Students from six continents pull off 24 hour broadcast hosted by London university

From 16 to 17 October, On Air, the world’s largest student-led broadcast, streamed live for 24 hours from a central hub at Ravensbourne University London.

The event linked student-run studios worldwide, creating an entirely student-produced television feed which combined live and pre-recorded material in a single continuous programme.

Each of the 18 participating universities received no more than 60 minutes of live airtime. The remainder of their contributions consisted of pre-recorded and filler content.

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Streamed via YouTube, the event connected stories as they unfolded from locations on six different continents.

As well as university segments, On Air featured a dedicated live partnership with CNN and Wandsworth Council.

Part of the London Borough of Culture 2025 initiative, it included contributions from year eight pupils at 17 secondary schools in south London. The students took part in a live segment from CNN’s London studio, learning about news productions while participating in a global broadcast.

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Representing an educational outreach component of On Air, this segment offered younger audiences an opportunity to get involved in live television production for the first time.

However, maintaining a seamless 24-hour YouTube broadcast presented both logistical and technical challenges for organisers.

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Carrie Wootten, co-founder of the Global Media and Entertainment Talent Manifesto, coordinated teams across different time zones. Aligning technical systems and curating distinctive content required meticulous planning and constant communication, something she saw as worth it for the aims of the project: “On Air exemplifies the power of collaboration between education and industry by providing an opportunity to connect with and support the next generation of talent.”

Alongside technical work, organisers emphasised the importance of compliance with editorial policy. Since the content had to be appropriate for global audiences, and since part of it would air during daytime hours, the entire broadcast complied with pre-watershed guidelines.

Artificial intelligence tools from Amazon Web Services (AWS) also assisted the broadcast. Running on cloud technology, it automated tasks such as subtitling, editing and ad creation, ensuring the efficiency of the broadcast. 

The system also used a BBC-designed platform – TAMS (Time Addressable Media Store) – to record the entire broadcast in one feed. 

Backed by over 20 partner organisations, including AWS, ITV Studios, and Ravensbourne University London, the project benefitted from a blend of technical guidance and industry expertise. This support helped students to achieve a broadcast on par with professional standards.

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Maisie, a second year digital TV production student at Ravensbourne University, participated in the project, sharing her experience with TVB Europe: “We’re all students, so to see that we have the skills to do something like this and actually get a live broadcast out for other people to watch is fantastic.”

The event streamed live on YouTube from 16th to 17th October and remains available to watch online. 

You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/@mediatalentmanifesto 

Featured image via Instagram