The Media Club with Matt Deegan

Ten years on from Remainiacs, Podmasters co-founder Martin Bojtos says we're nowhere near peak podcast - and MIDiA Research's Laura Fisher on why Gen Z are turning to radio for music discovery.
Also on the show: Dave Masterman on building Significant Productions with Elis James and John Robins, and the Audio Academy's Aradhna Tayal Leach on the key takeaways from the Audio Festival in London.
All that plus: we catch up with British Podcast Awards winners, Channel 4's hunt for a programme boss goes to a photo finish... and, in The Audio Network Media Quiz, we hand out some awards of our own.
The Media Quiz is sponsored by Audio Network. Alex (who is a real person) selects the music for us to score each episode and she and her team can do it for you too at audionetwork.com
Recorded live at the Audio Academy Festival — thank you to the Audio Academy for having us.
Become a member for FREE when you sign up for our newsletter at themediaclub.com
A Rethink Audio production, produced by Matt Hill with post-production from Podcast Discovery.

What The Media Club has been reading this week:
Podmasters: we're nowhere near peak podcast
MIDiA: Gen Z turn to radio for music discovery
Brindley and Murphy in two-horse race for C4 content boss
BBC deletes bare nails article
Radio in the car: shock new figures
Britten Thinks AI Dr Who 'Pretty Good'
Channel 4 Chief Accepts Shows Will Appear on iPlayer
Guardian to train journalists in content creation

Laura's recommendations for the club:
Cut for time, here's a few of Laura's excellent choices for the club. Go check them out!
@Wyatt Dixon is someone whose work I really like. He does content but also has a Substack, and he’s a photographer too. And I think he’s adding something really positive to the conversation around men and masculinity. Really is in the work he does a counterbalance to some of the worst parts of the manosphere.

Mimi, the music blogger
Mimi has a great Substack focused on music journalism. What I really like is that she always connects the music back to lived experience, people and community. She gives the work context which makes her writing really engaging.

Radge Magazine
Radge Magazine is run by a woman based in Middlesbrough, and it has a really strong community focus. She talks openly about her working-class Northern upbringing and the political and social issues affecting her and her community. I like that she often makes those bigger issues really relatable - so what she says frequently is that a steak bake now costing £2.50 is radge. It’s a great example because it communicates something much bigger about the cost of living and how people experience it.

Vicky Spratt
Vicky Spratt is a journalist who did a series called The Gen Z Story for Goalhanger’s The Rest Is Politics, which I thought was excellent. It explained some of the issues facing Gen Z today in a way that was accessible to a wider audience. She also produces some great content independently and regularly features in The i Paper.
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Where do people actually want to see your adverts – and where would they rather you just didn't? Kantar's Global Media Director Gonca Bubani gives us an early look at Media Reactions 2026.
Also on the show: Strictly, Bake Off and the Grand Tour get a talent reboot. InterTalent MD Alex Segal – author of the Dealmakers Substack – on the stars refreshing old formats.
All that plus: Trump’s latest salvo against the press sees him launch a YouTube channel, Piers Morgan gets an apology from Earl Spencer, Andy Burnham declares war on disinformation, the BBC blows the final whistle on its sports bulletins... and, in the Audio Network Media Quiz, we learn how to get rich quick.
The Media Quiz is sponsored by Audio Network. Alex selects the music for us to score each episode and the team can do it for you too at:
https://audionetwork.com
We record at Podshop Studios – for 25% off your first booking, use the code MEDIACLUB at:
https://www.podshoponline.co.uk/services/podcast-studio
Become a member for FREE when you sign up for our newsletter at:
https://themediaclub.com
A Rethink Audio production, produced by Matt Hill with post-production from Podcast Discovery.
What The Media Club has been reading this week:
White House launches Trump TV on YouTube
Burnham announces National Centre for Information Defence
BBC to axe sports bulletins on its news channel
Earl Spencer apologises to Piers Morgan
Kyle Sandilands to deliver an unforgettable keynote
MipcomUK RIP
Hearst returns to revenue growth
Global Player offers ad-free subscriptions
Disney+ Interupts Game For Ad Break
Dealmakers with Alex Segal
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Metro's editor-in-chief has quit and a familiar face is back to steady the ship. Alex Hudson, who spent years as deputy editor of Metro.co.uk, sizes up his old newsroom.

Also on the show: Channel 4 and Channel 5 make advertising history together, just days after Channel 4 confirmed a quarter of its workforce is going. TV and media journalist Tara Conlan on what the deal – and the cuts – mean for the wider industry.

All that plus: playwright Jack Thorne accuses fellow screenwriters of using AI to cheat, the BBC gets serious about Birmingham, Radio 2 goes shopping for a £300k visualised podcast, Emily Maitlis goes digging into Jeffrey Epstein's British circle, and Acast says the format wars are finally over... and, in the Audio Network Media Quiz, we go looking for good news at the pictures.

The Media Quiz is sponsored by Audio Network. Alex selects the music for us to score each episode and the team can do it for you too at:
https://audionetwork.com

We record at Podshop Studios – for 25% off your first booking, use the code MEDIACLUB at:
https://www.podshoponline.co.uk/services/podcast-studio

Become a member for FREE when you sign up for our newsletter at:
https://themediaclub.com

A Rethink Audio production, produced by Matt Hill with post-production from Podcast Discovery.

What The Media Club has been reading this week:
Metro editor and executive editor exit amid radical change
Reach cuts 220 staff in reaction to AI Overview
Jack Thorne says fellow writers are using AI to cheat
Channel 4 and Paramount's 5 make advertising history
Emily Maitlis to host Global podcast on Epstein's British links
BBC launches partnership with Birmingham City University
Visualised Podcast Brief at R2
Acast releases Podcast Pulse 2026
Guardian grows revenue to record £282m
Newsquest grows profit as digital subscribers rise
Washington Post on track to break even after four years of losses
Tara’s Job Finding Platform, How Do You Do?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A quarter of Channel 4’s workforce will be gone by the end of the year in Priya Dogra’s grand vision. Broadcast's Rebecca Cooney on whether the broadcaster can afford it, and what happens to its promise to the nations and regions.

Also on the show: as advertisers pile back into audio, Bauer Media Advertising's Simon Kilby joins the club for the first time to tell us where the money's actually going.

All that plus: the independent production sector's cash reserves are wearing dangerously thin, Ofcom throws public broadcasters an olive branch on advertising rules... and in the Audio Network Media Quiz, some old favourites bow out while a flashy new arrival gets no takers.

The Media Quiz is sponsored by Audio Network. Alex selects the music for us to score each episode and she and her team can do it for you too at https://audionetwork.com

We record at Podshop Studios - for 25% off your first booking, use the code MEDIACLUB at https://www.podshoponline.co.uk/services/podcast-studio

Become a member for FREE when you sign up for our newsletter at https://themediaclub.com

A Rethink Audio production, produced by Matt Hill with post-production from Podcast Discovery.

What The Media Club has been reading this week:
Channel 4 Confirms Biggest Job Cuts In Its History
Priya Dogra Sets Out Her Rationale
Tiny Cash Buffers Leave Small UK TV Firms At Risk
Ofcom Sets Out Measures To Help Under-Pressure PSBs
BBC Staff Reject Improved Pay Offer As Strike Looms
Trump Administration Attacks UK Plan To Boost BBC On YouTube
Netflix Hikes UK Prices, Cheapest Plan Up A Third
STV Studios Reviews Its Labels
Zoe Ball Launches New Afternoon Show On GHR
Monty Don Steps Down From Gardeners' World
Tom Jones Fired From The Voice UK
Antiques Roadshow Repeat Overwhelms The Box
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're in Edinburgh for the last installment of the Edinburgh International TV Festival before it moves to Manchester next year. But there's plenty of energy on show in this season finale, as YouTube's Pedro Pina delivers the Festival's keynote - the MacTaggart lecture - and unsurprisingly, was not keen on more regulation or of their platform.

Also on the show: where's innovation? Fenton Bailey - World Of Wonder - joined us for an in depth interview this week which you can see on YouTube. During the chat he had a very particular metaphor for the crisis in television... TV Critic Scott Bryan and indie chief Geoff Jein (Biscuit Jim) dissect the theory.

All that, plus conversations with award winners TwoFour, Banijay, Persephonica and Quay Street Productions - and, in the Audio Network Media Quiz - we rundown the big commission announcements of the week with Entertainment Exec Rina Dayalji and Broadcast Magazine's Chris Curtis.

The Media Quiz is sponsored by Audio Network. Alex selects the music for us to score each episode and she and her team can do it for you too at https://audionetwork.com

We record at Podshop Studios - for 25% off your first booking, use the code MEDIACLUB at podshoponline.co.uk

Chapters:
0:00 - Edinburgh TV Festival special
0:33 - YouTube’s Pedro Pina on regulation and public service prominence
6:42 - Fenton Bailey’s Titanic metaphor and TV’s innovation crisis
13:16 - Matt Brittin, the BBC and the future of public broadcasting
18:31 - Rethinking the BBC licence fee and Public Media 2028
25:52 - Audio Network on human-made music and AI
30:22 - Quay Street Productions' Nicola Shindler on drama, funding and what commissioners want
36:34 - Persephonica on podcasting, YouTube and Amol Rajan’s next move
43:20 - Banijay on global formats, creators and building the next big franchise
53:34 - TwoFour's David Clews on 'Educating...', Destination X and taking risks in TV
1:00:27 - Audio Network Media Quiz: Commission Impossible
1:06:46 - Festival takeaways: noisy TV, YouTube and an industry in flux

Become a member for FREE when you sign up for our newsletter at themediaclub.com

A Rethink Audio production, produced by Matt Hill with post-production from Podcast Discovery.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.