who are the Society’s Trustees, and the Chief Executive, Theresa Wise,
comprise the key management personnel of the Charity who are responsible for the running and operation of the Society on a day-to-day basis. All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee received any remuneration during the year. Details of Trustees’ expenses are disclosed in note 11 to the accounts.
The Chief Executive’s total remuneration consists of a fixed element (which is reviewed annually) and a performancerelated element. The fixed element for 2020 was £175,000 (2019 – £175,000) and the performance-related element remained up to one-seventh of salary (a maximum of £25,000).
The bonus objectives are reviewed annually to provide stretching targets that contribute to the achievement of the Society’s strategic objectives. In 2020, the financial targets were not achieved due the effect of Covid-19 on the Society’s activities. The non-financial targets were achieved but, in view of the financial situation, Theresa Wise waived her entitlement to any bonus, accordingly the bonus award as a percentage of salary in 2020 was nil% (2019 – 12.9%).
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## **Risk management**
The major risks to which the Society is exposed as identified by the Board of Trustees are and will continue to be regularly reviewed and systems have been and will be established, and, where appropriate, professional advisors have been or will be appointed to mitigate those risks.
The RTS keeps a risk register, which is reviewed and updated twice a year by the Audit Committee and overseen by the Board of Trustees.
Key risks, controls and mitigations are summarised below:
|Risk|Control and mitigation|
|---|---|
|Loss of income from Patrons|nAccount management of Patron relationships|
||nPatrons represented on Board|
||nCEO has a remit to address stakeholder expectations|
||nAddition of new Patrons|
||nAlternative events and methods of communication to engage Patrons|
||during pandemic|
|Loss of income from|nStrong methodology for programme development and marketing|
|conferences and events|nSponsor and Society responsibilities clearly defned|
||nSociety retains editorial control|
||nEnsure maximum coverage for sponsor when events are adapted online|
|Loss of income from IBC|nRepresentation on IBC Board|
||nRegular updates on progress towards a 2021 event|
||nFocus on core business|
||nIBC management present annually to Trustees|
|Economic impact on media|nReserves position|
|industry revenues, particularly|nCoronavirus Business Interruption Loan to be drawn down in 2021|
|in light of Covid-19|nSociety now represents a broader section of the industry|
||nStrategic review planned for 2021|
|Data protection and|nNo customer fnancial details are held on RTS databases|
|cyber security|nIT security audits|
||nGDPR controls and training|
|Awards quality control|nUse of mature third-party software|
||nWell-managed and high-calibre jury system|
||nData entry and voting double checked|
||nJury guidelines regularly reviewed|
The Audit Committee meets twice a year. The committee takes delegated responsibility on behalf of the Board of Trustees for ensuring that there is a framework of accountability for examining and reviewing all systems and methods of control, both financial and otherwise. This includes risk analysis and risk management, and ensuring that the charity is complying with all aspects of the law, relevant regulations and good practice. The Audit Committee also meets with the external auditor to review the annual accounts and audit findings and conducts a periodic review of the effectiveness of external audit.
The Society has invested surplus funds with an investment manager, Sarasin & Partners, who provides monthly performance updates and presents to the Trustees at least annually.
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## **2 Objectives and activities**
The Society’s objects and its principal activity are the advancement of public education in the science, practice, technology and art of television; and the advancement of the arts and culture, in particular by promoting and encouraging the achievement of high standards of creativity in television and allied fields.
The Society seeks to maintain and strengthen its position as the leading impartial platform for delivering these objects through events organised nationally and through its 15 regional centres. The wider public can access and contribute to the charity’s activities through its magazine, website and open events. The Trustees meet four times a year to consider the strategy for delivering public benefit and specialist committees are established to organise events.
## **Activities 2020**
During the year the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the suspension of face-to-face courses, exhibitions and events after March 2020. The Society, both nationally and regionally, successfully pivoted the majority of its annual and monthly events online at lower cost but with substantially reduced income.
A large number of events were produced to fulfil the Society’s strategic and charitable objects, many attracting larger audiences online than had been customary for a physical event. Some of the most significant events are detailed in other parts of this report. The Society is fortunate to be able to call on leading specialists from the television community and allied fields to work together on planning and delivering its programme, all of whom adapted enthusiastically to remote delivery.
The prohibition of face-to-face events is expected to continue well into 2021. The suspension of exhibitions and conferences worldwide led to the cancellation of IBC in September 2020. Management took steps to reduce costs and safeguard cashflow in anticipation of a return to conference activity in 2021.
## **3 Financial review**
## **Reserves policy**
In line with Charity Commission guidance, the Board of Trustees has adopted a formal reserves policy. This recognises that the income of the Society does not arise evenly year on year, or across each year, and so it is prudent to hold appropriate general or free reserves to enable the Society to properly plan its activities and cope with unforeseen circumstances. The policy also recognises that the reserves that represent the fixed assets and the restricted and designated funds of the Society are not freely available and thus need to be distinguished from free reserves.
The structure of television, broadcasting and related audio-visual enterprises remains dynamic, as the ease of digital transport and copying, and the proliferation of new delivery channels and reception devices continues unabated. The impact of the current pandemic has led to business models being reassessed. The organisations that are currently the Society’s main funders are responding to market changes in different ways and this
may impact on one of our major sources of revenue.
The future of events-based businesses is uncertain in the current environment and this will also impact the Society’s revenues.
In setting out its reserves policy, the Board of Trustees has considered the appropriate level of free reserves to hold in order to provide financial resilience in the event of unexpected and material shortfalls in income in any year and to support the Society’s strategic plan, its future objectives and development, and its longer-term sustainability.
The Board of Trustees consider that an appropriate minimum level of free reserves to provide short term financial resilience is 12 months average expenditure of the Society excluding subsidiaries – equivalent to £2.4m (2019: £2.8m) at current levels.
In order to support the Society’s current plans, future objectives and development, the Board of Trustees has also set a maximum level of free reserves to be held representing four years’ average annual expenditure of the Society excluding subsidiaries. Based on the results for the two years
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ended 31 December 2020, the Society’s reserves policy would stipulate a maximum amount of free reserves of no more than £9.6m (2019: £11.2m).
The level of free reserves as at 31 December 2020 was £7.5m and it is the Board of Trustees’ anticipation that free reserves may reduce in the short term as the effects of Covid-19 continue to be felt and in the coming years as our strategic plan beds in.
In 2018, in recognition of the Society’s commitments to its current cohorts of bursary recipients, a new fund which now stands at £159,000 (2019: £183,000) was designated from general reserves to provide for amounts promised under the bursary schemes. This fund is called the “Bursary Fund” and will be maintained at the level of the Society’s current bursary obligations.
The Board of Trustees reviews the reserves policy and the level of reserves at least once a year in the light of current and anticipated levels of income and of the Society’s planned activities.
## **Funding sources**
The principal funding sources during the year were patron donations, membership fees and investment income. The profits from the charity’s subsidiaries were significantly reduced due to restrictions placed on trading by the Covid pandemic.
The charity’s wholly owned subsidiaries, RTS Enterprises Ltd and RTS (IBC) Ltd, gifted profits of £7,538 (2019: £197,849) and £333 (2019: £1,556,927) respectively. The funds gifted are used by the charity to meet its charitable expenditure. The Trustees anticipate that the performance of both subsidiaries will return to normal levels when current restrictions are lifted.
Voluntary income remains an invaluable source of income for the charity. During the year, income from Patrons was £511,228 (2019: £691,605).
During the year, the Society agreed a loan, under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, with its bankers, which will be drawn down in the second half of 2021. The Society has provided security against this loan in the form of a fixed and floating charge over all of its assets.
## **Investment powers, policy and performance**
Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Society has the power to make any investment that the Board of Trustees sees fit.
In line with the Society’s investment policy the Trustees have appointed an investment manager to ensure a reasonable return is generated on free reserves, allied to an acceptable appetite for risk bearing in mind liquidity considerations. The Trustees have not invested further funds with the investment manager in 2020 (2019: £128,000). Investment income of £164,633 was earned in the year (2019: 162,947). The fair value of the fund at 31 December 2020 was £5,405,053 (2019:£5,094,283), which is a surplus over cost of £1,022,109 (2019: £713,993).
As at the year-end, the group had cash balances of £2,411,455 (2019: £2,929,253) of which £2,349,427 (2019: £2,664,941)
was held on deposit, generating interest income of £3,141 (2019: £5,770) over the course of the year.
In the consolidated statement of financial position an investment of £54,000 (2019: £54,000) is shown representing an 18% interest in the International Broadcasting Convention. This investment generated a surplus of £4,427 (2019: £1,576,801) during the year, which is included in funding sources above, and the Board of Trustees anticipates the return on this investment to increase once exhibitions recommence.
## **4 Plans for future periods**
The RTS priorities over the next three years include the following areas: n Growing the bursary schemes n Growing the membership base n Supporting and encouraging the regional and national centre activities
- n Consolidating and optimising the organisation.
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**Introduction and objectives**
Yasmina Hadded (appointed 1 December 2020)
Articles of Association, the Chair of the Board of Trustees is elected by the Board of Trustees for a three-year term. The Trustees serving during the period of the report and up to the date of signature of the financial statements are as follows:
## **5 Administrative details**
Chief Executive Theresa Wise
## Patron
HRH The Prince of Wales
Standing Committees of the Board of Trustees Audit Committee Jane Millichip (Chair) Lynn Barlow Mike Green
## Vice Presidents
Chair of the Board of Trustees Jane Turton
David Abraham Dawn Airey
Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVG CBE FRS Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE Mike Darcey
Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees Simon Pitts
Greg Dyke Honorary Secretary Remuneration Committee Lord Hall of Birkenhead David Lowen Simon Pitts (Chair) Lorraine Heggessey Mike Green Armando Iannucci OBE Honorary Treasurer David Lowen Ian Jones Mike Green Sarah Rose Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon OBE David Lynn Board of Trustees Charity number 313728 Sir Trevor McDonald OBE Lynn Barlow Ken MacQuarrie Julian Bellamy Company number 00249462 Gavin Patterson Tim Davie (resigned 1 December 2020) Trevor Phillips OBE Mike Green Registered office Stewart Purvis CBE David Lowen 3 Dorset Rise, London EC4Y 8EN Sir Howard Stringer Jane Millichip Anne Mensah (resigned Auditor Arram Berlyn Gardner LLP The Trustees of the charitable company 28 September 2020) 30 City Road, London EC1Y 2AB (“the charity”) are its Trustees for the Simon Pitts purposes of charity law and throughout Sarah Rose Bankers National Westminster Bank PLC this report are collectively referred to as Jane Turton PO Box 11302, 332 High Holborn, the Board of Trustees. As set out in the Rob Woodward London WC1V 7PD
## **Auditor**
Arram Berlyn Gardner LLP will be proposed for reappointment as auditors at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting subject to the conclusion of a tender process to ensure appropriate corporate governance.
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## **Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities for the year ended 31 December 2020**
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the Trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). The financial statements are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Society at the year end and of its incoming resources and resources expended during that year. In preparing
those financial statements, the Trustees are required:
- n To select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- n To observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- n To make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- n To state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
n To prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Society will continue in operation. The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Society and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Society and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Society’s website. Legislation in the
United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
## **Disclosure of information to auditor**
In so far as the Trustees are aware:
- n There is no relevant audit information of which the Society’s auditors are unaware, and
- n The Trustees have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Society’s auditors are aware of that information. This report has been prepared in
- accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (issued October 2019) and in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
The Trustees’ report was approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on its behalf by:
J Turton, Trustee Dated 22 March 2021
## **Independent auditor’s report to the trustees of Royal Television Society**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the accounts of Royal Television Society (the “parent charitable company”) and its subsidiaries (the “group”) for the year ended 31 December 2020 which comprise the Group Statement of Financial Activities, the Group and Parent Charitable Company Statement of Financial Position, the Group Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK
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**Introduction and objectives**
and Republic of Ireland” (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion, the financial statements:
- n Give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and the parent charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2020 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
- n Have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- n Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent charitable company, in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the accounts in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical
responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees
are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Annual Report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- n Adequate and sufficient accounting records have not been kept by the parent charitable company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- n The parent charitable company’s financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- n Certain disclosures of Trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
n The Trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies exemption in preparing the directors’ report and take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
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## **Responsibilities of Trustees**
As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees’ responsibilities, the Trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements**
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reason able assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.
**The extent to which the audit was capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud**
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud
- and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
- n The engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
- n We identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charitable company through discussions with Trustees and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the industry in which it operates;
- n We focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the charitable company, including the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011 and taxation legislation;
- n We assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting relevant correspondence; and
- n Identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
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We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
- n Understanding the business model as part of the business and control environment
- n Making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and
- n Considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
- n Performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
- n Tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
- n Assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in note 2 were indicative of potential bias; and
- n Investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions. In response to the risk of irregularities
- and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
- n Agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
- n Reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
- n Enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
- n Reviewing documentation and enquiring of management for any potential non-compliance with laws and regulations.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations
are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion. A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www. frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the charitable company’s Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and its trustees those matters we are
required to state to them in an auditors’ report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and its members as a body and the charitable company’s Trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Paul Berlyn FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of
Arram Berlyn Gardner LLP Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor 30 City Road London EC1Y 2AB
## Dated 2 June 2021
Arram Berlyn Gardner LLP is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
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78
## **Consolidated statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 December 2020**
|Unrestricted
funds
2020
Notes
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
511,228
Charitable activities
4
461,928
Other trading activities
5
444,445
Investments
6
159,860
Total income
1,577,461
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
835,954
Charitable activities
9
1,633,208
Total resources expended
2,469,162
Net (outgoing)/ incoming resources before
gains and losses on investments
(891,701)
Net gains/(losses) on investments
21, 22
299,791
Net (outgoing)/ incoming resources
(591,910)
Net movements in funds
(591,910)
Fund balances at 1 January 2020
8,127,009
Fund balances at 31 December 2020
7,535,099|Restricted
funds
2020
£
4,258
–
–
4,773
9,031
–
13,500
13,500
(4,469)
8,325
3,856
3,856
160,223
164,079|Total
2020
£
515,486
461,928
444,445
164,633
1,586,492
835,954
1,646,708
2,482,662
(896,170)
308,116
(588,054)
(588,054)
8,287,232
7,699,178|Total
2019
£
713,453
769,924
2,739,621
162,947|
|---|---|---|---|
||||4,385,945|
||||1,392,679|
||||2,588,401|
||||3,981,080|
||||404,865
679,415|
||||1,084,280|
||||1,084,280
7,202,952|
||||8,287,232|
## Notes
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.
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79
## **Consolidated statement of financial position as at 31 December 2020**
|Notes
Fixed assets
Intangible assets
13
Tangible assets
14
Investments
15
Current assets
Debtors
18
Cash at bank and in hand
16
Creditors:amounts falling
due within one year
19
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Income funds
Restricted funds
21
Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted funds
22
Revaluation fund
22
Designated funds
Bursary fund
22
Total funds
23|2020
£
£
36,591
25,271
5,459,133
5,520,995
294,951
2,411,455
2,706,406
(528,223)
2,178,183
7,699,178
164,079
6,372,259
1,003,840
159,000
7,535,099
7,699,178|2019
£
£
41,092
36,354
5,148,363
5,225,809
992,096
2,929,253
3,921,349
(859,926)
3,061,423
8,287,232
160,223
7,239,960
704,049
183,000
8,127,009
8,287,232|2019
£
£
41,092
36,354
5,148,363
5,225,809
992,096
2,929,253
3,921,349
(859,926)
3,061,423
8,287,232
160,223
7,239,960
704,049
183,000
8,127,009
8,287,232|
|---|---|---|---|
||||5,225,809
3,061,423|
||||8,287,232|
||||160,223
8,127,009|
||||8,287,232|
**Introduction and objectives Education and skills Public engagement Tought leadership Recognising excellence Nations and** Notes **regions** The Trustees have prepared group **Membership** accounts in accordance with section 398 **and volunteers** of the Companies Act 2006 and section 138 of the Charities Act 2011. These **Financial** accounts are prepared in accordance **support** with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act relating to small **Our** companies and constitute the annual **people** accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members **National** of the company. **events** The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 22 March 2021 **Centre** and signed on its behalf by: **reports** J Turton, Trustee **Governance** Company Registration No 00249462 **and fnance**
80
## **Society statement of financial position as at 31 December 2020**
|Notes
Fixed assets
Intangible assets
13
Tangible assets
14
Investments
15
Current assets
Debtors
18
Cash at bank and in hand
16
Creditors:amounts falling
due within one year
19
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Restricted funds
21
Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted funds
22
Revaluation fund
22
Designated funds
Bursary fund
22
Total funds
23|2020
£
£
36,591
25,271
5,405,057
5,466,919
208,966
2,391,290
2,600,256
(367,997)
2,232,259
7,699,178
164,079
6,372,259
1,003,840
159,000
7,535,099
7,699,178|2019
£
£
41,092
36,354
5,094,287
5,171,733
940,270
2,845,194
3,785,464
(669,965)
3,115,499
8,287,232
160,223
7,239,960
704,049
183,000
8,127,009
8,287,232|2019
£
£
41,092
36,354
5,094,287
5,171,733
940,270
2,845,194
3,785,464
(669,965)
3,115,499
8,287,232
160,223
7,239,960
704,049
183,000
8,127,009
8,287,232|
|---|---|---|---|
||||5,171,733
3,115,499|
||||8,287,232|
||||160,223
8,127,009|
||||8,287,232|
## Notes
These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act relating to small companies and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company. The Society had net negative movements in funds of £588,054 (2019: £1,084,280 positive movement) for the year ended 31 December 2020. The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 22 March 2021 and signed on its behalf by: J Turton, Trustee
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## **Consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 December 2020**
|Notes
Cash fows from operating activities
Cash (absorbed by)/generated
from operations
28
Investing activities
Purchase of intangible assets
Purchase of tangible fxed assets
Purchase of investments
Investment income
Net cash generated from/(used in)
investing activities
Net (decrease)/increase in cash
and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents
at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents
at end of year|2020
2019
£
£
£
£
(645,687)
327,480
(24,550)
(58,518)
(9,540)
(9,936)
(2,654)
(130,290)
164,633
162,947
127,889
(35,797)
(517,798)
291,683
2,929,253
2,637,570
2,411,455
2,929,253|2020
2019
£
£
£
£
(645,687)
327,480
(24,550)
(58,518)
(9,540)
(9,936)
(2,654)
(130,290)
164,633
162,947
127,889
(35,797)
(517,798)
291,683
2,929,253
2,637,570
2,411,455
2,929,253|
|---|---|---|
|||2,929,253|
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**Introduction and objectives**
## **Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020**
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **Charity information**
Royal Television Society is a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 3 Dorset Rise, London, EC4Y 8EN.
## **1.1 Accounting convention**
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland
(FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.
The accounts are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
Royal Television Society meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of fixed asset investments and to include these investments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
## **1.2 Going concern**
The accounts are prepared on the going concern basis. The Trustees have considered the consequences of Covid-19 and other events and conditions, and have determined that they do not create a material uncertainty that casts significant doubt upon the Society’s ability to
continue as a going concern. The Trustees review the reserves policy to ensure that there are sufficient reserves to continue the Society’s activities for the foreseeable future.
## **1.3 Charitable funds**
Funds held by the Society are:
- n Unrestricted general funds – these are funds that can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the Board of Trustees;
- n Designated funds – these are funds set aside by the Board of Trustees out of unrestricted general funds for specific future purposes or projects;
- n Restricted funds – these are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the Society. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Further explanations of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
## **1.4 Incoming resources**
All income is recognised once the Society has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income can be measured reliably.
Donations and legacies are recognised upon receipt and are deferred only when the Society has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to them (such as the service or benefit being provided) or when the donor has specified that the income is to be expended in a future period. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.
Income from charitable activities is recognised based on the date of the event and in the case of income from members, income is recognised up to the year-end date.
Other trading activities are recognised as earned (as the related goods and services are provided).
Income from investments is recognised on a receivable basis.
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**Introduction and objectives**
## **1.5 Resources expended**
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
A designated fund is established for expenditure, which has been committed to projects, but remains unspent at the year-end.
Expenditure on raising funds are those costs incurred in attracting voluntary income, and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.
Expenditure on charitable activities comprise all expenditure identified as wholly or mainly attributable to achieving the charitable objectives of the charity. These costs include staff costs, wholly or mainly attributable support costs and an apportionment of general overheads.
Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Support costs, which include central office functions, have been allocated across the categories of charitable expenditure, governance costs and the
costs of generating funds. The basis of the cost allocation has been explained in the notes to the accounts.
## **1.6 Intangible fixed assets other than goodwill**
Intangible fixed assets, which represent the costs of the software, are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation. Amortisation is calculated using the straight line method to allocate the depreciable amount of the assets to their residual value, over their estimated useful life, which is three years.
Where factors, such as technological advancement indicate that residual value or useful life have changed, the residual value, useful life or amortisation rate are amended prospectively to reflect the new circumstances.
The assets are reviewed for impairment if the above factors indicate that the carrying amount may be impaired.
## **1.7 Tangible fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:
- n Leasehold improvements – Straight line over the life of the lease;
- n Fixtures and fittings – Five years straight line;
- n Computers – Three years straight line.
## **1.8 Fixed asset investments**
Fixed asset investments are stated at cost or fair value in accordance with paragraph 10.53 of the Charities SORP (FRS 102).
## **1.9 Impairment of fixed assets**
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
## **1.10 Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and cash in hand.
## **1.11 Financial instruments**
The Society only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
## Basic financial assets
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
## Basic financial liabilities
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction,
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**Introduction and objectives**
where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
## Derecognition of financial liabilities
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
## **1.12 Group financial statements**
These financial statements consolidate the results of the Society, (including its centres) and its wholly owned trading subsidiaries, RTS Enterprises Limited and RTS (IBC) Limited, on a line by line basis. A separate Statement of Financial
Activities and Income and Expenditure account are not presented for the charity itself following the exemptions permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. A separate cash flow has not been presented for the charity itself following the exemptions permitted by FRS102. The total income for the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020 was £1,246,163 (2019: £3,591,442).
## **1.13 Operating leases**
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.
## **1.14 Employee benefits**
The Society provides a range of benefits to employees, including annual bonus arrangements, paid holiday arrangements and a pension contribution plan.
Short term benefits, including holiday pay and other similar non monetary benefits are recognised as an expense in the period in which the service is received, where material.
The Society operates a defined contribution scheme. Contributions are charged in the accounts as they become payable in accordance with the rules of the scheme.
## **2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements**
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
## **Accounting estimates**
## Impairment of debtors
The Group makes an estimate of the recoverable value of trade and other debtors. When assessing impairment of these debtors, the Trustees consider factors including the current credit rating of the debtor, the ageing profile of debtors and historical experience.
## Impairment of other investments
The Group makes an estimate of the recoverable amount of other investments. When assessing impairment of other investments, the Trustees consider factors including the current economic climate and historical experience.
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**Introduction and objectives**
## **3 Donations and legacies**
|Unrestricted Funds Donations
Restricted Funds Donations|2020
£
511,228
4,258
515,486|2019
£
691,605
21,848|
|---|---|---|
|||713,453|
## **4 Charitable activities**
The income was primarily from the Royal Television Society’s charitable activities.
|charitable activities.|||
|---|---|---|
|Events, conferences and awards
Magazine sales and other
Income from members|2020
£
215,797
6,342
239,789
461,928|2019
£
472,079
36,584
261,261|
|||769,924|
Membership income receivable in the year amounted to £322,120 (2019: £355,153) and the sum of £82,331 (2019: £93,892) has been deferred at the year-end in accordance with the Society’s accounting policies.
## **5 Other trading activity**
||Unrestricted|Total|
|---|---|---|
||funds||
||2020|2019|
||£|£|
|Commercial trading operations|444,445|2,739,621|
## **6 Investments**
The income was primarily from the Royal Television Society’s charitable activities.
||2020|2019|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Unrestricted Funds investment income|159,860|161,413|
|Restricted Funds investment income|4,773|1,534|
||164,633|162,947|
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## **7 Net income for the year – Group**
||2020|2019|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Net income for the year is|||
|stated after charging:|||
|Operating lease expense|193,930|194,365|
|Amortisation of intangible assets|29,051|29,431|
|Depreciation of tangible assets|20,623|24,389|
|Auditors’ remuneration|||
|– Audit|23,505|24,000|
|– Non audit|3,900|6,950|
## **8 Raising funds**
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Fundraising and publicity
Fundraising costs of generating
voluntary income
Other fundraising costs
Fundraising and publicity|Direct
costs
2020
£
333,129
–
333,129|Support
costs
2020
£
361,543
141,282
502,825|Total
2020
£
694,672
141,282
835,954|Direct
costs
2019
£
778,279
–
778,279|Support
costs
2019
£
428,424
185,976
614,400|Total
2019
£
1,206,703
185,976|
|||||||1,392,679|
## **9 Charitable activities**
|Events, conferences and awards
Magazine publications
Governance costs
Taxation
Total expenditure|Direct
costs
2020
£
499,409
156,227
6,252
948
662,836|Support
costs
2020
£
950,802
–
33,070
–
983,872|Total
2020
£
1,450,211
156,227
39,322
948
1,646,708|Direct
costs
2019
£
916,964
245,000
8,343
7,318
1,177,625|Support
costs
2019
£
1,379,167
–
31,609
–
1,410,776|Total
2019
£
2,296,131
245,000
39,952
7,318|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||2,588,401|
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**Introduction and objectives**
## **10 Analysis of support costs**
The charity allocates its support costs as shown in the table below:
|Costs of
generating funds
£
Management and other costs
25,731
Premises costs
116,668
Employee-related costs
312,820
Finance, legal and professional
and IT costs
47,606
Total
502,825|Charitable
Governance
activities
costs
£
£
54,645
11,500
175,002
–
571,552
–
149,603
21,570
950,802
33,070|2020
£
91,876
291,670
884,372
218,779|
|---|---|---|
|||1,486,697|
## **Analysis of support costs – previous year**
|Costs of
generating funds
£
Management and other costs
42,474
Premises costs
131,366
Employee-related costs
342,250
Finance, legal and professional
and IT costs
98,310
Total
614,400|Charitable
Governance
activities
costs
£
£
264,022
12,159
197,050
–
616,585
–
301,510
19,450
1,379,167
31,609|2019
£
318,655
328,416
958,835
419,270|
|---|---|---|
|||2,025,176|
Support costs in notes 8 and 9 are included within expenditure in the SOFA set out above have been allocated by activity with the exception of employee costs which has been based on a time allocation. The cost allocation includes an area of judgement and the charity has had to consider the cost benefit of detailed workings and record keeping.
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## **11 Employees**
The average number of full time equivalent employees (also the average monthly head count) of the Group during the year was as follows:
|as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
|Management and other
Membership
Events and conferences
Finance
Digital
Bursary and centres liaison administrator
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs|2020
Number
2
2
4
3
4
1
16
2020
£
765,386
67,923
45,634
878,943|2019
Number
2
2
4
3
4
1|
|||16|
|||2019
£
799,566
91,023
40,085|
|||930,674|
## **11 Employees (continued)**
The key management personnel of the group comprise those of the Society and the key management personnel of its wholly owned subsidiaries RTS Enterprises Limited and RTS (IBC) Limited.
The key management personnel of the Society are the Chief Executive whose employee benefits (including employers national insurance and employers pension contributions) total £221,524 (2019: £246,687), and the Trustees who received no remuneration during the year.
The key management personnel of the wholly owned subsidiaries are the directors, who received no remuneration in the year. The total contributions in the year to money purchase pension schemes for higher paid employees were £24,700 (2019: £17,500). The number of higher paid employees to whom retirement benefits are accruing under such schemes is 2 (2019: 1).
Certain members of the Board of Trustees are reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred by them in carrying out their duties for the Society. The total expenses (which related to the reimbursement of travel costs) incurred by the Trustees during the year was £183 (2019: £688). The number of Trustees that had expenses reimbursed amounted to 1 (2019: 2).
The number of employees who received emoluments (excluding pension contributions and national insurance contributions) in excess of £60,000 was as follows:
||2020|2019|
|---|---|---|
||Number|Number|
|£80,001 - £90,000|1|–|
|£170,001 - £180,000|1|–|
|£200,001 - £210,000|–|1|
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## **12 Taxation**
The company is a registered charity and no provision is considered necessary for taxation. In the accounts of RTS Enterprises Limited there was no tax charge (2019: £Nil) and for RTS (IBC) Limited there was a tax charge of £948 (2019: £7,318).
## **13 Intangible fixed assets**
||Software|
|---|---|
||£|
|Cost||
|At 1 January 2020|304,437|
|Additions|24,550|
|At 31 December2020|328,987|
|Amortisation and impairment||
|At 1 January 2020|263,345|
|Amortisation charged for the year|29,051|
|At 31 December 2020|292,396|
|Carrying amount||
|At 31 December 2020|36,591|
|At 31 December 2019|41,092|
## **14 Tangible fixed assets**
|Leasehold
land and
buildings
£
Cost
At 1 January 2020
118,665
Additions
–
At 31 December 2020
118,665
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 January 2020
94,604
Depreciation charged in the year
11,867
At 31 December 2020
106,471
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2020
12,194
At 31 December 2019
24,061|Fixtures
and
fttings
£
188,613
9,540
198,153
176,320
8,756
185,076
13,077
12,293|Total
£
307,278
9,540|
|---|---|---|
|||316,818|
|||270,924
20,623|
|||291,547|
|||25,271|
|||36,354|
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**Introduction and objectives**
## **15 Fixed asset investments**
|Shares in subsidiary undertakings
Other unlisted investments (at cost)
Other investments held with investment
managers (at fair value)|Group
2020
2019
£
£
–
–
54,080
54,080
5,405,053
5,094,283
5,459,133
5,148,363|Society
2020
2019
£
£
4
4
–
–
5,405,053
5,094,283
5,405,057
5,094,287|Society
2020
2019
£
£
4
4
–
–
5,405,053
5,094,283
5,405,057
5,094,287|
|---|---|---|---|
||||5,094,287|
All the fixed asset investments are held in the UK or by UK based investment managers. The Board of Trustees considers it appropriate to state the fixed asset investments at cost, apart from those held with the investment managers, which are held at fair value.
Included in other investments held with investment managers is a revaluation gain for 2020 of £308,116 (2019: £679,415) and rebated management fees of £2,654 (2019: £2,290).
At 31 December 2020, the Society owned all of the ordinary share capital of RTS Enterprises Limited (company no. 01999837) and RTS (IBC) Limited (company no 03631477), which organise and stage courses, exhibitions and other events related to the television industry and share a registered address with the Society. At 31 December 2020, the aggregate amount of these companies’ assets, liabilities, share capital and reserves was:
|share capital and reserves was:||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Total assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Represented by:
Share capital and reserves|RTS Enterprises
Limited
2020
2019
£
£
215,636
376,949
(215,634)
(376,947)
2
2
2
2|RTS (IBC)
Limited
2020
2019
£
£
59,835
616,930
(59,833)
(616,928)
2
2
2
2||
||||2|
|||||
||||2|
Included within creditors above is income of £150,340 (2019 £160,644) which has been deferred in the accounts of RTS Enterprises Limited, with £160,644 (2019: £138,876) being released to the profit and loss account.
## **15 Fixed asset investments (continued)**
**Education and skills**
RTS Enterprises Limited and RTS (IBC) Limited pay their profits to the charity by a deed of covenant. A summary of the trading results of each subsidiary is shown below:
||RTS Enterprises
Limited|RTS (IBC)
Limited|Total|**Public**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||2020|2020|2020|**engagement**|
||£|£|£||
|Turnover|440,018|4,427|444,445|**Tought**|
|Cost of sales|(332,208)|–|(332,208)|**leadership**|
|Gross proft|107,810|4,427|112,237||
|Administration expenses|(102,132)|(1,528)|(103,660)|**Recognising**|
|Operating proft|5,678|2,899|8,577|**excellence**|
|Other interest receivable and similar income|1,891|131|2,022||
|Interest payable
Taxation|(31)
–|(1,749)
(948)|(1,780)
(948)|**Nations and**
**regions**|
|Proft on ordinary activities after taxation|7,538|333|7,871||
|Payment under deed of covenant
Retained proft for the year|(7,538)
–|(333)
–|(7,871)
–|**Membership**
**and volunteers**|
|Previous year|RTS Enterprises|RTS (IBC)|Total|**Financial**|
||Limited|Limited||**support**|
||2019|2019|2019||
||£|£|£||
|||||**Our**|
|Turnover
Cost of sales|1,162,820
(774,488)|1,576,801
–|2,739,621
(774,488)|**people**|
|Gross proft|388,332|1,576,801|1,965,133|**National**|
|Administration expenses|(192,980)|(10,816)|(203,796)|**events**|
|Operating proft|195,352|1,565,985|1,761,337||
|Other interest receivable and similar income
Interest payable|2,497
–|285
(2,025)|2,782
(2,025)|**Centre**|
|Taxation|–|(7,318)|(7,318)|**reports**|
|Proft on ordinary activities after taxation
Payment under deed of covenant
Retained proft for the year|197,849
(197,849)
–|1,556,927
(1,556,927)
–|1,754,776
(1,754,776)
–|**Governance**
**and fnance**|
91
## **16 Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents consist of:
||Group|Group|Society|Society|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||2020|2019|2020|2019|
||£|£|£|£|
|Cash at bank and in hand|2,411,455|2,929,253|2,391,290|2,845,194|
||2,411,455|2,929,253|2,391,290|2,845,194|
## **17 Financial instruments – Group and Society**
||2020|2019|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Carrying amount of fnancial assets|||
|Measured at fair value|5,405,053|5,094,283|
## **19 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
|Trade creditors
Other taxation and social security
Deferred income
Other creditors|Group
2020
2019
£
£
53,397
204,879
34,069
57,597
253,199
319,543
187,558
277,907
528,223
859,926|Society
2020
2019
£
£
53,248
197,859
33,087
50,279
102,859
158,899
178,803
262,928
367,997
669,965|Society
2020
2019
£
£
53,248
197,859
33,087
50,279
102,859
158,899
178,803
262,928
367,997
669,965|
|---|---|---|---|
||||669,965|
## **20 Retirement benefit schemes**
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The charge to expenditure in respect of defined contribution schemes was £45,634 (2019: £40,085).
**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
**Public engagement**
**Tought leadership Recognising excellence**
**Nations and regions**
**Membership and volunteers Financial support**
## **18 Debtors**
Amounts falling due within one year:
|Trade debtors
Amount owed by group undertakings
Other debtors|Group
2020
2019
£
£
170,665
270,566
–
–
124,286
721,530
294,951
992,096|Society
2020
2019
£
£
37,452
68,350
61,161
749,776
110,353
122,144
208,966
940,270|Society
2020
2019
£
£
37,452
68,350
61,161
749,776
110,353
122,144
208,966
940,270|
|---|---|---|---|
||||940,270|
**Our people National events Centre reports Governance and fnance**
92
## **21 Restricted funds: Group and Society**
The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:
|Balance at
1 January
2020
£
Steve Hewlett Memorial Fund
69,681
London Awards Fund
3,652
Shiers Memorial Fund
58,901
Beresford-Cooke Fund
27,989
160,223|Movement in funds
Incoming
Resources
Revaluations,
Balance at
resources
expended
gains and
31 December
losses
2020
£
£
£
£
5,958
(8,030)
3,252
70,861
102
–
195
3,949
2,121
(5,470)
3,252
58,804
850
–
1,626
30,465
9,031
(13,500)
8,325
164,079|
|---|---|
The Society received a bequest from the estate of the late Mrs MF Shiers to establish the George and May F Shiers Memorial Fund. The income of the fund that is under the control of the Society’s Board of Trustees is to be devoted to the study, collection and presentation of material concerning the history of television.
The Society received a bequest from the estate of the late Mrs Beresford-Cooke to establish the RTS Young Television Engineer Award. The income of the fund is under the control of the Society’s Board of Trustees and is to be used to assist the recipient of the Award to attend the IBC Conference in Amsterdam.
The London Awards Fund has been set up so as to recognise excellence in a young technologist. The Steve Hewlett scholarship is an initiative by the Society and The Media Society and will be presented each year to recipients from a lower-income family studying an undergraduate broadcast journalism course in the UK. In 2020, one new award was made (2019: one new award).
The cumulative revaluation gains and losses at the year end amounted to £18,269 (2019: £9,944).
## **21 Restricted funds: Group and Society (continued)**
## Restricted funds: Group and Society – previous year
|Balance at
1 January
2019
£
Steve Hewlett Memorial Fund
60,205
London Awards Fund
3,373
Shiers Memorial Fund
58,249
Beresford-Cooke Fund
27,038
148,865|Movement in funds
Incoming
Resources
Revaluations,
Balance at
resources
expended
gains and
31 December
losses
2019
£
£
£
£
22,351
(16,595)
3,720
69,681
56
–
223
3,652
511
(4,000)
4,141
58,901
464
(1,373)
1,860
27,989
23,382
(21,968)
9,944
160,223|
|---|---|
**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
**Public engagement Tought leadership**
**Recognising excellence**
**Nations and regions Membership and volunteers Financial support Our people National events Centre reports**
**Governance and fnance**
93
**Introduction and objectives**
## **22 Unrestricted funds: Group and Society**
|At 1 January 2020
Income
Expenditure
Movements on investment
Transfer of funds
At 31 December 2020|Revaluation
Fund
£
704,049
–
–
299,791
–
1,003,840|Movement
General
Funds
£
7,239,960
1,567,461
(2,360,162)
–
(75,000)
6,372,259|in funds
Bursary
Fund
£
183,000
10,000
(109,000)
–
75,000
159,000|Total
£
8,127,009
1,577,461
(2,469,162)
299,791
–|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||7,535,099|
The Bursary Fund, which was set up in 2018, represents the amount committed by the Society in connection with the Student Bursary Schemes. The commitments to the Steve Hewlett Scholarships are included in the Steve Hewlett Memorial Fund (note 21). A number of bursaries have been provided by Patrons who have committed to their future funding. These commitments totalled £76,000 at the year end (2019 – £54,000) and are not part of the Bursary Fund.
## Unrestricted funds: Group and Society – previous year
|At 1 January 2019
Income
Expenditure
Movements on investment
Transfer of funds
At 31 December 2019|Revaluation
Fund
£
34,578
–
–
669,471
–
704,049|Movement
General
Funds
£
6,817,509
4,362,563
(3,877,112)
–
(63,000)
7,239,960|in funds
Bursary
Fund
£
202,000
–
(82,000)
–
63,000
183,000|Total
£
7,054,087
4,362,563
(3,959,112)
669,471
–|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||8,127,009|
## **23 Analysis of net assets between funds**
|Unrestricted
funds
£
Fund balances at 31 December 2020
are presented by:
Intangible fxed assets
36,591
Tangible assets
25,271
Investments
5,312,864
Net current assets
2,160,373
Total net assets
7,535,099|Restricted
funds
£
–
–
146,269
17,810
164,079|Total
2020
£
36,591
25,271
5,459,133
2,178,183|
|---|---|---|
|||7,699,178|
## Analysis of net assets between funds – previous year
|Unrestricted
funds
£
Fund balances at 31 December 2019
are presented by:
Intangible fxed assets
41,092
Tangible assets
36,354
Investments
5,010,419
Net current assets
3,039,144
Total net assets
8,127,009|Restricted
funds
£
–
–
137,944
22,279
160,223|Total
2019
£
41,092
36,354
5,148,363
3,061,423|
|---|---|---|
|||8,287,232|
**Education and skills**
**Public engagement Tought leadership Recognising excellence Nations and regions Membership and volunteers Financial support Our people National events Centre reports Governance and fnance**
94
## **24 Liability of Members**
The Society is limited by guarantee without any share capital. In the event of the Society being wound up, each member is liable to contribute for the payment of the debts and liabilities of the Society such amount as may be required, but not exceeding £1.
## **25 Operating lease commitments**
At the reporting end date the group had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
|ating leases, which fall due as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
|Within one year
Between two and fve years
In over fve years|2020
£
193,438
33,932
–
227,370|2019
£
194,365
229,845
2,025|
|||426,235|
## **26 Related party transactions**
During 2014, the Society entered into a contract with M True Consulting Ltd for the services of Mike True to provide Programme Management support for the development of its new digital platforms and online presence. At that time Mike True was the partner and is now the spouse of Theresa Wise, CEO of the RTS.
Before contracting with Mike True, the day rates of providers were market tested. Following completion of the digital project, Mike True was retained to provide systems support and supplier management services. The Trustees reviewed and amended the contract during 2016 and were of the opinion that the agreement continues to provide good value for money.
The Trustees formally review the contract annually and continue to be involved on an ongoing basis in approving payments.
The total amount charged by M True Consulting Ltd to the Society in the financial year was £26,650 (2019: £39,929), with £950 (2019: £2,577) remaining unpaid and included in creditors at the balance sheet date.
## **27 Analysis of changes in net funds**
The charity had no debt during the year.
**Introduction and objectives**
**Education and skills**
**Public engagement**
**Tought leadership Recognising excellence**
**Nations and regions**
**Membership and volunteers**
**Financial support**
**Our people National events Centre reports Governance and fnance**
95
## **28 Cash generated from operations**
2020 2019 £ £ (Deficit)/surplus for the year: (588,054) 1,084,280 Adjustments for: Investment income recognised in statement of financial activities (164,633) (162,947) Net (gains)/losses on investments (308,116) (679,415) Amortisation and impairment of intangible assets 29,051 29,431 Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets 20,623 24,389 Movements in working capital: Decrease/(increase) in debtors 697,145 (47,006) (Decrease)/increase in creditors (331,703) 78,748 Cash (absorbed by)/ generated from operations (645,687) 327,480
**Introduction and objectives Education and skills Public engagement Tought leadership Recognising excellence Nations and regions Membership and volunteers Financial support Our people National events Centre reports Governance and fnance**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
R O Y A L T E L E V I S I O N S O C I E T Y A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 0
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Picture credits**
01 WEF (cover) 33 BBC keeneree et 02 BBC 34 Channel 4 03 Clarence House 35 RTS 04 All3Media 36 All RTS 05 Richard Kendal 37 Sky Shae 06 Richard Kendal eee ee Pee 38 BBC 07 ITV 39 Richard Kendal / CNN ae 08 BBC 40 Richard Kendal / Channel 4 eke ie ee 09 Paul Hampartsoumian a hea alsa 41 All BBC SeciarEAD tom, Ai 10 Paul Hampartsoumian Thaainer ee set pA 42 ITV ore ance, aT tags Se 11 CNN / Paul Hampartsoumian a =T 43 ITV ies eee on = “73 te 12 Florence Watson err ties 44 Channel 5 fe 13 BBC 45 Sky - «i 14 Paul Hampartsoumian 7 46 Paul Hampartsoumian al " 15 UKTV 48 BBC 16 BBC 49 Paul Hampartsoumian 17 George Amponsah 50 Paul Hampartsoumian 18 Channel 5 51 RTS / Paul Hampartsoumian 19 University of Central Lancashire 54 Channel 4 20 CNN L 55 University of Edinburgh 21 BBC 56 Netflix 22 Paul Hampartsoumian 57 ITV 23 Richard Kendal / Sky 58 Netflix 24 Sky : 59 Channel 4 25 RTS 60 ITV 26 Channel 4 61 BBC 27 Shutterstock 62 BBC 28 ITV / FT / Paul Hampartsoumian 63 RTS 29 Channel 4 64 Solent Studios 30 RTS 66 Netflix 31 ITV 67 Discovery 32 ITV 68 Rex Features
96 **Introduction and objectives Education and skills Public engagement Tought leadership** ~~—~~ **Recognising excellence** ~~—~~ **Nations and regions** ~~Ae~~ **Membership and volunteers Financial support Our people** ~~hiner tora COT~~ **National events Centre reports Governance and fnance**