Dan'l Hewitt, Maker Studios

Maker Studios inhabits – what else? – loft-style offices in deepest Shoreditch, its 45 millennial-ish staff tapping away on Macs and iPhones. But in spite of the new-media surroundings, this is a business with its sights set firmly on breaking into television.

UK managing director Dan’l Hewitt, an engaging former Vice Media executive, sees no irony in this digital business, which generates 11 billion video views per month to some 650 million subscribers, pursuing opportunities in the traditional TV space.

“TV remains 100% relevant,” he says. “Our job is to get our talent in front of as many individuals as possible. We know people are still watching a lot of TV, so if we’re not pushing our talent on linear channels, we’re not doing our job.”

Hewitt recognises that despite the explosion in online viewing, consumption of traditional TV remains robust across all demographics and remains a significant opportunity for any talent-led business, regardless of its roots.

“Maker is not creating any more viewing hours in the day but we know that habits are changing and short-form content is satisfying audience need,” he says. “In some respects, everything has changed – the new iPhone has a 4K video camera connected to the internet – but fundamentally everything remains the same. People still just want to be entertained, distracted or informed.”

Hewitt has assembled a team, including Dubplate Drama creator Luke Hyams (head of international content), former AOL and Bebo exec Kelly Sweeney (director of production) and Alexander Lewin (content sales director) to help Maker kick off conversations with broadcasters and transition talent and formats into TV-friendly programmes.

Each “lives and breathes” digital content, but has “earned their stripes” in TV, says Lewin, another former Vice Media exec. “Some broadcasters have a great understanding of what we do while others are in need of educating,” he says. “They can see we have had great success online but they question whether that can be translated onto TV. That’s why we have built a team with experience of both media.”

Lewin, who has landed a deal with Disney in the Netherlands for Maker to produce kids’ football format Goalmouth, expects the bulk of Maker’s programming to be unscripted and sit in one of the network’s core pillars of gaming, sports, life and style, and family.

It has about 100 shows in development, mainly in the unscripted space, but also comedy half-hour formats. Fanoriented programming that acts as a companion to a global show, along with shows featuring tricksters, are also on the slate. “Our shows will [each] have the Maker DNA of talent sat at their heart,” says Hyams. “They will be built around someone who has put in the work that earned them a massive amount of online eyeballs in the fi rst place.”

Brainstorming

The size of some of those audiences is eye-watering. In total, about 1,200 hours of video is uploaded to the Maker network each day, with top creators such as PewDiePie notching up almost 10 billion views and KSI passing 10 million subscribers.

Maker’s five-strong development team has been conducting regular meetings with its top tier of talent to brainstorm ideas that tie in with their channel. “The talent can always say no to the ideas, but we would never go to a gamer with something that did not fit,” says Lewin. “What we do is authentic – that’s why it works.”

Talent must buy into the idea, says Lewin, because they will be expected to activate their online fan base, across YouTube and other channels such as Twitter and Instagram, to drive them to tune in to linear TV.

While Maker is “open for business” and keen to partner with indies to generate ideas involving its talent and produce the shows it secures, it is also taking tentative steps into in-house production. It is opening a new London office and hiring staff to work on some of the shows it hopes to land.

It expects to have between four and seven shows on air by yearend around the world, including in the UK.

Hyams, who joined the business in May, says the company is perfectly positioned for a future in which the lines between traditional and online video blur. “Maker doesn’t feel like a tech company – and it doesn’t feel like a TV company,” he says. “There are so many opportunities emerging because we are able to switch between so many different places creatively.”

While it is clear broadcasters are desperate to attract younger viewers and Maker has carved out a sizeable online niche, it will have to work hard to reassure commissioners it can make TV-quality, long-form programming.

The building blocks – a network of popular talent, credible executive team and initial interest from broadcasters – are in place. Constructing a path out of digital and into the traditional media space remains the next challenge.

Brand partnerships

Hyams If a brand simply takes its TV ad and puts it in front of a YouTube video it’s akin to putting a bus ad in a newspaper. So we work with talent to create a credible and authentic message for the brand. Everyone wins: the talent is given the resource and funding to do something they want to do, the audience gets an exciting piece of content,and the brand gets reach and scale without paid media.

Disney ownership

Hewitt Disney is allowing us to be the company we promised we would become. The scale of our ambition in the medium term is to become the next Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar or ABC – but we are at the beginning of that journey and that is why we need help.

Disney Channel Vlog

Presented by DeeLillyHannah and designed specifi cally for Disney

Channel UK’s YouTube channel, the weekly fi ve-minute show features a variety of content including talent interviews, news and pop culture, video memes, how-to tutorials and music.

Goalmouth

A 13 x 11-minute football/comedy show that Maker produces for Disney XD in the Netherlands.

The country’s top YouTubers, including Dylan Haegens, Baz and Defano, make cameo appearances. It has quadrupled the channel’s market share for boys aged six to 12 years old to 48%.

Antman

Marvel-funded YouTube project to support the launch of the fi lm. Michael Douglas challenged three British YouTubers – Joe Weller, Calfreezy and Wrotoeshaw – to become the next Antman by showcasing their agility via parkour; their bravery by bungee jumping off a crane; and their strength by lifting large objects.

Click for the September edition of Broadcast Digital