This week on TellyCast, Justin Crosby speaks to Timothy Oh from COL Group, one of the biggest players in the booming micro drama business.

As the company behind platforms including ReelShort, Timothy explains why short-form, vertical storytelling has exploded in China and the US, why it is now starting to spread across Europe, and what it could mean for broadcasters, producers and content businesses in the UK.

The conversation explores why micro drama has already overtaken the Chinese box office, how companies are making tens of millions of dollars from series costing a fraction of traditional TV budgets, and why the next battle will be fought over monetisation, IP and audience ownership.

Justin and Timothy also discuss why British audiences may need their own version of micro drama, why the current content often feels too “cheesy” for UK viewers, and how broadcasters could reinvent familiar brands and soaps for a vertical, mobile-first world.

Inside this episode:

– Why micro drama has become one of the fastest-growing sectors in global entertainment

– How COL Group built a global micro drama empire

– The role of apps including ReelShort in driving the market

– Why UK broadcasters and producers are starting to pay attention

– How data, testing and constant iteration drive success in social video

– Whether micro drama will eventually move onto platforms like YouTube, TikTok and streaming services

– Why the future of digital-first storytelling may depend on creating local content for local audiences

If you want to understand where the next wave of social video and digital-first entertainment is heading, this is an episode you do not want to miss.

Sign up for The Drop newsletter

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok

This week on TellyCast, Justin Crosby sits down with Matt Campion, co-founder of Spirit Studios, for a deep dive into how one of the UK’s most established digital-first production companies is building for the future.

Matt explains how Spirit evolved from an early digital production business into a multi-strand content company spanning originals, podcasts, branded content, YouTube channel management and new vertical video formats. He talks through Spirit’s revenue model, why digital growth demands a different mindset from traditional TV, and why building platform-native IP is a long-term entrepreneurial play rather than a quick fix.

The conversation also explores how audience data shapes development, why production companies need to think beyond single commissions, and what the next generation of super indies could look like in a world where content brands need to live across YouTube, podcasts, social video, streaming and linear.

Justin and Matt also discuss the rise of micro drama, the reality of making money in digital, the value of owning IP, and what legacy producers still misunderstand about the digital-first production economy. To close, Matt gives his take on the launch of Saturday Night Live UK and what it says about risk, ambition and the future of entertainment.

This is a sharp conversation for anyone working in TV, digital production, podcasting or social video who wants to understand where the content business is heading next.

If you work in production and want to understand how the digital-first economy really works, this episode is for you.

Sign up for The Drop newsletter

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok

The TV industry is changing fast, and traditional production models are no longer enough. In this episode of TellyCast, recorded live at How to Make Money in Digital, Anjdy Fry digs into what the digital-first production economy really looks like in 2026.

From YouTube and social video to new studio models, monetisation strategies and creator-led IP, this conversation explores how TV producers, executives and indie founders can build sustainable digital businesses alongside – or beyond – broadcast.

If you work in TV and want to understand where the growth is coming from, how successful digital studios are operating, and what skills and mindsets are now essential, this episode is a practical guide to navigating the shift to social video and platform-native content.

TellyCast is the podcast for people working at the sharp end of digital-first video, bringing together producers, platforms and creators shaping the future of the production economy.

Sign up for The Drop newsletter

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok

Justin Crosby speaks to Chinese micro-drama expert Wenwen Han, founder and CEO of the Short Drama Alliance, about how China built the world’s most advanced short-form drama economy. The conversation explores platform ecosystems on Douyin and WeChat, in-app payments versus ad-funded viewing, the rise of AI-generated “motion comics,” and what Western producers keep getting wrong about vertical drama. Han also shares her predictions for where the market expands next and why the US and India could be on the brink of major growth.

Sign up for The Drop newsletter

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok

In this anonymous edition of TellyCast, Justin Crosby is joined by two experienced digital-first producers who speak candidly about the realities of building sustainable businesses in social video, YouTube and podcasting in 2026.

They discuss why digital producers are suddenly in demand, how broadcaster strategies are changing, and why success on YouTube is far from guaranteed for traditional TV indies. The conversation digs into budget expectations, premium versus low-cost production models, the need for multi-skilled teams, and the growing importance of community building over single commissions.

Rights and IP are a major focus, with the guests explaining how current broadcaster deals work, why ownership of audiences and channels matters, and what a future industry framework for digital-first production might look like. They also explore branded content pricing, fears of a race to the bottom, and whether new industry standards are needed to protect producers.

The episode closes with predictions for the rest of 2026, including the impact of the BBC’s new digital initiatives, creator cross-overs into television, and what the next phase of the digital-first production economy could bring.

Sign up for The Drop newsletter

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok

Micro drama is one of the fastest-growing scripted formats in global digital video, and UK producers are only just beginning to understand its scale, speed and commercial potential.

In this episode of TellyCast, Justin Crosby is joined by micro drama producer Samantha Sun from ReelForce to unpack how vertical, app-based scripted series really work. Samantha shares her journey from early Chinese-backed micro drama platforms to producing some of the biggest-budget vertical dramas made in the UK, and explains why this format is not a downgrade from television, but a fundamentally different production and monetisation model.

The conversation explores how micro drama platforms acquire audiences through social video, why the first ten episodes matter more than anything else, how payment and revenue-share models actually function, and what UK TV producers often misunderstand when they approach the space with traditional assumptions.

Samantha also addresses talent, diversity, AI in post-production, genre limitations, audience behaviour, and why micro drama is attracting serious attention from Hollywood, platforms, brands and investors. This is an essential listen for producers, commissioners, and digital-first studios trying to understand where scripted content is heading next.

Sign up for The Drop newsletter

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok

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.

Sign up for The Drop newsletter

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok

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.

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok

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.

Sign up for The Drop newsletter

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok

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

Sign up for The Drop newsletter

Support the show

Enrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp

Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital

Enter the Digital Video Awards

Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videos
Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect with Justin on LinkedIN
TellyCast videos on YouTube
TellyCast website
TellyCast insta
TellyCast Twitter
TellyCast TikTok