Dr Alex Connock is an academic in the media business and AI, who has written a trilogy of books spanning the contemporary media business - Media Management and Artificial Intelligence (2022) Media Management and Live Experience: Sports, Culture, Entertainment and Events (2024) and Entrepreneurship in Media and Entertainment (2025.) All are published with Routledge.
He is also a leading international and industry speaker on the media business and how it is being changed by AI.
Academically, Alex is Senior Fellow at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, teaching AI, Marketing and Media Business courses at BA, MBA and EMBA level. He co-launched and ran Oxford postgraduate diploma in Artificial Intelligence for Business from 2021-3. and is Lecturer at St Hugh’s College, Oxford in Management. He won an Oxford award for Teaching Innovation in 2025.
Alex is also Professor in Media and Artificial Intelligence at Exeter University, and Professor in Media Innovation and Sunderland University. He has a PhD in video optimisation for e-commerce and degrees from Oxford (PPE) Columbia (Journalism) and INSEAD (MBA).
Entrepreneurially, Alex has created and grown multiple media companies. From 2012-17 he was Managing Director of TV and digital production business Endemol Shine North (now Workerbee). Between 1998 and 2011 he co-founded, and ran as CEO, the media group Ten Alps (now Zinc Media) with Bob Geldof - producing hundreds of programmes for UK and international broadcasters, as well as substantial digital and branded content output, including the UK government's Teachers TV project. He has worked directly for BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and PEOPLE Magazine.
He has been six times shortlisted as Entrepreneur of the Year.
Talking Points
Keynotes & Workshops
Dr Alex Connock delivers practical Keynotes and Workshops on how AI is reshaping media, marketing and the recommendation economy. He translates fast-moving technology into clear commercial implications, from content and growth to data, IP, governance and risk, helping leaders act with confidence and responsibility.Keynotes & Workshops
Core themes:
- AI and the Recommendation Economy (platforms, discovery, attention, growth)
- AI in Media, Creativity and Content Production (workflows, quality, distribution, monetisation)
- AI, Data and Intellectual Property (ownership, rights, value capture, protection)
- AI Governance, Risk and Compliance (guardrails, responsible use, oversight)
- AI, Employment and Workforce Impact (capability, redesigning roles)
- AI, Bias and Trust (fairness, reputational risk, “what’s true” online)
- AI, Geopolitics and Competitive Advantage (regulation, security, strategy)
- Preparing for Advanced AI (AGI and beyond, scenario planning)
Video
AU Skip navigation Search Create 2 Avatar image AI Isn’t Just a Tool – It’s a Business Reset
Recorded at the TellyCast Digital Content Forum 2025, this interview sees Andy Fry in conversation with Dr Alex Connock from University of Oxford on what AI really means for the media industry. Rather than treating AI as a workflow upgrade, Connock argues that producers, creators and media businesses need to think much bigger. From reinventing formats and business models to understanding why creators are moving faster than traditional TV, this conversation tackles the hard questions facing an industry under pressure. Topics include AI and content formats, creators versus broadcasters, fears around job losses and commoditisation, the rise of low-quality AI content, and how media professionals should engage with AI right now to future-proof their careers and businesses.Latest News
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