Channel 4 will be 'major focus' of Edinburgh TV festival

[BGonaSTICK]

Channel 4 will be a major focus of this year's MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival as the broadcaster marks its 25th anniversary.

The event, which officially unveils its programme tomorrow, will feature three sessions exploring the current state of Channel 4 as well as looking back at its most controversial moments.

Channel 4 on Trial will feature the main issues that have affected the broadcaster over the past year, including Ofcom's report on Celebrity Big Brother, the Richard & Judy phone scandal and controversies around The Great Global Warming Swindle and the Diana documentary.

The session will present cases for the prosecution and the defence and ask if Channel 4 has lost its way.

It will be chaired by broadcaster Andrew Neil and feature a panel including Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan and Steven Lambert, the director of programmes at RDF.

In Indies at 25 - From Kitchen Table to the Boardroom, a panel including BBC Vision chief creative officer Peter Salmon, Gecko Productions co-founder Viv McGrath and Alan Clements, who co-founded Scottish indie Wark Clements with his wife Kirsty Wark, will look at how UK production companies have grown and developed since 1982.

In his first speech since becoming Channel 4's director of television and content, Kevin Lygo will outline the broadcaster's public service vision and how it is evolving to meet the challenges of emerging digital media.

Full details about each session at the conference, which takes place from 24 to 26 August, will be released tomorrow, 3rd July.