Everything You Wanted to Know about FOX Creator Studios

Hello (and sorry)!

I’m just back from Cannes and a week packed with great, joyful, sweat-drenched conversations with creators, brands, entrepreneurs, agencies and partners from around the world. What stood out most wasn’t one meeting or panel, it was the energy across all flavors of media. There’s a real sense that we’re in the middle of a major shift in entertainment, with creators building some of the most interesting businesses and brands anywhere today... and for those of us who have been in the space for 10 to 15 years, there is some real deja vu going on.

There was a ton of curiosity and a lot of rad questions about what we’re up to at FOX Creator Studios (FCS), so it comes as no surprise that I’ve had a lot of explaining to do.

So, I wanted to share the big questions I’m getting from the community, and rather than leave the answers scattered across a bunch of conversations, I figured I’d put them all in one place.

If you’re interested in what we’re building, give this a read.

FOX Creator Studios was built around a simple idea: some of the most interesting new businesses in entertainment today are being built by creators with distinct voices and direct relationships with their audiences.

More and more, the creator economy isn’t separate from Hollywood. It’s increasingly becoming the future of entertainment.

We’re here to combine creator innovation with FOX’s scale to build enduring entertainment brands that can win on all platforms and formats, while building and monetizing audiences everywhere.

Our job isn’t to change what makes creators successful. Our job is to help them make it bigger.

Mostly episodic series.

That could mean:

Category and format matter less than clarity of vision and repeatability. Will fans love it and come back for more?

Pretty straightforward. We finance the content. What it costs to make it, not more.

Creators aren’t getting rich on our checks, but the opportunity is to build something together that gets more valuable as it grows. Once it recoups and starts generating revenue, we both win.

Creators are the engine.

We want to work with people who have something they’re dying to make. Something with a clear point of view and a real audience opportunity.

Most creators we work with produce their own shows. If you need production support, we can connect you with experienced partners who understand both creator culture and traditional production. We don’t give notes or approve edits, unless you’re into that kind of thing.

You make the show. We help you make it bigger.

Exactly where the audience is, on the creator’s channels.

From there, we work together on what comes next.

Maybe it travels to another platform. Maybe it’s global distribution. Maybe it’s an entirely new distribution path.

Our distribution team is here to work alongside creators and extend the life of the IP, well beyond the first release.

Every project needs a creative reason for being. It also needs a business path.

We ask ourselves and creators:

Not every project checks every box. But the more it can do, the more interesting it gets.

And none of it matters if the creator doesn’t care deeply about the idea. That’s the part you can feel immediately. We want the projects creators cannot wait to make.

We’re building a studio that can partner with creators to make money ON the internet. AND we see significant opportunities across all genres, formats, and categories. From podcasts and live events to premium television, film, and global franchises.

What’s most interesting to us isn’t the size of the creator economy itself. It’s the maturation of the businesses and the strength of IP being built. The strongest creators today aren’t just building audiences. They’re building companies, with IP, advertising businesses, live events, consumer products, subscription businesses, and direct relationships with consumers.

That’s what we want to back.

In my first three months here, we’ve already put a range of projects into production. Different formats, different platforms, different monetization models. But all creator-led and driven by real passion:

Some creators came to us with fully self-funded pilots or seasons. Others are building something net new with us from scratch. The common thread is simple. They have a real point of view and they’re already moving.

There’s a reputation that legacy media is slow.

We’re not.

If you have an idea and you’re ready to make it, we move at speed. Once we’re aligned on the creative and the plan, we don’t slow things down with endless development or dealmaking.

Really excited about the first three months and the momentum thus far, the Fox team are learned in and we are just getting started.

(sorry),

Billy