TV’s heavyweights used to be depicted as slow to grasp the digital opportunity but now they are key players on social platforms, monetising their IP and forging alliances with creators.
The television industry’s big beasts are no strangers to digital media. But for all their investment to date, it still feels as though the last year has been a tipping point in terms of the way the sector’s heavyweights are harnessing the power of social.
While there are still cultural and commercial barriers between what are loosely described as ‘traditional’ and ‘digital’ media, a seismic shift is discernible through a series of distinct but connected events. YouTube’s reinvention as a TV platform is one, while the hoovering up of creators by FAST and AVOD platforms is another.
MrBeast’s appearance on Amazon Prime Video and Jake Paul’s showdown with Mike Tyson on Netflix both caught the eye, but just as significant is that TV chef Gordon Ramsay now has 25m subscribers on his YouTube channel. In kids, Cocomelon is regularly cited as a digital-to-TV success story – but just as impressive has been Peppa Pig and Bluey’s reinvention as digital properties.
Behind the scenes, legacy content studios are restructuring their businesses to embrace the change. Among recent announcements, Sony Pictures Television International Production has hired digital-first specialist Matt Ford to supercharge the group’s work on digital-first original content. Ford is now VP – commercial, digital, SPTIP and has a remit to build creator partnerships. He wants to “hear from UK creators who have bold ideas for new shows, new formats and new channels.”
Another company that has moved decisively into digital-first is ITV Studios, with the launch of dedicated unit Zoo55. Zoo55 sits within ITVS’s Global Partnerships division and has a key role to play in exploitation of the company’s IP. But managing director Martin Trickey says there is more to it than that: “I like to think of us as the growth engine of ITV Studios, with a broad remit to try new things.”
ITV Studios is a complex business housing numerous production labels. According to Trickey, Zoo55 is there to support them all. “Our goal is to be a digital centre of excellence for all our labels. For example, we have a close relationship with So Television, which makes The Graham Norton Show, running social activity for them. Lifted Entertainment, which makes shows like The Voice and Love Island, has a digital team which runs activity when shows are on-air. Outside that, we run areas like YouTube channels, to make sure those brands are always on.”
Trickey says Zoo55’s work is a mix of monetisation and marketing. While it has a part to play promoting upcoming shows, some of its most eye-catching work has involved archive content. “A good example is a show called River Monsters, which ran for many series,” says Trickey. “We have created YouTube and FAST channels that are running in multiple languages. That kind of work has really reinvigorated the IP.”
With 90,000 hours of archive to play with, Zoo55 has a vast array of clips and episodes to bring to YouTube in the form of either single-IP or genre-based channels. “If there’s enough content, it could justify a single IP channel,” says Trickey, “but if you’re dealing with something like a one-off documentary it’s more likely to sit within a genre channel. For example, our natural history content is aggregated within Our World (490,000 subscribers). Then again, if we have a show that doesn’t fit either of those models then it might go to a third party like Little Dot Studios, which has its own network.”
As if that isn’t enough to get your head around, ITV Studios’ sister division ITV Media & Entertainment also operates YouTube channels like ITV Retro, where audiences can view iconic series such as The Prisoner.
YouTube and FAST are currently the most useful platforms for revenue building, with TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts playing more of a role in the promotion of series like Love Island. “TikTok is still not easily monetisable,” says Trickey, “but it does play a key role in building a buzz around shows like Love Island.”
As intimated already, Zoo55’s priority right now is to exploit existing IP – but Trickey does see a pathway towards digital originals. “My initial focus has been to make us as effective and efficient as possible, maximising margins on the content we make. Originals are a natural progression but creating content has cost associated with it.”
He strikes a similar note when discussing collaboration with creators such as the Sidemen. “What we’re really looking for are strategic partnerships. Collaborations have not always worked as well as they could, so I’m keen to get it right and make sure that it works for both parties.”
In terms of areas where Zoo55 is innovating, he points to a Hell’s Kitchen activation on Roblox and a Fortnite-based partnership with McDonald’s, activated via ITV Studios’ next-gen creative agency Metavision. Trickey calls brand-funded content a work in progress but anticipates “robust growth in the coming years.”
Banijay Rights VP digital Shaun Keeble is exploring similar opportunities. He says BR’s digital distribution strategy “is incremental to our format and finished tape business. So we are fundamentally about maximising the value of catalogue, and building global partnerships across all the major digital platforms.”
Keeble says Banijay first engaged meaningfully with YouTube around a decade ago. “Initially, it was about protecting IP but then it became more about monetising our content and building communities around brands. Roll forward to 2025 and we’re working with IP, talent, broadcasters and licensees across YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and emerging opportunities like AVOD and FAST channels. The job today is all about turning billions of monthly views into revenue opportunities.”
One success story, says Keeble, is the Mr Bean YouTube channel, which now has around 35m subscribers – primarily built on catalogue content. “Increasingly, longer-form content is what drives awareness and monetisation on YouTube, so that points towards thematic clip compilations and full episodes.”
The challenge when publishing content daily, says Keeble, is “how you get there without saturating the product and triggering a subscriber decline.”
This is where modestly-budgeted original production can help. “We’ve started creating more ancillary content, for example behind-the-scenes moments. It’s important not to miss opportunities, for example if Rowan Atkinson is in the studio recording some lines for the animated series. We’ve also created tutorial-based content called the Mr Bean Handy Bean videos.”
Like ITV Studios, Banijay Rights also publishes genre-based channels, with Banijay Documentaries, Banijay History and Banijay Science currently attracting between 600,000 and 1.3m subscribers. Some of Banijay’s megaformats – such as MasterChef and Big Brother – have also proved perfect for YouTube channels because of the number of localised versions that exist.
Keeble says BR has a key role to play supporting licensees. “We found in the past that some of our broadcast partners would only be active in the few weeks running up to the launch of a show. Our role has been to ensure YouTube channels stay active all year round.”
One intriguing development is BR’s move to work directly with talent on their social strategies. “We’re working with several comedians who established themselves through TV but now want to build their presence through social. An example would be Jimmy Carr. The approach has been to utilise content he has retained rights to, and also generate original production when he is on tour.”
Over at Fremantle, head of social and digital platforms Robert Cocker says some of the company’s content is almost synonymous with online viewing. “If you search ‘talent’ on YouTube you will get a Fremantle show due to our hugely popular Got Talent franchise. Last year, according to Tubular, we were the seventh biggest provider of TV content in terms of views across YouTube and Facebook, with 32bn views.”
Cocker says Fremantle is keenly aware of the need “to ensure we’re where audiences are.” Britain’s Got Talent has been using clips and creating content for digital since 2008, and the ability for audiences around the world to watch, engage and share performances has been pivotal.
Fremantle’s top priority, says Cocker, “is to be a great partner to our commissioners. Their success is our success and helping to drive awareness and bring viewers to tune into the linear broadcast and catch-up services is key.”
Today, Fremantle has over 500 YouTube channels. “Our digital team at Talkback Thames worked on a great example with BGT Unseen. This gave fans access to unseen footage, created as eight episodes for ITVX. After the main show aired, clips were streamed on social, accumulating over 93m views.”
Cocker says digital originals remain challenging because “CPMs are still a country mile away from TV,” but highlights successes including Call Of Beauty with Discovery+ and TikTok, Idol to Icon with Carrie Underwood, and creator partnerships in Indonesia.
Little Dot Studios operates independently despite being owned by All3Media. Co-managing director James Loveridge says the company works with broadcasters, producers, distributors and talent to leverage IP across platforms.
“In entertainment, around 80% of our work is about monetisation and 20% is about fandom,” says Loveridge. “That includes work for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, helping elevate marketing campaigns.”
For most clients, LDS takes a back catalogue, builds a YouTube channel and iterates using data. “There are two languages we try to understand: the language of the algorithm and the language of the audience.”
One of the standout examples is Gordon Ramsay’s YouTube channel, now at 25m subscribers. “This involved aggregating content from multiple rights holders including Studio Ramsay Global, All3Media, Optomen and ITV Studios. It’s now big enough to sustain original series like Scrambled and Ramsay In 10.”
In other cases, original content is essential. For Dr Seuss Enterprises, LDS created low-fi animation that evolved into full series as the channel grew.
With 11.2bn organic monthly views across its network, LDS tracks trends closely. Loveridge points to the rise of video podcasts and YouTube’s shift towards long-form lean-back viewing, with 45–60 minutes emerging as the sweet spot.
Finally, on creators, Loveridge offers a warning: “Avoid shoehorning creators. You have to make sure ideas resonate with them. You want them to embrace sharing content on their own socials – not just turn up and take a pay cheque.”
This article originally appeared in The Drop magazine issue #1.
