The Explanation, The Media Show: Is YouTube the new TV?

The Explanation

The Media Show: Is YouTube the new TV?

27 August 2026

Available for over a year

A special show from the Edinburgh TV Festival, where some of the industry’s biggest players have gathered from around the world to debate the future of television. YouTube now has 2.7 billion monthly active users, watching more than a billion hours of video every day, and many in the industry are asking whether it has become “the new TV”.

Alison Lomax, Managing Director of YouTube UK and Ireland, gives the platform’s perspective on its growth, its algorithm and its relationship with creators. Claire Mundell, Managing Director and Creative Director of Synchronicity Films, Richard Cowles, CEO of Lifted Entertainment, and Jamie MacDonald, Head of Originals at After Party Studios, give their perspectives on the state of the industry and what could be coming next.

Presenter: Ros Atkins

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

Content Producer: Lucy Wai

Assistant Producer: Laura Cain

Researcher: Ruth Waites

Sound: Sean Mullervy and Ben Andrews