Giant balls. Lego challenges. America’s most racist town. All featured in the digital-first formats shown off by The Wit’s Caroline Servy at TellyCast’s Digital Content Forum 2025 this morning. It was a compelling showcase of the newest, most creative work that has been finding audiences online this year.
Servy talked about the “collision course between traditional TV and the creator economy” as the key trend of 2025, with broadcasters moving aggressively into digital, and creators “supersizing” their own formats.
So what are the hottest formats of 2025? Servy started with Let’s Play Ball (distributed by Banijay Rights). It sees two celebrity-led tams trying to move a giant ball across the country, encountering challenges and discovering inventive (and sometimes silly) solutions along the way. It has travelled from YouTube to broadcast networks.
Creator-led sports events are increasingly big business. GP Explorer 3 (Unfold Production) is a racing contest founded by French creator Squeezie, with the latest three-day event attracting 1.4 million viewers on Twitch, as well as 1.2 million viewers on TV channel France 2.
“Creators are now able to diversify their revenue streams like never before,” said Servy. A prime example is Brazilian YouTuber Natan Por Aí, who has 32 million subscribers, and has built a universe outside his channel, from a Panini sticker album to sports events for children and a live tour.
Brands are also embracing creators with new formats, too. 3 Hours of Lego Challenge (Warp Us / Unfold / Triple D) was a livestream event hosted by YouTubers McFly and Carlito as pat of the Grand Tournoi Lego event in Paris. They were joined by other creators for an array of Lego challenges.
Servy also talked about supersized digital formats. Stop The Train (Unfold Production) trapped 10 creators inside a moving train, tasked with reaching the locomotive and stopping it – but facing challenges to complete in each carriage first. The ubiquitous Squeezie hosted this show too.
Knockout Champs (De Stroom) is a comedy battle between two teams of four celebrities, comedians and creators. The players go head to had and have to make one another laugh, as part of a sparky knockout competition.
Servy also discussed some of the hot topics on YouTube this year. Trouve la Cadavre (IDZ Prod / Filmar) is a semi-scripted comedy from creator Joyca, in which he runs a pseudo police investigation while inviting viewers to spot clues in the scene. The idea being to “find the corpse”, while avoiding getting fooled by red herrings.
We Pranked America’s Most Racist Town (Mindsquire) is a hidden camera experiment by duo Mindsquire, set in the town of Video, Texas, which has a reputation for racism. It culminates in a prank on the entire town, and some gasp-out-loud moments.
Taste Wars (Cocoa Butter) is a cooking contest that sees members of the African-American community take on people of different culture or nationalities who are defending their signature dishes. El Mundial de los Desayunos (Koi Studios) from Spain took a different angle on cuisine-based contests, using short-form clips from creator Ibai Llanos to hold a tournament of food from around the world, with viewers voting.
Dikaja Kuhnja is a Russian format that pits celebrity chefs against one another in a wilderness adventure, sending them out to forage ingredients and then cook a meal. This is one of the digital-first formats that has since been picked up by TV. Meanwhile, Lesnoy is a DIY creator from Ukraine who shares his passion for bushcraft, survival skills and off-grid living. It’s filmed with natural sound and no voiceover, with the idea being to pass on his skills to viewers.
100-Hour Blind Date In The Box sees creator Mike Vallas commenting on blind dates from a remote cabin. The dates take part over 100 hours in a box, with challenges every 10 hours to add rewards or money to their prize pool. Oh, and there is a big red button that lets them swap in a new partner…
Servy ended with some scripted vertical formats, and the big trend this year of micro dramas. “More than one in 10 viewers have watched scripted dramas in episodes of 10 minutes or less on social media this year,” she noted.
De Volto Ao Jogo (ReelShort) was a Brazilian adaptation of vertical-drama hit Breaking The Ice, transposing it from ice hockey to football. A young footballer discovers that he has a six year-old daughter from a previous relationship. Meanwhile, The Cogsworths (Talesvision) is a vertical pilot released on YouTube and TikTok. It’s a live-action sci-fi series about three genetically-modified siblings created in a lab by their mother. When she vanishes, (micro) drama ensues.
