Digital technologies have the potential to bridge the gap between customer demand and what producers make, delegates to The Media Festival in Manchester heard.

The event, backed by Screen International and ScreenDaily,focused on the challenges of ensuring a sufficiently broad and diverse range of content to satisfy audiences across today's multi media platforms.

Speakers at the Media Festival included John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council, David Stevens, vice president international marketing - Europe, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Peter Cowley, managing director - digital, Endemol UK.

John Woodward, CEO of the UK Film Council highlighted how wide spread, high speed broadband could narrow the gap between what audiences want to see and what can be made available:

'Imagine, for a moment, a world in which it becomes possible to view, on-demand, thousands of hours of material from national and local archives, to watch plays from anywhere in the UK, to call up moving image content about art exhibitions of every size and shape across the UK - all with supporting editorial content and context. And all giving audiences the chance to comment and supply their own context via wikis and blogs.' Woodward said.

Topics covered at the three day event also included the future of digital business and models and strategies for the funding of creative content.

The Manchester-based event hosted over 300 delegates from the world of converged media including film, television, advertising, gaming and online.

The conference was opened by Peter Bazalgette, the Media Festival's director and Conor Dignam, digital content director, Emap Inform, parent company of Screen.

Attendees were given the opportunity to take part in over 38 sessions, which included master classes and debates.

Topics