Hearst Networks has struck a partnership with Spirit Studios to develop a slate of digital-first history programming, signalling a further push by the broadcaster into platform-native content.
The agreement will see Spirit Studios produce a new range of premium history titles designed specifically for digital audiences. Matt Campion will serve as executive producer for Spirit Studios, while Sam Pearson will act as commissioner and executive producer for Hearst Networks.
The move builds on the companies’ existing collaboration, which includes the true crime documentary Ed Gein: Original Psycho, and forms part of Hearst Networks’ wider effort to extend its established history brands into the digital-first production economy.
The first project will launch within a new history-themed digital vertical. According to the partners, the concept combines documentary storytelling with personality-led presentation aimed at social and on-demand platforms. The format will feature a celebrity host working alongside subject experts and emerging creators, reflecting a growing trend toward creator-led factual programming.
Heather Jones, Chief Creative Officer for EMEA at Hearst Networks, said the initiative reflects the company’s ambition to expand its content strategy beyond traditional broadcast. “Our partnership with Spirit Studios reflects our ambition to expand into dynamic digital formats. The genre has a passionate and loyal audience, and this brand-new slate allows us to extend that engagement beyond linear television through bold, visually driven storytelling that we hope will catch fire with history fans across the globe.”
Spirit Studios co-founders Matt Campion and Peter Cowley said the project fits with the company’s broader focus on building intellectual property across multiple platforms. “Our partnership with Hearst Networks marks another major milestone in Spirit Studios’ mission to build true IP360 brands. Having worked together with Hearst Networks for the past three years on series like Missing Presumed Dead and Ed Gein: Original Psycho, we’ve developed a strong relationship rooted in a shared belief in the future of multi-platform storytelling. We’re thrilled to be launching this new factual brand together and excited about what we can build across podcasting, digital video and television.”
The new slate will roll out across major digital platforms, as Hearst Networks looks to extend the reach of its history programming to younger and digitally native audiences.
The partnership reflects a broader shift among legacy broadcasters and networks as they look to develop premium social video and digital-first factual brands alongside their traditional television operations.
