PLANS for a new Scottish TV and screen festival have been unveiled after the Edinburgh TV Festival announced it was ending its 50-year run in the capital and moving to England.
Culture Secretary Màiri McAllan announced the new initiative in Edinburgh as the city's final edition of the existing TV Festival draws to a close.
A pilot of the replacement event is expected to take place in August 2027, when the Edinburgh TV Festival relocates to Greater Manchester.
Unlike its predecessor, there are ambitions for the event to extend beyond an industry-only gathering and allow members of the public to hear from major figures in the sector.
Its scope is also expected to extend beyond traditional television and film towards the wider global content industry.
Announcing the event, McAllan said: "We are so proud of Scotland's screen sector and this exciting addition to the August festivals line-up will provide a new way to embrace the creativity and cultural innovation which makes our capital unique."
The announcement follows controversy over the decision to move the Edinburgh TV Festival to Greater Manchester after half a century in Scotland.
Some of the country’s top comedy figures had raised their concerns about the festival’s relocation as they argued that several acts and shows, including Fleabag, Baby Reindeer, and Taskmaster, would not have been picked up if it weren’t for the festival running alongside the Fringe.
Organisers said the move would help "radically reduce the costs" of attending the festival.
The National previously revealed that almost £600,000 of Creative Scotland funding had been awarded to the Edinburgh TV Festival across 10 editions before the decision to relocate.
It received £197,752 from the Scottish Government's arts agency for its 2025 event and £32,673 for its final year in the capital.
After the move to Manchester was announced, Glasgow Tellyfest chief executive Claire Duffy told The National that the loss could present an opportunity to create a festival which better prioritised Scottish talent.
She argued the Edinburgh event had become "very much an international festival that happened to take place in Edinburgh" and said Scotland needed an event which was "truly inherently based in Scotland and prioritising and centring Scottish talent".
McAllan said one of her first meetings after becoming Culture Secretary following May's election concerned the future of the festival.
She said: "There was a collective disappointment about its departure but almost as soon as I was briefed on its departure, I was told 'don't worry minister, we're already on it. We will work together and move on'."
The plans for a new festival were announced at an event also attended by Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd, whose hit show began life at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before attracting interest from major broadcasters and Netflix.
Gadd described Edinburgh's festival ecosystem as "the cultural backbone of the whole country, the world even", warning it must remain a place where someone can "arrive with an idea and leave with a career".
The original Edinburgh TV Festival began as the Edinburgh Television Drama Festival in 1976 and grew into the UK's largest screen industry gathering, attracting more than 2000 delegates.
Its MacTaggart lecture has featured some of the biggest names in broadcasting over its five decades in Scotland, giving a platform to figures such as Emily Maitlis, Louis Theroux, and David Olusoga in recent years.
Screen Scotland also plans to establish a new Linda Myles Debate, named after the woman who co-founded the original festival in 1976.
Myles said she was "deeply touched and honoured" by the decision, adding that it was exciting to see ideas and discussion recognised in the plans for Edinburgh's new event.
Few details are known about the new event, except that it will be funded by Screen Scotland and delivered through the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, with former Edinburgh TV Festival creative director Rowan Woods leading further consultation on its development.
