Fox has long been known for established content franchises that range from Gordon Ramsay to Sean Hannity. Now the company is casting about in a very different sort of pool.
Fox Advertising has made what it calls a strategic investment in The Lighthouse, a studio and campus designed specifically for creators that is part of the portfolio of Whalar Group, an independent company that develops influencers and other content personalities. Fox’s investment will also support the launch of an initiative aimed at developing franchise tied to creators across Fox’ content offerings.
Fox did not reveal the financial terms of the deal. The company has seemed newly interested in aligning itself with individual content creators in recent months, In February, Fox Corp. said it would acquire Red Seat Ventures, a digital media company that helps manage business concerns for a bevy of news personalities who have gone independent, including the former Fox News Channel figures Megyn Kelly, Bill O’Reilly and Tucker Carlson.
“Some large media companies might just go look down a list of creators and see who’s got the highest number of likes or followers and then go work with them, says Stephano Kim, chief strategy and operations officer of Fox Advertising, during an interview, “That’s a very blunt and dare I say somewhat ignorant approach to investing in the space.” Fox, he says, wants to be in the room where creators are trying to develop their own franchises and work with them from an early stage, and, when appropriate, give advertisers the opportunity to collaborate with them, as well as developing creators’ work for broader consumption.
“You have to be in their environment,” says Kim. “You want to collaborate with them in their natural habitat, so to speak.”
A 2023 report from Goldman Sachs estimated the size of the so-called “creator economy” to be $250 billion and projected that it could expand to $480 billion by 2027, citing an increase in digital media consumption and the rise of technology that lowers traditional barriers to content creation.
The Lighthouse intends to operate two separate campuses, one near Los Angeles and the other in Brooklyn. The unit offers co-working spaces and resources to creators who pay a fee in exchange for membership that entitles them to use of production facilities and other services. Annual fees can start at around $5000, according to the company’s website.
“I think it’s just about being a place of experimentation,” says Jon Goss, president of the Lighthouse. “We know they are developing commerce as well as intellectual property as well as entertainment franchises.”
Leave a Reply