The plain-speaking Today programme presenter, who has a reputation for ruffling the feathers of senior politicians, is expected to take a few post-Hutton potshots at the government, the BBC and perhaps his old enemy Alastair Campbell.
But, in order to stand the test of time, MacTaggarts have to do more than settle scores. The question is: will Humphrys' words go down in the 28-year history of the lecture as some of its wisest? or most instantly forgettable?
Comedy writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran's 1997 effort certainly belongs to the latter camp. The duo attacked UK broadcasters for not giving creatives the recognition they deserved, but their speech suffered from a surfeit of wit and a lack of depth. Festival stalwart and executive committee member Steve Hewlett says: 'Marks and Gran cracked some good jokes, but ultimately what they said was inconsequential.'
And it seems a poor MacTaggart can be bad for your career. The creators of Birds of a Feather have hardly worked in the UK since. Conversely, Jeremy Isaacs' 1979 lecture proved a well-timed speech can do wonders. He set out a blueprint for Channel 4 that was widely credited with helping him become the station's first chief executive.
David Elstein, who delivered a lecture in 1991, confirms: 'It's the broadest platform in the UK TV industry and can enhance your reputation if you get it right. But with a big set-piece like this, people need to stand back and reflect on big trends, not just apply for jobs.'
But then, according to Elstein, few MacTaggarts have had lasting impact - among which he includes Janet Street-Porter's 1995 'three ?Ms' attack on UK broadcasting as largely male, middle-class and middle-aged. Hewlett agrees: 'The MacTaggart is the agenda-setter for the festival, but not many last beyond it.'
So what are the industry's most highly regarded MacTaggarts? Universally voted as the most impressive was Rupert Murdoch's 1989 barnstormer, in which the News International chief stunned his audience by telling them that British television was run by pointy-headed, middle-class intellectuals who think that what they like to watch is synonymous with quality. Until then, they were used to being told that British public service broadcasting was the best in the world.
Film-maker Roger Graef adds: 'The most successful lectures have been visionary and, in a slightly satanic, cynical way, this was one of the first deeply visionary statements of the future where Murdoch laid out his blueprint for Sky.'
All the more so because Murdoch's theme that the UK's PSB monopoly would eventually be whittled away by multichannels has turned out to be true.
Murdoch's effort also signalled a new era for the MacTaggart. Initially dominated by intellectuals and creatives, in recent years it has become a platform for broadcasting executives. As a result, with the exception of David Liddiment's 2001 speech, it's become increasingly corporate and self-serving.
The worst offenders have been John Birt's 1996 MacTaggart, which amounted to a 40-minute pat on the back, and Sky's former chief Tony Ball, who used his speech last year to call on the BBC to sell off some of its most successful shows to commercial broadcasters.
The best speeches have managed to rise above short-term point-scoring with passion, vision or a combination of both.
Former BBC executive David Docherty singles out playwright Dennis Potter's 'incandescent' attack on John Birt in 1993 as one of the MacTaggart's most passionate moments. Another strong contender, according to Docherty, is Peter Jay's 1981 lecture, in which he predicted the effect that technology would have on media.
Former ITV chief Richard Eyre, who delivered the 1999 lecture, picks David Liddiment's 2001 effort, a rallying cry for creativity in broadcasting and a warning about the failures of the BBC. 'It was much better than mine,' he admits. Roger Graef adds: 'Liddiment was wonderful. It showed a passionate, intellectual side to him I'd never seen before.'
But whether passionate defences of public service or radical 'wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee' speeches, they all end up the same way, according to Graef: 'Endlessly discussed in the George.'
Top five all-time James MacTaggart Memorial Lectures
1 Rupert Murdoch (1989)
Murdoch stunned his audience as he set out his blueprint for the future of TV - a vision in which public service broadcasting is relegated to a sideshow as the nation is gripped by a satellite revolution. 'Much of what passes for quality on British TV is no more than a reflection of the values of the narrow elite which controls it,' he argued.
2 David Liddiment (2001)
The former BBC entertainment chief turned ITV director of channels impressed many with the intellectual depth and passion of his 2001 MacTaggart, in which he identified the BBC's gradual commercial drift and the nub of the problem - the corporation's ineffectual board of governors.
3 Ted Turner (1982)
US cable entrepreneur Ted Turner set out his vision for 24-hour news - to a sceptical Edinburgh audience. But Turner's vision turned out to be spot-on - despite his reputation as one of the wackier moguls. For good measure, he added that we'd all be better off playing cards or talking to our kids than watching TV.
4 Dennis Potter (1993)
A cancer-ridden Potter vented his spleen in the most savage personal attack in the history of the MacTaggart - directed principally at BBC director general John Birt. Potter insisted that Birt's BBC had become so obsessed with management culture that it had lost the plot over public service broadcasting. He added: 'You cannot make a pair of croak-voiced Daleks appear benevolent even if you dress one of them up in an Armani suit and call the other Marmaduke.'
5 Peter Jay (1981)
TV-am founder Jay, then one of the industry's fastest rising stars, was one of the first to predict the massive impact that communications technology would have on the TV landscape, including the proliferation of channels and the development of the many on-demand services.
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