Directors Digest — Friday 1 August 2025

In the news this week, ‘well-intentioned’ diversity guidelines perpetuate negative stereotypes according to research from The Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, Pact and Bectu are working to eliminate broken turnaround times on shoots, and audiences are increasingly turning to YouTube according to Ofcom’s annual report.

Read about it in this week’s Digest.

News

•  Industry efforts to address diversity are perpetuating simplistic and negative stereotyping of marginalised groups because they are drawn up by networks of privilege, according to research commissioned by Birmingham City University. The Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity report calls for representation of marginalised groups to be led by the communities themselves. (Broadcast)

•  The sale of 5’s parent company, Paramount Global to Skydance, is due to close next month. (TVBEurope)

•  Pact and Bectu have issued a joint statement to eliminate broken turnaround times on shoots, calling on BBC Studios – as the biggest production company in the UK – as well as the Streamers to join them in trying to address this issue. (Televisual) BBC Studios has agreed to attend a roundtable discussion to discuss the issue. (Broadcast)

•  The UK’s creative workforce is facing unprecedented disruption, with staff, freelancers, and employers alike navigating instability, shrinking opportunities, and the rapid introduction of new technologies, according to the latest Thrive report from Creative Access. The report also found that over half of creative organisations are now using AI, up from just three per cent two years ago. (Televisual)

•  According to Ofcom’s annual report on the nation’s media habits, audiences are increasingly turning to YouTube. The platform is now the second most-watched service in the UK, behind the BBC and ahead of ITV. (Ofcom)

•  Audience measurement company Barb has unveiled a groundbreaking measurement system that incorporates viewing of YouTube channels on smart TVs in the home. (Broadcast)

Features

•  How inclusive is the UK film and TV industry five years on from the structural racism debate that followed George Floyd’s murder? (Screen)

Opinion

•  Peter Kosminsky: We need a BBC that is brave. (The New Statesman)