Our ambition for Televisionaries, both at this event and going forward, is to create an honest and informed dialogue between the advertising and TV industries, so that we can work together to deliver to consumers the they want in the future, whatever the technology, while delivering more profit to brands. As such, our Televisionaries event was designed as a forum for discussion, debate, insight and, hopefully, lots of inspiration.

Event structure

Televisionaries was structured into two related sessions: 'The Future of Viewing' and 'The Future of Brands on TV'.

Both were highly interactive and featured a mix of keynote visions, specially-commissioned TV interludes and debate.

The line up

The line-up ensured that all the major areas of the commercial TV industry were represented, from media owners to media planning, TV production to ad creative, and, crucially, the views of the advertisers. The event was hosted by Krishnan Guru-Murthy, presenter of Channel 4 News, and John Stapleton, presenter of GMTV.

Media consultant Peter Bazalgette, Andy Duncan, Chief Executive of Channel 4, and Peter Fincham, ITV's Director of Television headlined during the first half of the event, which examined 'The Future of Viewing'. Roisin Donnelly, Corporate Marketing Director and Head of Marketing for Procter & Gamble UK & Ireland, Nick Gill, Executive Creative Director at BBH, and Marie Oldham, Head of Strategy at Media Planning Group lead the second half, devoted to exploring 'The Future of Brands on TV'.

Thinkbox also filmed contributions from a host of luminaries from across the media industry who gave their insights on TV's future, including Alan Bishop, CEO of COI Communications; Jill McDonald, Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald's UK and Northern Europe; Brian Sullivan, Sky's Director of Product Strategy and Management; David Wheldon, Global Brand Director of Vodafone; and Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of RTL Group.

There was plenty of opportunity for comments and questions from all attendees and included a panel debate towards the end of the afternoon involving Thinkbox board members Nick Bampton Managing Director of Viacom Brand Solutions, Nick Milligan, Managing Director of Sky Media, and Mark White, Managing Director of Five.

We also streamed the event live so that those who couldn't come along could watch the action unfold from the comfort of their desks. If you didn't manage to watch this, you can catch up with the highlights in our video player on this page, on our Future of Viewing and Future of brands on TV pages.

What were the headlines from the event?

• Major figures express confidence in the future of commercial TV
• Advertisers, agencies and broadcasters must work closer together for success
• Marketing world agreed that funding quality TV content is their priority
• Tess Alps: 'TV and advertisers need each other to thrive. Their futures are inextricably linked.'

The event struck an optimistic note for commercial TV amid forecasts of a dip in TV advertising revenues during the economic downturn. Topics covered ranged from the continuing strength and increasing importance of channel brands as the TV world gets more complex, to the power of the shared experience that TV delivers and the need for advertisers to invest more in TV to beat the recession. There was also a clear warning to advertisers not to underestimate what they and, crucially, viewers will lose if they cut investment in TV.

The danger was underlined by new research from PricewaterhouseCoopers showing that cutting TV advertising triples the chance of diminishing a business's competitive position as consumers become less willing to pay for that brand. However, increasing your share of TV investment doubles the chance of improving that position and, by extension, potential profitability.

In a wide-ranging debate about TV's future, the speakers emphasised the enduring power of TV for both viewers and advertisers and called for greater understanding of what TV does for brands. Key points included:

• Peter Fincham explained how people's love affair with TV shows no sign of waning, however they watch it, and that TV channels are now more important that ever
• Andy Duncan predicted that TV would weather the recession better than others
• Roisin Donnelly stressed that advertisers must invest in TV for success
• Nick Gill stated his belief that TV is a place of unlimited magic and will always be a powerful ad medium
• Marie Oldham surprised delegates by saying that media planners are too scared of TV and that this fear will damage clients
• In a delegate vote, the overwhelming priority for all present was further investment in quality TV content

The industry is facing a difficult 2009. We all need to work through it and come out the other side in good shape, ready to take advantage of what the future of offers. Investing in the growing medium of TV, at bargain prices, with its proven effectiveness is surely the best way to survive - and even thrive in - this downturn.

Tess Alps, chief executive of Thinkbox: 'Televisionaries has been a very open and honest debate and I hope that it has reminded delegates that the futures of TV viewing and advertising are inextricably linked. Advertisers don't have to use TV and, without advertising, TV of a sort would survive. But neither will thrive in the future without the other. I hope everyone now sees that securing TV's healthy future is in everyone's interests. It is an enlightened self-interest."

Televisionaries also saw the unveiling preliminary findings from Thinkbox's in-depth study into the rapidly expanding area of online TV. The report, commissioned from Work Research by Thinkbox, offered fresh insight into how online TV is developing. Key findings included:

• Online TV viewing is currently incremental to linear broadcast TV viewing, not a substitute
• Online TV services are predominantly used to catch-up with broadcast schedules (78%)
• UK Broadcasters' online TV services, such as ITV.com and 4OD, are benefitting most from growth
• Advertising is accepted and expected by online TV viewers
• TV's expansion online is opening the internet up to wider audiences
• Online TV is reinforcing loyalty to broadcast TV viewing

What's next and how can I get involved?

The Televisionaries debate lives on beyond the event. We've launched a Televisionaries blog - www.televisionaries.tv/blog - where you can air your views and concerns about the future of TV to help set the context and agenda for tomorrow's TV.