AI in Action: Applications in TV Production

It was a pleasure to be apart of the audience for the Royal Television Society’s AI in Action: Applications in TV Production. Helen killeen (ITV Studios), Donna Mulvey-Jones (Banijay UK) and Matthew Wilson (Fremantle UK) shared how their teams are putting AI to work across development, production and post.

Quickture is a prime example. On Love Island, it’s being used to transcribe and edit footage tripling the number of highlight reels that can be produced. This shift frees producers to focus on what matters most: creative storytelling rather than time-intensive logging.

Adobe Firefly is accelerating the creative process by generating imagery, video and audio at scale. Generative video platforms such as Runway, Sora (OpenAI) and Veo 3 (Google) are being used in pitch decks and pilots, giving commissioners the ability to see a concept visualised before making key investment decisions.

Other tools are finding a place in daily workflows. Tanooki can identify a character and pull every line they’ve spoken across hours of footage. Audioshake can strip out music or generate soundalike tracks. Eleven Labs is pushing forward in generative voice, while Moments Lab makes creating social-ready clips faster and more effective than traditional editing suites.

The opportunities are impressive, but so are the challenges. Commissioners may expect more output without corresponding budget increases. And crucially, AI still cannot replicate the one thing that makes great television truly connect with audiences: genuine human emotion and authentic storytelling.

One of the most important points was the comparison between AI adoption and the stages of a grief cycle: denial, reluctance, curiosity and eventually excitement. The consensus was clear that training and experimentation are what allow teams to move through this journey successfully.

For individuals, the takeaway is the demand for AI fluency is already here. Fremantle recently appointed a Global Head of AI which is a clear indicator of what’s to come. Even free training programmes from organisations like Google or IBM can help professionals stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape.

For businesses, the challenge is to find people who combine creative expertise with an understanding of these tools. The companies that embrace this shift and adapt quickly will be the ones that remain competitive.

AI is not replacing creativity it is redefining it. The choice we face is not whether AI will shape our industry, but whether we will resist it, or learn to work with it.

Written By Rosie Owen, Account Executive, Searchlight