TellyCast: The content industry podcast

This week Justin is joined by Steve Ackerman, one of the UK’s leading audio execs and former EVP and Head of Global Podcasts at Sony Music. Steve talks through three decades of shaping audio, from starting in hospital radio to building Somethin’ Else into a major content studio before its acquisition by Sony. 
He explains why audio and video now need to work together, why podcasting is still early in its maturity cycle, how revenue models are evolving, and what traditional TV producers can learn from the podcast ecosystem. Steve also discusses his time in the US, why the market is more entrepreneurial, and why creators need to think beyond commissioning models to build real IP value.
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In this special end-of-year episode of TellyCast, Justin Crosby looks back at 2025 and unpacks the structural shifts that have quietly but fundamentally reshaped the digital-first production economy.
Drawing on reporting from The Drop, conversations on the podcast, and insights from TellyCast events throughout the year, the episode breaks down six defining trends: the rise of creator collectives as studio systems, the explosion of micro drama and vertical video, the maturation of vodcasting as a business model, YouTube’s dominance as the world’s leading AVOD platform, brands operating as broadcasters rather than advertisers, and AI becoming everyday production infrastructure rather than headline disruption.
Justin then looks ahead to 2026, outlining how the industry is moving from speed to value, from publishing videos to building IP, and from chasing reach to prioritising audience loyalty. The episode explores why YouTube is now television, how brands are shifting towards funding entertainment rather than interrupting it, why social platforms have become the industry’s R&D engine, and how relevance is overtaking recency as the key performance driver.
This episode is a clear-eyed assessment of where the digital-first industry stands, and what producers, creators, brands and studios need to focus on next to build sustainable businesses in the new production economy.
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In this episode of TellyCast, Justin Crosby is joined by Joe Churchill, former Digital Commissioning Editor for Branded Content at Channel 4 and now co-founder of Fan Club, a digital-first agency built around brands, creators and premium social video.
Joe breaks down what it really means for brands to behave like broadcasters, why owning audiences now matters more than owning formats, and how branded entertainment has moved far beyond interruptive advertising. Drawing on his experience inside Channel 4 and now on the agency side, he explains how brands are developing long-term IP, building native formats for YouTube and social video, and working more strategically with creators.
The conversation covers the realities of talent costs, the role of creators versus legacy talent, and why audiences are far more comfortable with brand-funded content than the industry often assumes. Joe also shares his predictions for 2026, including YouTube’s collaboration tools, the rise of brand-backed micro drama, consolidation between broadcasters and digital studios, and why audience ownership is replacing IP as the most valuable asset in the production economy.
Topics include branded entertainment, social video strategy, creators and talent economics, micro drama, YouTube’s evolution, audience growth, and what comes next for digital-first studios.
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Sam Barcroft returns to TellyCast with a major update: he’s now Group CEO of SWNS Media Group, the UK’s largest independent newswire. In this wide-ranging conversation, Sam explains why news, social video and the creator economy are colliding faster than anyone expected — and what that means for producers, brands and the entire media landscape.
Sam breaks down the future of news in a video-first world, how SWNS is reshaping itself across six companies, and why trust, truth and journalistic rigour are becoming more valuable as AI-generated content floods feeds. He also gives a brutally honest diagnosis of the UK’s collapsing documentary ecosystem, why most TV producers misunderstand YouTube, and what it really takes to build a sustainable content business in 2026.
The conversation digs into creator M&A, branded content, subscription models, the rise of news influencers, vertical video, micro-drama, Goalhanger’s expansion, TikTok’s disruption of YouTube, and the biggest consolidation moves sweeping global media. Sam also shares his story of the week, his hero of the week, and who he’s putting in the bin.
A sharp, punchy, essential episode for anyone navigating the new production economy.
#TellyCast #SamBarcroft #DigitalFirst #SocialVideo #CreatorEconomy #NewsMedia #YouTubeStrategy #MediaTrends
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Factual isn’t standing still - and this panel proves it. Recorded live at the TellyCast Digital Content Forum, this conversation digs into how the factual genre is being rebuilt for a digital-first world. Lucy Smith hosts a sharp, unsentimental discussion with Gerrit Kemming (Quintus Studios), Marvyn Benoit (Baker’s Dozen Studios) and Jamie McDonald (After Party Studios) about who really owns value in today’s market: the audience-holders or the IP-holders.
They unpack how social video has reshaped commissioning logic, why audience ownership is now the most powerful currency in factual, and how creators are becoming new-age broadcasters. The panel gets into hybrid funding models, co-ownership of IP, rapid-cycle development, YouTube economics, CPM realities, danger-led factual, testing formats on social platforms, and the rise of patchwork financing. This is a clear-eyed look at the future: faster turnarounds, collaborative models, creator-talent partnerships, and a factual economy where anyone with audience can commission.
If you want to understand where factual formats are heading - and how digital-first production companies are finding new routes to money, scale and global reach - this session is required listening.
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