This year’s Belfast Media Festival marked a milestone for Spark Media – our first time attending with our newly formed development team and the first chance to represent our new Northern Ireland base, Spark Media Belfast at an industry event. A landmark moment all round.
CEO Steve Havers and Chief Creative Officer Joff Hatfield Powell travelled to Belfast to attend the first-ever three-day edition of the festival in its remarkable 16-year history, along with our Belfast based team.
The festival was a three day flurry of creativity, connection, and a powerful reminder of why Northern Ireland is one of the most exciting media hubs in the UK right now. Offering a wide range of sessions – from emerging trends in TV and digital content to insights on audience engagement and production innovation. We were eager to soak up this breadth of media intel to inform our upcoming projects.
Day one set the tone fast. We jumped straight into commissioning sessions, hearing first-hand from major players such as Disney+ about their latest priorities, needs, and new creative opportunities. It was energising, insightful, and exactly the sort of industry deep-dive our development team thrives on.
The evening brought a real highlight: the RTS Northern Ireland Awards, celebrating its tenth anniversary. Taking place in the iconic Titanic Centre, the event was a perfect showcase of the exceptional talent and acclaimed series emerging from Belfast. The room was buzzing with pride and possibility. As we celebrated the wins of Northern Ireland companies and reconnected with familiar faces, it reminded us why launching Spark Media Belfast was such an exciting step and truly the start of an inspiring journey full of opportunity and creative potential.
Day two kept the momentum high with sessions led by Channel 4 and BBC commissioners. Hearing directly about their evolving briefs affirmed how well positioned Spark Media is to develop returnable series from our Belfast base. We also dove into cutting-edge conversations on virtual production and were lucky enough to sneak some exclusive previews of upcoming Belfast-shot series that are already turning heads internationally.
Day three: Our involvement didn’t stop there. Spark Media proudly sponsored the hugely popular Blue Lights Goes Green session – a behind-the-scenes look at one of the UK’s most watched dramas, created right here in Belfast. The packed-out session was a real testament to the show’s cultural impact and the world-class storytelling talent flourishing locally. Being part of such a beloved show’s presence at the festival and seeing a fantastic showreel of Spark Media’s work play out to the audience was a genuine highlight for our team.
By the time the festival wrapped, our team was buzzing with ideas, inspiration, and newfound connections. The event not only supercharged our ambition to deliver the next wave of standout formats from Belfast – it felt like a defining moment for Spark Media’s presence in Northern Ireland.
Three days, important conversations, big creative energy and a real sense of momentum – Belfast Media Festival 2025 had us heading back to the office with renewed fire, bold plans, and an even stronger belief that the next big hits can – and will – be made right here!