Senior Executives From France Télévisions, ITV, M6 and Warner Bros. Discovery to Speak at Series Mania’s Lille Dialogues

Leo Barraclough

Sat, February 7, 2026 at 10:41 AM UTC

3 min read

The 7th edition of Lille Dialogues at Series Mania will feature senior executives from major companies discussing challenges in the TV industry, including AI, funding, and audience shifts.
The event will include keynote speeches from industry leaders such as the CEOs of ARTE, France Televisions, ITV Studios, M6, and Warner Bros. Discovery, focusing on topics like industry disruptions and global expansion strategies.
Panel discussions at the summit will cover issues such as the impact of advertising budgets on content creation, the AI revolution, critical thinking in viewers, and challenges facing the European audiovisual model.

Senior executives from France Télévisions, ITV Studios, M6, Warner Bros. Discovery and ARTE are among the speakers at the 7th edition of the Lille Dialogues, which takes place on March 27 as part of Forum, the industry program of television festival Series Mania.

"The day-long international summit brings together key industry leaders encouraging international cooperation and a joint reflection on the challenges facing the TV industry today," the festival said.

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This year's edition will feature panel discussions and several keynotes delivered by top industry executives exploring the role of creativity in the international audiovisual industry. It will have the headline "Post Peak TV: Challenging Times Ahead," and subjects will include AI, funding and audience changes.

Laurence Herszberg, Series Mania's founder and general director, commented that the industry is facing three major challenges. "First, a funding crisis marked by an intense battle to capture advertising budgets. Second, a sociological challenge, linked to this advertising crisis, given today's younger generations shift to social platforms, and finally, an industrial revolution, driven by the undeniable impact of artificial intelligence," she said.

"Thanks to the Lille Dialogues, which continue to be a vital platform to curate insightful discussions, collaborative solutions, and thought-provoking exchange between key leaders within the audiovisual industry, we look forward to delving further into these topics."

The day's program includes:

KEYNOTES
Keynote ARTE
Bruno Patino, CEO, Arte

Keynote France TélévisionsDelphine Ernotte Cunci, CEO, France Télévisions

Keynote ITV Studios
Ruth Berry, president of international distribution, ITV Studios
Berry will discuss the reasons why the only constant for content owners is change. The need to be where consumers want to watch, share or play is paramount – and that may mean operating several different business models at once.

Keynote M6David Larramendy, chairman of the management board, M6 Group

Keynote TF1
Rodolphe Belmer, CEO, TF1 Group
Keynote Warner Bros. Discovery Gerhard Zeiler, president of international, Warner Bros. Discovery

Zeiler explains how his company is navigating generational changes and leveraging opportunities created by industry disruptions. He will discuss WBD's strategy to support the ongoing global expansion of Max, WBD's premium streaming service, while defending and optimizing its networks business, and revitalizing its TV, movie, and game studios to reclaim industry leadership.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Welcome Address by Series Mania president Anne Bouverot
All Eyes on the advertising budget: What are the impacts on content creation?
Fast forward – The AI revolution: What will our industry look like in five years?
Deepfake and algorithms: How should we develop critical thinking in viewers?
Preserving a virtuous European model: The challenges of the 2026 AVMS revision

Among the speakers confirmed on the panels:
Erik Barmack, CEO, Wild Sheep Content
Antoine Bayet, head of editorial, INA
Marianne Carpentier, head of emerging technologies, TF1
Johann Choron, head of Gen AI for media and entertainment, Google EMEA
Gregory Dray, co-founder, Animaj
Mathilde Fiquet, secretary general, CEPI
Susana Gato, president, CEPI
Amélie Lacourt, legal analyst, European Audiovisual Observatory
Jean-Paul Philippot, administrateur general de la RTBF, RTBF
Guillemette Picard, senior VP production technology – On professional development leave, Ubisoft,
Grégoire Polad, managing director, ACT
Sally Reynolds, chief operating officer, Media & Learning Association
Femke Wolting, showrunner and co-founder, Submarine

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