Gen Z Play For Netflix
Will The Sidemen Deliver? - Weekend Wrap Up Edition - Week 11/2025
What an avocado, a rabbit, a UK Broadcaster, a German TV box, and a YouTube mega-brand have in common? They are all featured in this week’s Weekend Wrap Up! Let’s get into it 👇
🥑 Spot On Metaphor
about FAST in Europe this year. Ryan Afshar, VP Publishers & Platforms at LG Ad Solutions, won the audience with his avocado metaphor leaving Evan Shapiro livid (in case you didn’t know, Evan is a bit competitive) when we were on stage at the first ever MIP LONDON to record the first ever live episode of The Media Odyssey.
Go listen or watch our latest episode, maybe at the gym, maybe… elsewhere. No judgment here.
🐇 When Single IP Is The Only Way
Samsung TV Plus EMEA announced a partnership with French kids media company, Animaj, to bring two single-IP FAST channels of smash hits in the kids media landscape. It could use a refresh (poke Emily Horgan) but we already had strong opinions on the topic: Kids brands lead with IP.
🇩🇪 Deutsche Qualität
When I was telling you last week that Sonos was better off dropping their 200-400€ streaming TV box plans, German vMPVD Waipu just launched a new box for 99€ and it has a sweet plus I’m craving for my own living room. You don’t come in late and over-priced into a crowded ecosystem like this one.
🤳 Insatiable Thirst For Creator Content
If you struggle to attract young audiences, then no need to reinvent the wheel: partner up with a creator content powerhouse.
📺 ITV FY 2024 Are Out
After any European Broadcaster’s earnings results, the same questions remain: Can they attract a new pool of advertisers? Will digital ad revenues compensate the softness (or decline) of linear ad revenues? Will a digital 1st strategy do them more good than harm?
A 2025 year without major sports events and so much market uncertainty will put ITV’s “More than TV” strategy to the test. Let’s check back in a year’s time. Until then read my full analysis here.
📰 Distribution Makes Or Breaks
Any streaming service and I think it’s one of the reasons behind the Washington Post sunsetting their streaming channel. If Washington Post TV was only available on “Amazon’s Prime Video, Allen Media’s Local Now and on the newest line-up of Tablo DVRs”, add to that the ocean of FAST channels available on US platforms, the softness of the ad demand last year experienced by FAST channels and finally the lack of editorial differentiation then it’s no surprise to see the channel folding. Let’s see what the third newly created newsroom brings us in terms of video strategy.
🧓🏻 Boomer Alert
You seem to have no clue what “Inside S2” was. I can’t blame you, I doubt we’re the target audience.
Now it matters that you know more about this show as industry executives. Why? This is yet another Netflix deal where they went shopping on YouTube. Sidemen is a group of UK YouTube creators. Their portfolio includes 4 main YouTube channels:
Sidemen clocking 22.2M subscribers, 405 videos, 6.5B views.
More Sidemen: 9.16M subscribers, 1.2K videos, 5.1B views.
Sidemen Reacts: 5.76M subscribers, 1.4 videos, 3.2B views.
Side+ their D2C premium service (priced at 8.49€ a month) pitched a members’ club (to get exclusive content, discounts, rewards). For why a premium service makes sense to me, go over here.
Would it be simplistic to say they’re the UK equivalent of Mr Beast? Feels and looks like it based on the themes, the challenges and the thumbnail artwork.
The release strategy adopted by Netflix consists of a daily drop (as I write this we’re at episode 5 out of an 8-episode season). I was surprised to see no teaser whatsoever on the Sidemen YouTube channels (whereas Disney+ tapped into its content creator’s YT audience for the launch). Even more surprising? I couldn’t find one on Netflix’s YouTube channel this past month either. Mr Beast got Amazon to agree to 3 episodes running on his YT channel and before that he promoted the hell out of the show.
How did the show perform so far? We’ll need to wait for the weekly numbers on Monday but the show did pop up in the UK Top 10.
Tough to coexist with surprise hit “Adolescence” who snatched the n°1 spot, generated 24.3M views and 93M hours in its 1st week.
A US version of “Inside” is set to release later this year. The release strategy could definitely use a refresh. Until then, read the salty critic of the show by The Guardian.
That’s it for today but before you go, tell me:
Enjoy your day and see you on Tuesday for a Deep Dive edition of Streaming Made Easy Premium.
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