Pedro Pina, YouTube’s vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, used this year’s James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival to challenge the narrative that the platform is a villain in British television’s decline. Instead, he argued that it is increasingly feeding the sector with talent, audiences and revenue — and backed that pitch with a fresh £3 million ($4 million) commitment to the U.K. industry. The speech comes at a crucial moment for YouTube in Europe, as the European Commission reviews the rules governing the audiovisual sector and considers how to create a more level playing field between traditional media groups and newer digital serices.
The process has put renewed focus on whether platforms such as YouTube should face more of the obligations imposed on broadcasters and streaming services, including requirements around investment in European content. Netflix has been among those pressing the case that YouTube should no longer be treated as a different business. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos argued in Brussels earlier this year that YouTube had become a “straightforward competitor” to streaming services.
Against that backdrop, Pina’s speech asserted the platform should be regarded as a partner to television, rather than a tech giant extracting audiences and value from it. Pina described the prevailing account of the industry’s predicament as a “well-scripted tragedy,” with British television as the fallen hero and online platforms as the obvious antagonist. An emotive story,” Pina said.
YouTube will also expand its partnership with the National Film and Television School, with capacity on its sponsored Creator Incubator set to increase tenfold. The executive, who was born in Portugal but said he was raised on British television, drew a parallel with the invention of photography and how it disrupted the world of painting, ultimately benefiting it. He suggested that YouTube and traditional television are now experiencing something similar, and urged producers and broadcasters to just “focus on the things TV does best.” Pina also said Britain may be on the cusp of a third golden age of television, and argued YouTube is one of the key driving forces behind this upward trend, pointing to a wealth of creative talent and rising audience demand.
Pina framed both previous television “golden ages” as products of disruption rather than stability. The emergence of television forced Hollywood to adapt in the 1950s, while the proliferation of cable and satellite channels in the ’80s and ’90s prompted fears that fragmentation would undermine quality. He said 75% of U.K. creators who say they have a career in media and entertainment began that career on YouTube.
Pina also said YouTube supports more than 45,000 full-time-equivalent jobs in the U.K., and contributes more than £2.2 billion ($2.9 billion) to the U.K. While the platform has been called out for not commissioning content, Pina pointed the benefits of its revenue-sharing model. He also cited collaborations with broadcasters, such as the BBC, whose “Gavin & Stacey” clip has accumulated millions of views across BBC Studios, BBC and BritBox YouTube channels.
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