Professor Brian Coxs books and TV programmes about science have been read and watched around the world and he is very much at the forefront of a new generation of scientist/broadcasters making science engaging and accessible to millions. Professor of Particle Physics at Manchester University and a key part of the ATLAS and the CERN Large Hadron Collider projects, he is passionate about the Reithian role of television in the 21st century. All of which will make his IBC keynote Television in an expanding Universe' unmissable.
You're taking part in the keynote Q&A session Television's expanding Universe', part of which will examine the physics of television and how TV is evolving. Briefly, how do you see things developing over the next decade or two?
It seems clear to me that the trend will be towards increasing fragmentation and perhaps towards the elimination of the channel as we know it. That's already happening with on-demand services like iPlayer, Apple TV, etc. This will be seen as a good thing in some circles, in the sense that there will be more choice. There are also significant downsides if you take a Reithian view of television, however. I see television as a powerful cultural force - it can and does influence people. The increasingly "old-fashioned" model, where channels such as BBC1 broadcast a diverse range of programmes to a more captive audience, is important if you see one of the functions of television as being to operate as part of the education system - introducing people to new ideas and new subjects that they may not otherwise have come across. Whether this is a rearguard action, and in reality we'll all have to ghettoise at the feet of the market, is a good question. But even if such fragmentation is inevitable, we can regret it and ask what that will do to society in the longer term.
You've mentioned both Cosmos' and Connections' as programmes that inspired you when you were young. Cosmos' has recently been reimagined. Can you imagine a show as complex as Connections' famously was being recommissioned today?
Yes I can. What I couldnt imagine a few years ago was a series of 13 parts being commissioned, until Fox did it with Cosmos. And that was a success, so perhaps we in the UK can learn something from the US about science commissioning! That was a bold move based, at least in part, on a belief that a science series of the scale and scope of Cosmos' might actually do some good! Bravo!
One of the most notable sections of Cosmos saw Neil deGrasse Tyson talking about the controversial' subject of climate change. Does making programming with co-production money inevitably mean you have to allow for fundamentally anti-science attitudes?
No. There can be no compromise in the presentation of science. Science represents our best view of a given subject area or question at any given time. The consensus shifts of course, as new data and understanding become available - this is the origin of the power of science - but this does not mean that all knowledge is controversial . It would be idiocy to allow a TV executive to nuance a scientific statement to appease sections of the audience. It would undermine the very foundations of our civilisation in fact, and I would not allow some fool armed with a skinny latte and the results from a focus group to do that!
Where lie the main difficulties in engaging the modern television audience with science?
In the heads of some in the television industry.
Is science programming on the back foot in the current broadcast landscape? Or does the success of series such as Wonders show that there is a genuine thirst for knowledge out there?
There is of course a genuine thirst for knowledge. I have met very few people who are not interested in the great questions - Are we alone in the Universe? How did the Universe begin and how will it end? How did life on Earth begin? How did humans evolve? And even the not so profound questions, such as: What happens when you fall into a black hole? Can we build a time machine? What happens when a star dies? As I allude to in my earlier answers, if science programming is on the back foot then it is because of a lack of conviction amongst broadcasters, and a lack of appreciation of the responsibility of the television industry to be at least partly Reithian. And let me repeat, I think the new Cosmos was a Reithian programme.
During Stargazing Live: Back to Earth', you had to interrupt a fascinating debate between generations of NASA astronauts to let a robot dog ask a dumb question. Is this always going to be a tension in science programming: the educator versus the entertainer?
Yes, that was dumb, and I blame myself for letting it happen. It was live, after all, and presenters can and should take responsibility for the direction of their own programmes.
What recent developments in physics have most excited you?
It's a tremendously exciting time in physics, and in biology actually. The discovery of the Higgs boson was genuinely important, and opens up an entirely new avenue in our exploration of the Universe at the most fundamental level. Inflationary cosmology, where we are beginning to develop theories that can at least speak of what happened before the Big Bang that created our part of the Universe, is another exciting area. And in biology, the precision that DNA sequencing has brought to areas such as human evolution is exciting. As is the new work on the origin of life.
Given an unlimited budget, what subject would you like to cover in a series? And, conversely, given a BBC4 budget, what would you like to examine?
There is no need for unlimited budgets - a standard drama budget would do! I would like to make a history of science, with an emphasis on the fact that the history of science is also a history of ideas, a sor
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
08/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
08/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
08/01/2026
Maxon's new release of Cinebench features performance enhancements and adds support for the latest Nvidia and AMD GPUs as well as Apple Silicon.
Maxon is t...
08/01/2026
Zixi, the industry leader in IP-based video transport and orchestration, today announced the appointment of Heather Mellish as Vice President, Global Sales.
In...
08/01/2026
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, has provided a complete update of its installation at Canal Sur in Spain. ...
08/01/2026
iWedia, a global leader in software solutions for connected TV devices, proudly announces the success of its collaboration with Panasonic on the Z95B OLED TV, o...
08/01/2026
Secuoya Chile, a leading provider of television content creation and supporting services, has invested in Ikegami UHK-X600 and UHL-X40 broadcast cameras as the ...
08/01/2026
Kiloview, a global leader in AV-over-IP solutions, will showcase its latest innovations at ISE 2026, highlighting the continued evolution of its complete, light...
08/01/2026
iWedia, a global leader in software solutions for connected TV devices, and Realtek, a leading global SoC design house, today announced the next phase of their ...
08/01/2026
CJP Broadcast has completed a new pitch-side media installation for Cinderford RFC, creating a flexible production setup that supports match coverage, coaching ...
08/01/2026
PlayBox Neo further drives momentum in Playout, Streaming, Media Management and Delivery
"With a brand new year at PlayBox Neo already off to a flying start, I...
08/01/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Presents Second Annual Commercial Dance BFA Conce...
07/01/2026
SVG Summit 2025: All General Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYThe SVG Summit celebrated its 20th edition with a loaded agendaBy Brandon Costa, Directo...
07/01/2026
NBCU's Brings Rinkside Live' and Courtside Live' Features to Peaco...
07/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
07/01/2026
We know people use Spotify not just to listen, but to share the songs, podcasts, and audiobooks they love with their friends and family. When we launched Messag...
07/01/2026
This week, all eyes are on the podcast industry as the Golden Globes recognizes ...
07/01/2026
Podcasts are stepping onto a new stage this week as the Golden Globes recognize the medium for the first time. To mark this milestone moment, we're hosting ...
07/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), in collaboration with a distributor, is commissioning new micro-budget fiction feature films and invites eligible...
07/01/2026
NASA's Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches on the Artemis I flight test, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Complex 39B at ...
07/01/2026
For the first time ever, new C' variants allow international users to interoperate with U.S. personnel via NSA-certified cryptography....
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Abu Dhabi, UAE 7, January 2026 - Abu Dhabi Police and Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), ...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
The Trailer of Paparazzi King: The 5-Episode Docuseries Coming...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Supports Warner Bros. Discovery Board's Commitment...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
What Next? Netflix Reveals Series, Films and Games Coming in 2026
Entertainment
07 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download ...
07/01/2026
AI has transformed retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) operations, enhancin...
06/01/2026
Peacock Bringing Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to Live Sports ContentPeacock is the first streamer to embrace Dolbys full suite of advanced picture/sound innovat...
06/01/2026
SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...
06/01/2026
Quintar Meta Spatial SDK Integration Promises Next-Level XR ExperiencesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - 9:41 am
Print This...
Professor Brian Coxs books and TV programmes about science have been read and watched around the world and he is very much at the forefront of a new generation of scientist/broadcasters making science engaging and accessible to millions. Professor of Particle Physics at Manchester University and a key part of the ATLAS and the CERN Large Hadron Collider projects, he is passionate about the Reithian role of television in the 21st century. All of which will make his IBC keynote Television in an expanding Universe' unmissable.
