Directors Digest — Friday 12 September 2025

In the news this week, Ian Murray MP appointed Minister of State for DCMS in cabinet reshuffle, Pact’s 2025 Census finds streamers have spent over $1 billion on British TV for the first time last year, and the BBC says goodbye to premium-rate phone voting.

Read about it in this week’s Digest.

News

•  As part of this week’s cabinet reshuffle, Ian Murray MP has been appointed Minister of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), succeeding Sir Chris Bryant MP. (Arts Professional) Murray has shared a statement on his new appointment here. (Edinburgh News)

•  BBC says goodbye to premium-rate phone voting with all voting for BBC shows to be done online only from now on. (BBC)

•  Pact’s 2025 Census shows “sluggish growth” for TV production revenues through 2024. Pact says the slight growth in revenues was primarily driven by an increase in secondary rights revenues, as well as strong digital revenues across domestic and international markets. (Televisual) Also within the Census, Pact found that streamers spent over $1 billion on British TV for the first time last year. (Deadline)

•  Film and screen is becoming part of the national curriculum for schoolchildren in Scotland. (Screen)

•  A Television Academy task force developing what it calls “responsible AI and production standards” has finalized a set of guidelines for members. (Deadline)

•   Geoff Cooper has been announced as the new chair of Channel 4. (The Hollywood Reporter)

•   Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has voiced her disapproval at major TV players declining to pay annual fees to CIISA, the UK industry’s new independent bullying and harassment complaints body. (Deadline)

•  UK actors’ union Equity is seeking to appeal a High Court judgement which dismissed the organisation’s legal case against casting directory Spotlight over its use of membership fees. Equity was seeking to have Spotlight branded as an employment agency. (Screen) 

•  Caroline Norbury is to step down as chief executive of Creative UK, the national membership body for cultural and creative industries, in March 2026. (Screen)

Features

•   As Screen Scotland expands early-stage support, a wave of filmmakers are bypassing formal routes to shoot their first features fast, cheap and together. (Variety)

•  AI to reconstruct the destroyed 43 minutes of Orson Welles‘ The Magnificent Ambersons. The results won't be commercialized but are hoped to serve as a test case for how Hollywood can overhaul production. (The Hollywood Reporter)

•  As Sarah Rose departs, Paramount UK prepares for a new era. (Broadcast)

Awards

•  Winners were announced this past weekend for the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards. A big congratulations to all the winners, including Directors UK member Ben Archard. Click the following links to see the full list of winners for night one and night two of the awards ceremony. (The Hollywood Reporter)

•  The National Television Awards announced winners for their 2025 awards this week. You can see the full list of winners here. (National Televison Awards)

•  Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother won the top prize Golden Lion at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. See the full list of winners here. (Deadline)