Insiders: The TV Podcast

Jimmy kicks us off with his tales from the Writers Guild Awards in New York and the feeling on the ground around David Ellison’s takeover of Paramount and the future of CNN. Then, Peter outlines the BBC’s latest ideas as to how it will fund itself in the streaming age where licence fee evasion costs the BBC more than £1 billion a year.

Later, they discuss what we can learn from the end of Meghan Markle’s partnership with Netflix as ...

Jimmy and Peter unpack the Banijay / All3Media merger, and ask what the creation of a €4.4bn mega indie with some 170 creative labels across 25 countries could mean for the rest of the sector. 

As Paramount prevail over Netflix in the battle for Warner Bros Discovery, we discuss what the future holds for Warner’s output - not least Donald Trump’s bete noire CNN.  

And we talk all things BBC, and the contro...

Jimmy and Peter welcome Lisa McGee into the studio, creator of the BAFTA and Emmy-winning Derry Girls and the writer behind Netflix’s new comedy-drama How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.

Lisa explains how she moved from pure sitcom into mystery, how writers’ rooms are now her preferred way to work and why music is so central to her storytelling, even when the rights negotiations get painful.

Together, they also discuss the pos...

Jimmy and Peter chat about whether the music industry’s rights-roll-up model could ever work for television after a listener question about untapped TV archive potential. From there they tackle the thorny question of how channels like Sky still run adverts on premium subscription channels and what that says about the future of ad-funded TV. They also unpack the latest BBC cost-cutting plans ahead of charter negotiations a...

Jimmy and Peter briefly discuss the two latest industry curveballs: fresh Westminster chat about a potential BBC–Channel 4 tie-up, and ITV squeezing ad breaks into rugby scrums, before inviting Gill Wilson into the studio…

Gill Wilson is Head of Factual at Plum Pictures, the co-founder of indie label Betty and a former Channel 4 commissioning editor heading up Features and Daytime with programmes including 'Escape to the Chateau...

Jimmy and Peter tune into Donald Trump’s latest reality show – the Grammys – and his threats to sue host Trevor Noah, before unpacking leaked details from a BBC board meeting about plans for a post-licence-fee future and questioning whether Channel 4 risks alienating the independent sector by expanding its in-house production.

Plus, tales of World Cup hospitality, BBC executives hiding from the rain in Salford and everyone’s fav...

Jimmy and Peter kick off with a rapid roundup of the latest TV headlines like The Traitors heading to the stage, Nigella Lawson joining The Great British Bake Off and the revival of Farmer Wants a Wife in the UK, before welcoming Kenton Allen into the studio.

Kenton Allen is CEO of Big Talk, one of the UK’s leading film and television production companies, and the producer behind hits including Rev, Him & Her, Mum, Friday Ni...

Jimmy and Peter dig into the latest mergers and acquisitions chatter, including MediaWan’s interest in North Road and the broader risks of buying creative companies built around individual talent. Next, they chat the BBC’s decision to commission bespoke content for YouTube and what that signals about platform strategy, public service broadcasting, and where audiences are really heading. Then, they discuss Amol Rajan’s decision to s...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the potential Banijay–All3Media mega-merger and unpack why “independent TV” may soon exist in name only. They challenge headline claims that YouTube has overtaken the BBC, interrogate what those numbers really mean, and ask who actually pays for content in a platform-first world.

Then, it's Netflix’s all-cash play for Warner Bros and a discussion about the fragile future of broadcast news, the ...

This week, Peter and Jimmy are joined by Tim Hincks, co-CEO of Expectation and former global president of Endemol responsible for shows like Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, 8 Out of 10 cats, Would I Lie to You? Black Mirror, Humans and Peaky Blinders…

They take a look at some predictions for what 2026 might hold, digging first into why The Traitors has made a bold format shift while it’s still on the rise ...

This week, as Donald Trump files his $10bn legal action against the BBC in Florida, Jimmy and Peter ask how the corporation might best respond. And we discuss the government’s newly minted Green Paper on Charter renewal, and the alternatives being considered for the future funding of the BBC - is the licence fee the worst option, except for all the others? 

Plus, Jimmy’s Christmas in Memphis, Samir Shah’s breakfast, and our...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the appointment of Priya Dogra as the new Chief Exec of Channel 4. Her commercial background will doubtless be vital in helping C4 to navigate the commercial challenges it faces. But how will she approach and articulate her editorial vision for the channel? We talk all the latest twists and turns in the Netflix / Paramount bidding war for Warners. And we give ourselves an early Christmas gift by w...

This week, the pod comes live from the Content London TV conference. We discuss the latest in the BBC leadership saga, and ask whether you need to be a bit of a bruiser in the mould of Christopher Bland or Marmaduke Hussey to be a really effective BBC Chair? And Peter and Jimmy answer some great questions from the Content London audience - does indie production have a sustainable future; is legacy TV in terminal decline; and what’s...

It’s another guest ep!

This week Peter and Jimmy are joined by Andy Wilman, the genius producer behind Top Gear, The Grand Tour, and Clarkson’s Farm. 

Andy tells the story of the extraordinarily ordinary Top Gear pilot, and traces how the series grew into a record breaking TV behemoth, before unravelling slowly… and then all at once. We discuss the Top Gear team's move to Amazon and The Grand Tour (and how close Richard ...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the latest fallout from the Panorama edit row, not least the Culture Secretary's suggestion that the next DG should have a news and current affairs background. Is that really the lesson to be learned from this, and what the BBC needs right now? And we talk Sky’s move to buy ITV’s broadcast business. However compelling the business case might be, isn’t it an immutable fact that consolidation of bro...

This week, Jimmy and Peter unpack the extraordinary events of the last seven days at the BBC. With Tim Davie and Deborah Turness both offering their resignations, we discuss how the BBC got itself into this mess, and where it goes from here. 

And, as the pod comes live from the Belfast Media Festival, we ask whether there’s still an unconscious bias when it comes to nations and regions commissioning, and what more can be do...

This week, Peter and Jimmy unpack the row over the “misleading” edit in Panorama's Trump doc. Could (and should) there be resignations? We talk Kim Kardashian’s appallingly reviewed new drama “All’s Fair”. Does being panned in the press actually put streaming audiences off, or does it simply pique their interest and make them more likely to try a show for themselves? And we dip a toe into the fascinating and fast-growing world of m...

This week, with Claudia Winkleman reportedly being lined up for a BBC chat show (to be produced by Graham Norton's company), Peter and Jimmy ponder how that’s going to work in practice, and remember some chat show hits (and misses) of their own. And as Disney announce they’re ending their deal with the BBC to make Doctor Who, we ask what the future holds for the series, and whether the BBC’s cast-iron commitment to the so-called “W...

This week, Jimmy and Peter discuss the future of Strictly, and what to make of the mid-series announcement that Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are leaving the show. As Studio Canal file their first court papers in the Paddington vs Spitting Image case, we indulge ourselves one more time in the story (and the publicity) that never stops giving. And we ask what (if anything) the results of the Our BBC, Our Future survey really ...