The London Screenings have been an informal fixture in the British TV diary for a number of years, but now major distributors are combining forces to formalize the event in 2021.
All3Media International, Banijay Rights, eOne, Fremantle and ITV Studios will launch a two-week event, The London Screenings, on March 1, 2021. It will take place virtually amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with the idea being that it will become a physical setpiece from 2022 onwards.
The screenings will follow BBC Studios Showcase, which is scheduled to take place online between February 22-24. The annual gathering in Liverpool was the springboard for the informal London Screenings, which have been organized as a coordinated but disparate set of events for some time.
A London Screenings spokeswoman said: “Over previous years, the week in London post-BBC Studios Showcase has become a destination for key buyers around the world. This has been down to the calibre of the events and presentations arranged by the key London-based distributors.
“Having listened to our buyers, the logical evolution is for those companies to bring buyers a fully curated series of quality showcases across two weeks, each planned to avoid screening conflicts and all under the official banner of The London Screenings.”