Insiders: The TV Podcast

Ben Powell-Jones and Thom Gulseven of Strongwatch Studios join Peter Fincham and Jimmy Mulville to reveal what it was really like to work at LADbible when it was booming, why they had to turn down Tom Hanks and whether the UK's proposed social media ban for under-16s can actually work.

In this episode:
•Why they said no to Tom Hanks's agent (and almost turned down Billie Eilish)
•How a £500 video made £80k overnight (and why platform ad revenue can vanish just as fast)
•Building LADbible's YouTube channel from zero to millions of views
•Why Patreon and direct-to-consumer content is the future of monetisation, from Fin vs History to Time Team
•Why focus groups lie (and what LADbible's data really showed about who was watching Love Island)
•How TV and YouTube are merging, from Rest Is Football's move to Netflix to broadcasters commissioning entire YouTube channels
•Their honest take on the UK's proposed social media ban for under-16s

Have a question or opinion? Leave a comment, find us on socials (@InsidersTVPod), or email us at podcasts@hattrick.com.

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CHAPTERS
00:00 Meet Strongwatch Studios
04:37 Building LADbible's YouTube Empire
09:44 Snubbing Tom Hanks and (almost) Billie Eilish
12:40 Starting a Company in a Constantly Changing Digital World
15:30 Patreon and the Rise of Direct-to-Consumer Content
22:10 Data in Digital versus TV and why Focus Groups Lie
23:07 TV as ‘Secondary Distribution for YouTube’
26:05 Broadcasters Now Commissioning YouTube Channels
33:20 The Social Media Ban for Under-16s

#YouTube #LADbible #SocialMediaBan #StrongwatchStudios #ContentCreator #Patreon #TVPodcast #BritishTV #DigitalMedia #InsidersTVPod #TomHanks #BillieEilish #CreatorEconomy #Streaming #Podcast
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TV Insiders Peter Fincham and Jimmy Mulville discuss Count Binface, the BBC's World Cup cost saving efforts, Sky's ITV purchase, and Peppa Pig using A.I.

Topics discussed:

Farage vs Count Binface
BBC not going to the US in the World Cup Quarter Finals
The Sky/ITV deal
Peppa Pig using A.I. for its younger voice actors

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
01:12 Farage vs Count Binface
03:20 The BBC's World Cup cost saving efforts
09:27 Sky's ITV deal
29:19 Peppa Pig + A.I.

Have a question, opinion or suggestion? Leave a comment on Spotify or YouTube, find us on socials @InsidersTVPod, or email us at podcasts@hattrick.com.

If you enjoyed the episode, please like, subscribe, and share the podcast with a friend — it really helps us grow.

#CountBinface #NigelFarage #BBC #ITV #FifaWorldCup2026 #Sky #ITV #PeppaPig #GeneWilder

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.
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TV Insiders Peter Fincham and Jimmy Mulville address your comments and questions regarding the BBC's Sarah Everard drama, axing long-running TV shows, Claude writing quiz show questions, as well as discussing Michael Grade's recent comments about terms of trade.

Topics discussed:

Michael Grade's comments regarding terms of trade
The BBC's Sarah Everard drama
Exploitative true crime shows
TV quiz show question writing
Claude and the use of AI in TV
Axing long-running TV shows

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
01:12 Michael Grade's comments regarding terms of trade
09:59 Question 1) regarding the BBC's Sarah Everard drama
12:11 Question 2) regarding the BBC's Sarah Everard drama
13:26 Statement from Lindsay Salt, BBC Director of Drama
19:16 Question 3) regarding exploitative true crime TV shows
20:49 Question 4) some dramatisations are simply poor taste
23:09 Questions from Kenton Allen
24:16 Question 5) regarding TV quiz show question writing and AI
29:59 Peter's Bob Dylan quiz
35:01 Question 6) regarding the axing of long-running TV shows
37:09 Outro

Have a question, opinion or suggestion? Leave a comment on Spotify or YouTube, find us on socials @InsidersTVPod, or email us at podcasts@hattrick.com.

If you enjoyed the episode, please like, subscribe, and share the podcast with a friend — it really helps us grow.

#MichaelGrade #BBC #BBCDrama #SarahEverard #TrueCrime #KentonAllen #Quiz #QuizShows #Mastermind #BobDylan #TheBill #GMTV

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: / @insiderstvpodcast
Email: podcasts@hattrick.com
Instagram: @InsidersTVPod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TV Insiders Peter Fincham and Jimmy Mulville tackle the World Cup coverage battle, the TV Festival's Manchester move, the BBC's 500 job cuts, and the Government's social media green paper - recorded on the UK's hottest June day on record!

Topics discussed:

The UK's Prime Minister
England cs Ghana
The World Cup coverage battle between the BBC & ITV
The Edinburgh TV Festival moving to Manchester
The BBC's 500 job cuts
The Government's social media green paper

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
01:30 The UK's next PM
02:06 England vs Ghana
02:32 What's on the show today?
03:13 The World Cup coverage battle
10:00 The Edinburgh TV Festival moves to Manchester
14:30 Hydration Break
14:53 The BBC's 500 job cuts
25:01 The Government's social media green paper
35:25 Outro

Have a question, opinion or suggestion? Leave a comment on Spotify or YouTube, find us on socials @InsidersTVPod, or email us at podcasts@hattrick.com.

If you enjoyed the episode, please like, subscribe, and share the podcast with a friend — it really helps us grow.

#PrimeMinister #AndyBurnham #England #FIFAWorldCup2026 #BBC #ITV #HydrationBreak #EdinburghTVFestival #Manchester #UKGovernment #GreenPaper #YouTube

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: / @insiderstvpodcast
Email: podcasts@hattrick.com
Instagram: @InsidersTVPod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can send questions to our email – podcasts@hattrick.com

DM us a question on Instagram – we're @insiderstvpod

Or comment your question on this episode on Spotify or our most recent episode on YouTube

Thanks so much everyone – see you Friday!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.