TellyCast: The content industry podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

What does it really take to build a production company for the creator economy?

This week on TellyCast, Justin Crosby is joined by production strategist Bryony Hopkins, founder of BRYONY Ink, whose career spans the BBC, LADbible Group, Strong Watch Studios and FlightStory.

Bryony has spent years designing production systems for creator businesses, broadcasters and digital-first studios, helping teams make premium content on lean budgets without sacrificing quality.

The conversation explores why traditional TV production models often struggle in digital, how creators are building media companies, and why operational excellence is becoming a competitive advantage.

Topics include:

• Building production infrastructure for digital-first studios
• Why mindset matters as much as production skills
• Creating more content from every shoot day
• Scaling creator businesses sustainably
• The future of duty of care in the creator economy
• AI tools transforming production workflows
• Why TV professionals have valuable skills the creator economy needs
• Protecting creators while producing ambitious content
• The professionalisation of creator-led media businesses

Whether you’re a TV producer, production executive, creator, commissioner or studio founder, this episode is packed with practical insights into how production is evolving in the digital-first era.

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This week on TellyCast, Justin Crosby is joined by Peter White, Executive Editor at  Deadline⁠, for a wide-ranging conversation covering the biggest issues facing the global content business.

Peter shares his perspective from Los Angeles on the changing fortunes of Hollywood, the impact of YouTube on traditional television, the future of late-night programming following Stephen Colbert’s departure from CBS, the economics of streaming, and why production companies need to rethink how they make and monetise content.

The discussion explores major industry developments including the Paramount-Skydance deal, the rise of creator-led content, YouTube’s growing dominance in the attention economy, the future of unscripted television, and whether vertical drama is genuinely the next big thing or simply the latest industry fad.

Peter also explains why he believes the next generation of media talent will emerge from YouTube rather than traditional television, reveals why Deadline has expanded into live events, and shares his thoughts on the future relationship between creators, broadcasters and streamers.

A candid and insightful conversation about where television, social video and the wider creator economy are heading next.

In this episode:

• Is Hollywood really in crisis?
 • Why YouTube is winning the attention war
 • The future of late-night television after Stephen Colbert
 • The Paramount-Skydance merger and industry consolidation
 • Why production companies must reduce costs
 • Creator-led content versus traditional TV models
 • The rise of YouTube-first entertainment
 • Why Peter is sceptical about vertical drama
 • How Deadline is adapting to a changing media landscape
 • The future of TV, streaming and social video

TellyCast is the podcast exploring the future of television, social video and the creator economy.

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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.

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Former BBC Two controller, President of the Discovery Channel and now Nutopia boss Jane Root is our guest on this week’s show.

We’re talking about her time at the networks and how that informed the shows Nutopia creates, her latest Netflix production, the ‘posh true crime’ series ‘Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife’ and who she’s telling to ‘Get in the Bin’.
 
In conversation with Justin Crosby.

Bad Surgeon - Love Under the Knife trailer

American Fiction trailer

Jane's Story of the Week

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We kick off 2024 with a fascinating discussion with Leo Pearlman, managing partner of The Kardashians, The Late Late Show and Sunderland ’til I Die indie Fulwell 73.

We covered the growth story of one of the UK's leading content production companies, the latest on Leo's ambition to make Sunderland the Hollywood of the North of England, the depressing rise of anti-semitism and his approach to an already turbulent 2024 in the content industry.
 
In conversation with Justin Crosby.

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We round off the year with media commentator and cartologist Evan Shapiro as we look back at the major developments in the media industry in 2023 and look ahead to 2024 with some predictions for the year ahead.  

In conversation with Justin Crosby.

Until next year - I hope you have a very peaceful Xmas and here’s to a prosperous new year to you all. We’ll see you in '24!

Media War & Peace

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Our guest this week is Michael Boccacino, Senior Director of Content Partnerships at award winning TheSoul Publishing, one of the world’s most prolific and popular online media companies with huge audiences across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snap, Pinterest, and TikTok.

In conversation with Justin Crosby.

Michael's Story of the Week

Polar video

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This week we rewind to MIA in Rome where I met Raw Executive Producer Chiara Messineo and also back to MIPCOM where I had a quick chat with Danny Fenton from Zig Zag Productions.

In conversation with Justin Crosby.

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Connect with Justin on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/boompr 

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This week our guests are Fraser Ayres, actor/writer/director as well as CEO and founder of the TriForce Creative Network and Yasmin Hai – author, broadcaster Guardian columnist and Head of Factual at Red Bicycle Productions.

In conversation with Justin Crosby.

Fraser's Story of the Week

Yasmine's Story of the Week

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Hot on the heels of last week’s TellyCast Digital Content Forum sponsored by BBC Studios, I catch up with Jasmine Dawson SVP, Digital and Nat Poulter VP, Digital - Commercial at BBC Studios, two of the UK’s leading digital first content executives who are responsible for working with some of the most recognisable brands in entertainment including Dr Who, Top Gear and kids phenomenon - Bluey.

In conversation with Justin Crosby.

Nat's Story of the Week

Jamie Bolding's PackChat

Jasmine's Story of the Week

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