Hi, I'm Justin Crosby and welcome to another episode of
Telecast. And I'm really thrilled this
week to have our guest, Roan Collinson from Spotify.
Roan, how are you doing? Hi, Justin.
Thanks for having me. Great to be here.
Not at all. It's great to have you here and
it's kind of quite nerve nerve wracking for me because it's
like, you know, we're doing a show that's going out on Spotify
with the audience lead of Spotify in the UK.
So better be good. So welcome and it's great to see
you and thanks for being on the show.
So, so obviously we've seen Spotify really starting to focus
on video. So we'll we'll talk a little bit
about that. But first of all, just tell us a
little bit about your role at Spotify and what what that
entails. So I've been at Spotify for
about 7 1/2 years now and I've been working in and around the
kind of push into podcasts, which started in the company in
2017. And really my role has been
focused on kind of editorial and audience growth.
So working with creators to help build audiences on platform and
to kind of present our content in new and compelling ways to
get this to get user to engage and kind of watching and
listening to that. It's been, I mean, it's been an
extraordinary explosion, the podcast market, which doesn't
seem to be showing any sign of abating.
And it's obviously morphing and changing almost into TV in its
own right. What are the, what do you think
the key drivers of that being? I mean, obviously Spotify has
been one of them, but what, what do you think about, you know,
how the, how this podcasting industry has changed over the,
the last sort of five or six years?
And what what, what's the reason for that do you think?
Audio podcasts were fantastic because they allowed creators to
build an audience, see audience by kind of intimacy and and
routine, and that was really fantastic.
But discovery was always a real problem.
Audio has always been really hard to kind of market.
And you know, there's been many attempts over the years to do it
in different forms. So I think obviously people
started recording podcasts in vision partly so we could have
clips to put on social. And that journey has gone too
well. If you're recording clips, why
not publish the whole thing? And what I do think is that
video has really supercharged discovery and reach of those
creators now. And it's allowed your podcast to
really become the kind of centrifugal piece of your kind
of ecosystem as a creator. You know, it's the living and
breathing thing that every week can allow you a content funnel
of things, which can feed your different social channels.
And it can also build a community which allows you to go
into live. It allows you to go into merch.
It can go into newsletters. It's a really, really, really
kind of flexible asset. And for me, that's why kind of
video makes so much sense in the medium now.
Well, yeah, that was going to be my next question actually is is
you know why video is such a a focus for Spotify in podcasting
right now? Yeah.
I mean, what we've seen is the video really deepens user
engagement with our platform. I mean, our users love video.
390 million of them have watched a video podcast on platform, 70%
have watched video in the foreground.
So it really feels like a very natural evolution for us.
And I mean, one of the reasons I love working at Spotify is we're
really focused on making sure that our users, when we spend
time with us, it's time well spent.
You know, whether that's kind of watching a really great
interview show, watching a load of 80's pop videos like I did
last night doing a fitness class with a palace in video content.
We've just on boarded. We want our users to come away
from a timeless bottle. I feel like I've got no regrets.
So video plays a really kind of key part in that.
I think for creators, publishers and producers, it's it's
twofold. Then it's about reach.
And that can be local reach, but also global reach.
And also now revenue with the Spotify Partner program we've
launched, you know, I think chatting to any creator, as I'm
sure you do all the time, right? Reach and revenue are two
different things and Spotify are able to offer that.
So you know what's not to like? Yeah, absolutely.
We'll we'll talk a little bit more about the partner program
in a little while if we can. But I, I think, you know, one of
the great opportunities now, particularly for TV producers
who are confronted with this new digital first reality, this new
marketplace that we're looking at and the way that the
traditional TV industry is changing and, and adapting.
It gives, it gives creators and studios and anybody who's got a
great idea the opportunity to start to build a real ecosystem,
like you were saying earlier on about, you know, creating the
podcast to begin with. And then there's, I mean, I, I
recently talked about the how to make money in digital event is
about the, the octopus strategy where you're putting your, your,
your IP in the centre. And all of these different arms
are ways to monetize that. So I mean, I think it's, it's an
amazing opportunity to actually create IP, which and IP
ownership is obviously really, really crucial and and we're
seeing so many studios being really, really successful in
that, in that area. Yeah, massively.
And I think it's a real step change for people who've worked
in traditional TV production where, you know, you'll spend,
you know, some 6 to 12 months developing an idea, filming it,
shooting it, delivering 6 episodes to a broadcaster and
saying, well, that's that. I mean, for Spotify that doesn't
really work because you know, the content which works best on
our platform is kind of always on shows because audiences with
a product like ours, which is portable mobile lover routine.
And you know, they're also used to content which kind of is
evolving every week. And I think it's really
interesting you you look at a couple of the biggest shows on
our platform. So for example, Diary of Aceo or
the rest is history. You know, if you go back kind of
five years ago to their first episodes, they really are
radically different to what you have now.
And I think you know, in both those cases for producers that
you know, Flight Story and Go hanger are really smart in that
they really look at their data. They take on board the audience
feedback through comments and on social and really feedback into
the show and iterate week on week.
And I think that success is, so is, is, is down to that really.
And I think having brilliant talent as well.
And I think that traditional TV producers could learn a lot from
that approach. Yeah.
Well, let's talk about that a little bit about TV producer,
because I, I think for TV producers moving into the
digital first space, the, the easiest, the most logical, most
cost effective and the most likely to succeed with a kernel
of an idea is podcasting, isn't it?
And, and, and as you say, you know, it's, it's the idea about
iterating and finding your audience and, and, and working
out what works and what doesn't. What do you think that perhaps
the the key point is for TV producers who may be moving into
the podcasting market might consider and maybe what what are
the common mistakes you think that they might make?
I think understand the market, you know, one look at the
Spotify charts in the UK will tell you that you know the some
of the genres which do really well for us, for example, a
comedy true crime kind of factual.
And it's worth looking at the kind of areas you're strong in
and really thinking well. What kind of podcast adjacent to
be something called them ideas do you have and how could that
help you kind of come to market? And I think coming armed with
that kind of knowledge is really helpful.
I mean, what's great about traditional television
production is they have great relationship with talent, right?
And they're used to being able to produce things at volume and
things at scale. So they've got all the bits
there. It's just a kind of rethinking
of how you do it and how your production process is.
I think the other thing from talking to a lot of TV producers
as well is that in TV you work hard to deadline to deliver to a
commissioner and everything's got to look pitch perfect and
beautiful and everything's got to be spot on for a linearity
act. I mean, with podcasts, it's a
much more forgiving medium. You know, you can experiment,
you can change your lighting in the second episode.
You Chan can just say, you know, if a format point doesn't work,
you can move it around like the audience.
The audience don't really care, but if the conversation is good
and the content is is compelling and interesting, but I'll stick
around. Yeah, that kernel of an idea.
If you're serving a need that's not met anywhere else, they can
you. You can iterate around that.
Exactly. I mean, I think the other thing
as well is the availability of of data.
You know, I think often when you make telly you're just working
in the dark, apart from, you know, some barbed figures and
some audience insights, which might have come out of two years
ago here. You know, with a platform like
Spotify and Spotify for creators, you've got living,
breathing data around what your audience are doing and their
behaviour, where they are, how old they are, when they're
listening, whether they're foregrounding or backgrounding.
You know, it's really powerful stuff.
And when you combine that with the comments on platform, you
can get a real sense of your audience really quickly and that
can help you tailor your content and iterate much faster.
Yeah, so, so, well, let's let's take the the example of ATV
producer who is maybe, maybe it's got a great idea now or
they might be delving through their archives of great TV shows
that some commissioner turned down and they they're like
dusting that off and thinking actually that was an amazing
idea that we had. Maybe we can do as a podcast.
I mean, what would you say, what, what practical advice
would you say to would you give to ATV producer maybe in the 1st
30 days of them creating this podcast, Say it's a weekly show
or should it be a weekly show? First of all, what's the what's
the sort of cadence perhaps that you might consider what is, you
know, what are the basic steps and and practical advice that
you would have for them? I.
Think really to make a successful show on Spotify, you
need to be always on. So you need to be aiming for
that kind of magic 50 weeks a year mark.
You know, we'll give you a couple of weeks off over
Christmas, all day, but regularity and consistency will
help you build routine with the audience.
And that's I've been. Really remiss in this area for
the last few weeks, but I'm back on the horse again now.
But yeah, but I've, I've been really aware of that actually as
well. The fact that, you know, Sam
Barcroft once told me it's like, you know, you have to turn up
every week for your audience. And it's, it's really important,
isn't it, to to, to, to maintain that relationship and build,
build that sort of library and audience trust as well.
And I. Think that that's it, right?
It's a it is a relationship with an audience.
You know, this isn't a passive audience like watching on ATV.
This is an audience who who are invested in it because of that
intimacy that the format brings. And you know, if you can build
that bond with an audience, it can really help you, you know,
build a community, which in turn can let you do other more
exciting things and create new revenue streams.
So when I was, when I, if I were ATV producer, kind of looking at
the ideas I've got or things I might want to reverse.
And I'd really think, well, what's here that I could do
weekly and regularly, which would be simple to produce.
And also what, what is there that people can latch onto in
it? What's, what's the thing?
What, what's the thing that's in it that, you know, I could
potentially spin out into a, into a live show, or I could
spin into a club, you know, or I could spin into a newsletter.
Really thinking of it as an ecosystem rather than just a
show, Yeah. Yeah, that's really important,
isn't it? Because it is.
It is IP at the end of the day. It's not just a show, it's an
actual, as we mentioned earlier on, it's the, it's the centre of
a sort of content universe or potential content universe.
And I mean. I, I started my career in
independent production, so I've sat on both sides of the fence.
And, you know, I remember in minorities we had real battles
with, with commissioners to allow us to, you know, we wanted
to do live shows around shows we made, you know, and we wanted to
do, do more with them. You know, we wanted to try and
get them onto TV over time. And it's like, it was, it was
just impossible. So owning your own content and
owning your own destiny in this market is, is fantastic.
And I think video podcasts and video podcasts and Port of Fi
can play a really key role in that.
Yeah. And there's some great examples
of that you mentioned earlier on, I think gold gold hanger
really sort of set the standard. Haven't been able to create
amazing podcast shows that build audiences.
But also I think they, they've got a, they've got a whole
festival happening on the South Bank in London this year around
those shows and. And if you're an Apple Stan for
the Rest is history, you can go to Hampton Court this summer and
meet the talent and take part in all kinds of activities.
I mean, what what they've built is fantastic.
And, you know, at Spotify, we're very lucky to have a close
relationship with them. And it's been been a really,
really satisfying thing to to watch them grow and to work with
them. Yeah.
No, it's been, I mean, many broadcasters I've spoken to over
the last few years, we're always trying to find that fresh look
at history, how to, how they can bring new, younger, fresher
audiences to history, which you know, and, and they've been able
to do that in a, in a really, really effective way,
definitely. So you mentioned data and that's
one of the things that producers and creators, well, not
necessarily creators, if you like, but TV producers moving
into going digital first. First, there's an enormous
amounts of data across all the different platforms that they're
publishing on. When it comes to the data that
they're seeing in Spotify in the, in the back end, what are
the key sort of points that they should take notice of?
What are the key watch outs for them?
What should, what are, what's the data they should be looking
for? Because it's not only downloads,
is it? It's it's other aspects as well.
Yeah, I mean, the great thing is that Spotify creators has a
really comprehensive set of kind of metrics that you can see
which update on a daily basis. And if I was a producer now,
really what I'd be concentrating on is retention.
You know, how long are people listening to my show?
Where are they dropping off? What does that graph look like?
And you can do that at a show in an episode level basis.
And I think for me, that's, that's the really key thing
which will help you kind of grow your show because the longer
people are listening to and the more they're kind of coming back
to it episode after episode will help you really kind of build a
compelling show. You know, I, if I, if I'd had
that when I was a producer 15 years ago, I would have lapped
this up. Yeah.
So as well as obviously that
data, the key question that everybody's always got is how do
you make money? How, how does a creator make
money on Spotify? So from a video first
perspective, you know, why should a producer focus on
Spotify and how can they generate revenue and how, how
does that work? So back at the start of 2025, we
launched a Spotify Partner program, and the premise is very
simple really. You join a program and you
upload your video to Spotify for Creators.
We insert ads into it and those ads go out on Spotify on the
free tier, but in the premium tier, we remove those ads from
the premium subscribers and we give you the money.
So it's a win win really for your audience.
It's a great way of of them hearing your content with or
viewing your content rather with less interruptions.
And for us it creates a kind of added value to our Remium users.
And for you, it's revenue that you can put back into your into
your show to help grow it. So you've got that.
And what's great about that is obviously it doesn't stop you
from doing other kind of sponsorships around that piece,
whether it's branded cushions on your sofas, what you're doing an
interview or whether it's doing burnt in kind of adverts or
reads or working with a third party sales sales house to do
that. You know, what it does give you
is a partner program gives you a kind of consistent revenue
schemes. In fact, one of many tentacles
of your content octopus that you talked about earlier in.
Terms of a lot of TV producers and a lot of content creators
have been looking at YouTube, for example, and looking at, you
know, 1,000,000 views will deliver, you know, what many
people might think is not a great deal of money.
It's kind of peanuts really. I mean, how does Spotify compare
to that in terms of, you know, I know there's probably not a
purview calculation as such, but can you just give us a bit of a
sense of how that's different on on Spotify, I mean?
It's really hard to compare platform to platform as you
know, but you know, for, for certain types of contents we've
seen, we've never been sick. Creators are finding it a really
good place to be. For example, we've worked with a
curator of creator called Bella Fiore.
He's a true crime creator. He's from Australia, based in
London, and she's been actively telling us that you know her,
her show is now making more money on Spotify than it was on
YouTube. So it's great to hear those kind
of stories to some creators, yeah.
And you talked about, you know, the, the, the Spotify charts and
what's really working from a content perspective.
Can you just talk us through that in a little bit more
detail? What's, what really works well
in terms of genres on Spotify? Yeah.
Of course. And it's actually been really
interesting because we've seen kind of free genres, I'd say
really, really pop at the moment.
Firstly, kind of comedy is having a real moment for us and
it's this very kind of young alternative kind of comedy.
One of the breakout creators for us has been Finn Versus History,
which is Finn Taylor and Horatio Gould, who are both fantastic.
Their show. They come on in what can I be
described as kind of 1970s university lecturer suits and
take a historical subject and then destroy it in the kind of
most surreal and vaguely obscene way.
And it's it's. Pretty it's it's pretty out
there, isn't? It, it's, it's, it's really
fantastic. And you know, it's been an
absolute delight to see about rocket up the charts over the
last kind of 18 months. And they've built a fantastic
community around that which has been able to go live.
Finn's got a book coming out later this year.
And I think the shows like that, shows like Ghost Huns, which is
2 female comics doing a kind of paranormal investigation show.
And Mike Rice and Victoria Cialoni, who were two London
Irish comedians who do a show called Miking Victoria's Guide
to Parenting, which contains no parenting.
Those shows are really great examples of shows which have
done really well in a partner program and have built community
and an audience. So, you know, young comedians
experimenting with long form visual comedy is definitely an
area which is pop in interview shows.
I mean, I think you know, obviously a core thing for audio
podcasts, but I think naturally that has extended to Video 2.
Spotify in the UK. We're very lucky to work with
Louis Theroux and his team at Mind House and he's done a
really great job of transferring his unique style into that
format and that's been been really successful for us.
Well, our team in the UK in the US, sorry, have been working our
team in the US have been working with Amy Poehler on Good Hang.
I watched her with Billie Eilish and we're away here today.
And again, Matt won a Golden Globe earlier this year, which
was was super exciting for everything involved.
And, you know, in the last six months, everyone from
Romeshrankenathan to Olivia Outward to Joe Marla have
launched kind of video interview shows.
So, you know, that is a format that that audiences really,
really can't get an offer of. And I think it's, it's
relatively easy to produce and giving the opportunities for
talent to be able to talk in depth about things they're
passionate about, you know, that's a real, that's a real
thing for us. Yeah.
I mean, does does that begs the question you talked about, you
know, lots of great talent who are running their own podcast
shows and and talent are approaching the the new
production economy economy in different ways as well.
Obviously now though, particularly those who might
typically have looked at TV as being their main path, you know,
there's still loads and loads of different opportunities for
them. Two questions, I suppose.
First of all, does that mean that that you know, it's over
saturated when it comes to a the talent market and the talent
podcasts that are out there? You know, is are there still
fresh new opportunities do you think for talent LED podcasts?
And second of all, do you need talent?
Does it, does talent have to be, you know, is, is that what gets
you to first base if you like? I think there's always
opportunities in new formats, like, you know, there's always
innovation and you know, and you've seen that with Ramesh's
show, which you know, in the last six months has become one
of the biggest shows of us. It's a really fantastic,
fantastic show in. In just a few months, yeah,
yeah. Exactly, you know, and I think
you know, watching Ramesh and Louis Faroux geeking out about
90s hip hop and both writing to hip hop connection under pen
names, you know, you can really see why.
But I also think there's room for genres as well.
I mean, true crime, for example, has been a genre which has
traditionally done very well in audio podcasting.
And it's very been very interesting to see creators and
production companies using their skills in this area to kind of
transfer it into kind of a visual space.
So you've got people like Ellen and Neil who are really kind of
popping with a very simple kind of visual LED storytelling
format. But you know, other companies
like Curve Media in the UK, who you know, started as a
traditional factual production company, but have been able to
take the skills they learn in that area.
And led by Naomi Channel, who's fantastic there, who's one of
their creative leads, build up a show called Totally True Crime,
which is a weekly always on true crime show.
And the visuals are made using video source from public domain
body Cam footage, you know, stuff that you would have done
in traditional TV production, but translated into this space.
And because of that, they've been able to make a really a
really effective, cost effective, always on show,
which, you know, is building audience and bringing them in
revenue, which they're now using to explore other areas.
And I think that's a really exciting model for people.
So true crime, comedy and interview are probably the three
that you pick out there. I mean, do you think there are
any that are any genres that are underserved particularly, you
know, do you see? I don't know.
I mean, I've seen loads of football.
Obviously football's going to be huge over the World Cup and
that's that's there's no shortage, no shortage.
Of football podcast of Of. Former footballers as well,
turning podcasters as well. Yeah.
But I mean, do you think what are the maybe other areas that
you see maybe starting to bubble up and develop that that might
be interesting to watch? We.
Definitely love to see more
longer form content with younger kind of female Gen.
Z creators. I think that group has been
served very well by short form and vertical video, but I think
there's a really big space for that and you know, shows that
girls bathroom have done well in that that area.
And I think that there's there's definitely room in that market
for more voices. So, so finally, well, 22 last
questions, a penultimate question is that, you know, for
TV producers who want to get into space, I mean, obviously
there's no barrier. They can just go and do it
pretty much. It's all pretty straightforward
in terms of starting your first podcast, but how how can they
work with you? How you know what what sort of
scale of podcast do do you start, maybe start a
conversation with when it comes to a partnership manager, you
know, you mentioned Ramesh, you mentioned Louis Theroux, for
example. You know, these are these are
really, really successful. How do you work with them in a
sort of collaborative way? We.
Work with partners of all of all different shapes and sizes
really from, you know, big established studios like Z55 and
you know, kind of traditional TV production companies through to
bigger beasts like gold hanger and platform free to solely
independent creators. You know, I mean, a good example
of that is Mike Inventory, who I mentioned earlier.
He just came to us. You know, the program is anyone
can join and you know, I just advise reaching out to us.
We're really open, you know, and if we feel that, you know, the
content is strong and there's an opportunity, even then we, you
know, we'd, we'd love to hear from you.
Yeah. It was interesting, I saw that
you would deal with Channel 4. So there's a, there's a whole
lot of their Channel 4.0 content that's actually coming out on on
Spotify as well. So that's really interesting and
that and. That's been really exciting and
I think credit to Channel 4 for being really forward thinking in
this space. And you know, I know we've had
real success with with Channel 4.0 over the last couple of
years. And you know, from Channel 4's
perspective, I understand that spot EFI is the home of younger,
diverse audiences and therefore with a format like Don't Get
Cashed pack finished with Nella Rose, it's an absolute perfect
fit for us. So, so yeah, we're looking
forward to continuing that relationship and deepening it
with it. It's really interesting, I think
as well, just just looking at the market, when you've seen,
you know, really established radio companies like Global and
Bauer and others, they are starting to be major players in
the podcast space, visual podcast space.
So it's almost like radio businesses are becoming TV
businesses or video first companies as well.
And you know, I've seen they're acquiring Fellas studios, for
example, and and and others. It's a, it's a really
interesting and dynamic marketplace, isn't it?
Yeah, it's. Really exciting, you know, and,
and credit for global for our ambition and energy in the
space. Really, you know, they're one of
our partners and yeah, I think everyone in the industry was
really impressed by the Fellows acquisition.
You know, they're a fantastic studio who really understands
Gen. Z audiences.
And, you know, if I was, if I was wanting to reach young
audiences, I'd want to be buying them as well, yeah.
So finally looking ahead then road to the next 2-3 years, I
mean, I'm really excited because it's still such a young
industry. It's really sort of 10 years old
or so, really, isn't it? You know, something like that.
It's not not so it's it still feels like at a point where it's
developing and it's almost almost picking up pace,
particularly when it comes to Spotify and and video as well.
Over the next 2-3 years. What do you what you know?
How would you advise again ATV producer to who's thinking over
the next 2-3 years and and focusing their business around
Spotify and around podcasting, what, what would you advise them
to think about? I just think do it.
I mean, if anything, I think people spend too much time kind
of thinking about things. I think if you've got access to
talent and you've got access to exciting ideas or IP that you
can potentially reverse and then just go for it.
You know, the the barrier to entry now is so much lower than
it was even two years ago. And, you know, you as TV
producers, you've got access to people who understand the space
and you've got access to people with great talents.
You've got access to people who know how to make something look
good. And you've got access to people
who understand the pacing of visual content.
And I think when you combine that with people who really
understand the digital landscape and who understand the kind of
power of podcasting, that kind of intimacy and routine, we talk
about, you know, you can have a lot of success there.
And, you know, for me that that's really exciting.
I mean, the podcast industry, you know, we're still building a
plane in flight, essentially. And, you know, that's what gets
me up in the morning. And that's why, you know, I'm so
excited to be part of Spotify and be part of what we're doing.
And you know, particularly that no regret strategy we have, you
know, how can you make content that our audience wants to watch
and makes them feel good? So now it's time for Story of
the Week Robo Regular format point on the show.
What's your story of the week? So it's been a bank holiday.
So it's been a slightly slower Newsweek and unusual.
But one thing which caught my eye this week was the
announcement of a new company called Roseberry Studios.
They are new to the market, and they're made-up of various
people who've worked in TV and digital industries globally.
And they are focused on what they call the verticalization of
TV content. And they announced this week
that they've done a bunch of pretty chunky deals with people
at all Free Media and Banerjee and various servers to take
their libraries and to essentially reverse them into
vertical video. So I think this is 2 things
really interesting. I mean, firstly, for anyone who
is doubting the power of vertical video, you know, this
is the format which has really come in age.
And I know you and the telecast community have been talking
about loads. I've really enjoyed Matt Campion
talking about it on the show a couple of weeks ago.
And, you know, it's quite clear that the vertical video is is
going to become a really key kind of content, content
deliverable for studios. And secondly, I just think it's
interesting because it shows traditional companies really
thinking about other, other revenue streams, right.
So why wouldn't you reversing your content where you've
already got into vertical format if it's wherever your audience
are? Yeah.
I mean, I saw that and I thought it was really interesting too.
Two points. I mean, first of all, kind of
flies in the face of the way that micro drama has become
successful up to this point because it's obviously shot and
developed and created for vertical as opposed to
reversioning old content. Some of which will work, you
know, just because of camera angles and everything.
Some some which won't, but I thought the other, you know, the
other interesting aspect is, you know, there's not really much of
A sustainable revenue model that's that certainly in the UK
for producing vertical video just yet and it still seems so
young. So I thought that's really
interesting. Maybe it's just a catalog
reversioning play I. Guess it's also about attention,
right? I mean, there was a fantastic
piece in the Atlantic a couple of weeks ago about the rise of
clips, Clips as a form of entertainment themselves.
And obviously everyone who's worked in digital over the years
has talked over the last 10 to 15 years, has talked about clips
as being in a way of content discovery.
And like me, has probably been ended up in countless different
experiments with how to do clips in different formats.
But it's quite clear now that that clips have become their
own, their own source of entertainment because of the way
platforms are built. So I don't think it's any
surprise that people are coming to the space and looking to to
reversion because it's about attention, right.
And I don't know if if people are watching short form vertical
clips of Bridgeton, hopefully that will make them go and
explore the catalog. Yeah.
Yeah, no. Interesting.
And who?
How about your Hero of the Week? This was really easy because
yesterday they announced that Saturday Night Live UK was going
to be recommissioned second season.
Which, OK, I'm going to, I'm going to hold, hold my piece for
a second. So my hero is, is Phil Edgar
Jones at the team at Sky for, you know, really taking a big
and, you know, frankly quite expensive risk on on new talent,
albeit in a very successful existing format and for for
making a success. And it's been been a.
Has it been a success though? I mean, viewing figures are, you
know, have really settled to around about 100,000 on on, you
know, on the on traditional network play out.
But I know socially it's done very well, yeah.
And I think really if you look at the kind of profile of people
like Jack Shep and Andy Magliano and George for Acres, you know
this, you know what, what they've done is really helped
kind of bring the next generation of British talent
through. And I think that has to be
applauded. And you know, in the world that
we operate in, we, we talk all the time about on demand content
and flexibility. But sometimes when you watch
something live, you can't, you know, you can't beat that
excitement and energy. And certainly, you know, I, I
loved watching Amy Lee Wood being escorted round by 4 law
manager from one sketch to another last week.
The only thing I'd ask is could you put it on at 9:00 PM rather
than 10? So I keep drifting off just
after weekend update. OK, all right.
Saturday Night Live been recommission for another 12 did
you say I think? Yeah, another 12 episodes in the
autumn, which I think, you know, it's an exciting time for them.
And finally, Ron, who or what are you telling to get in the
bin? Oh dear.
Well, you know, I think we're recording this the day after the
local elections, so it would be. There are some obvious names.
It was very tempting to say, but sticking in the kind of media, I
don't have anyone massively to put in the bin, but I did raise
eyebrows at the Guardians article over the weekend that
the big BBC cuts for incoming would be focused on news and
maybe we're going to take the brunt of them.
So I think 15 rather than 10% now.
I think everyone who who watches your show has got an opinion on
the BBC. They've probably all worked for
them, but I think, you know, certainly in my personal view,
one of the great crown jewels is BBC News.
And in an age of, you know, disinformation and division, I
think it's one of the kind of things we should be most proud
of. So I I do that should.
Be maybe be the focus to preserve as opposed to.
So, you know, I, I, I would, I would definitely encourage some
of the managers, they're making those decisions and putting that
story out to perhaps go to their nearest waste disposal, you
know, yeah. Yeah, look at some other areas
to to trim perhaps. Rowan, thank you so much for
coming on the show. Great to great to have you on
and good luck with everything at Spotify.
Of course, we'll be watching everything that you guys are
doing and thanks for coming on the show.
Thank you. So much for having me.
Well, that's about it for another week's show.
I hope you enjoyed it. Telecast is produced by Spirit
Studios and recorded in London. We'll be back next week with
another show.