Channel 4 must embrace radical change or face extinction.

That’s the message from Sony Pictures Television president Wayne Garvie, who said that it is “very difficult to see how Channel 4 survives in its present form.”

Speaking at the Royal Television Society London Convention, Garvie was asked who Channel 4 needs to partner with to survive. He joked: “God, what a mystery. Sherlock Holmes, where are you?”

The forthright executive, who oversees a production empire behind series including Dept. Q and Industry, doubled down on his view that Channel 4 should become part of the BBC’s commercial operations.

He continued: “You put Channel 4 as the commercial arm of the BBC, doing public service commercial channels, and you bring them together, and Channel 4 could then have its own identity.

“I think it’ll probably happen because if not, frankly, it’s very difficult to see how Channel 4 survives in its present form — and it’s not their fault. The market is changing in every conceivable way.”

Garvie was speaking after Channel 4 announced the biggest round of layoffs in its 43-year history, with CEO Priya Dogra detailing the need for the company to “own” its future.

Garvie is skeptical that Channel 4’s business model will be transformed by in-house production, arguing that it’s “really tough” to launch a successful content division.

Speaking on the same platform, Heather Jones, chief creative officer EMEA and general manager UK at Hearst Networks, agreed that Channel 4 “needs to figure out who they partner with and how.”

Dogra has previously downplayed the idea of merging with the BBC. Speaking at the Creative Cities stage in May, Channel 4 boss Dogra said it would result in Channel 4 being absorbed by the BBC, leading to the loss of its editorial voice.

“That would be a loss to society, [and] a real loss for the creative economy,” she said. Dogra did say she was open to collaboration, though she was not clear on what this would entail.

Amazon’s Prime Video international chief has unashamedly thrown her weight behind the power of artificial intelligence and its use in Prime Video content.

Addressing the RTS London Convention, Kelly Day said the controversial tech “brings down costs meaning more stories can be made, more diverse voices can get heard and more creative risks get taken,” while “transforming the viewing experience on Prime Video.”

“That is not a threat to creativity, that is creativity unleashed,” she told a room packed full of the great-and-the-good of the British TV industry.

While Day stressed “we’re not looking for an AI model to write the next Fleabag,” she said it will allow the creator of the next big hit to “spend less time on admin and more time on creative decisions that make a show like that sing.”

Day echoed previous senior Amazon execs in backing AI. Amazon has an AI Studios division, led by Albert Cheng, which is currently being built out. Amazon MGM Studios recently dropped Luca Guadagnino’s movie Artificial, which tells of OpenAI and the company’s turbulent period in 2023 when founder Sam Altman was fired and rehired in a matter of days.

“The next generation of viewers is telling us they want more, not less,” added Day. “AI will help us get there faster. And the people who make some of the best television in the world are sitting in this room.”

Amazon is sponsoring the RTS Convention this year and Day revealed Prime Video quadrupled spend in UK TV, movies and live sport over the past five years.

Arguing that the UK TV industry should embrace change and build “for the customer,” Day said Prime Video spent £4B ($5.3B) since 2022 versus £1B the preceding five years, leading total spend to hit £5B since Prime Video moved into the territory a decade ago with Jeremy Clarkson’s motoring show The Grand Tour.

Day revealed publicly for the first time the story of how, a decade ago, Prime Video set The Grand Tour’s launch date to time with the streamer rolling out from five to more than 200 territories.

Day labeled the UK as Amazon MGM Studios’ “largest production hub outside of the U.S.,” with more than 90 productions having now filmed there in the past decade. Big hitters include the likes of Clarkson’s Farm, Last One Laughing UK and The Assassin. Upcoming are an adaptation of Stephen King’s Crouch End and Irish YA series Boys of Tommen. “We need a lot more so please call us,” said Nicole Clemens, international originals boss, who has relocated to London.

Day became the latest international head honcho to unveil a big money content spend in the UK. Both Disney+ and Netflix have laid down similar gauntlets over the past few years.

Day was speaking at RTS London alongside international originals boss Nicole Clemens before the chiefs of the BBC and Channel 4. Clarkson is speaking later, as is Steven Knight and Graham Norton.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s one for the history buffs. The newly-formed Radar Studios is teaming with British broadcaster and historian Tony Robinson for a suite of content.

Tony Robinson Rewrites History will launch as a YouTube channel later this year, with an initial 12 half-hour episodes. Meanwhile, Radar Studios will debut a six-part, hour-long TV series to international buyers at MIPCOM Cannes next month.

The series will see popular British personality Robinson, who is known for his role in sitcom Blackadder, revisiting defining events of the past, from ancient history through to the modern era, and explore how things might have gone differently if a single pivotal moment had gone differently. The events will range from the Spanish Armada to the advent of Covid-19.

Robinson has worked with Radar Studios parent WTFN Group in Australia for more than 15 years on TV shows such as Tony Robinson’s Time Walks and Tony Robinson’s Tour of Duty, so today’s news extends that pact.

As we revealed last week, Radar Studios came into being when WTFN merged its digital arm Radar with its distribution business Fred Media. It aims to bring content creation, channel management and international distribution together under one roof, and already operates Robinson’s dedicated history channel Time Travels on YouTube, where it has more than 40,000 subscribers.

The new pact will see a new pipeline on original shows and digital content from Robinson roll out.

“I’ve known the team at WTFN for more than 15 years and we’ve made some terrific television together, so the opportunity to do something genuinely new with Radar Studios was irresistible,” said Robinson in a statement to Deadline.

“History is about the way things were, isn’t it? It’s written in stone and it couldn’t have happened any other way. Well, no. It’s actually full of tiny moments where everything hung in the balance. One different decision, one mistake, even a gust of wind and you have to rewrite history.

“And the great thing about this partnership is that we’re no longer thinking about history as something that has to fit into one particular television slot. We can tell stories in different ways, for different audiences and across different platforms. There is an enormous amount to explore and I’m hoping these first six hours are just the beginning.”

Radar Studios’ Chief Commercial Officer, Derek Dyson, added: “There could hardly be a better partner than Tony to lead off our originals strategy. He is one of the most recognisable and trusted faces in popular history, with an extraordinary ability to make the past entertaining, accessible and relevant to audiences around the world.

“Significantly, Tony Robinson Rewrites History demonstrates exactly why we created Radar Studios. Instead of making a series and then deciding where it might live, we are developing IP from the outset with multiple audiences, platforms and distribution opportunities in mind. We are creating original content for a dedicated, managed YouTube channel; developing additional digital opportunities around that content; and producing a standalone six-part television series for international buyers.

“One creative partnership and one piece of IP can therefore generate a whole ecosystem of content and commercial opportunities. By bringing content creation, channel management and international distribution together within Radar Studios, we can manage that entire journey ourselves.”