Kids Media Club Podcast Kids Media Club: Guest Jesse Cleverly on the perfect media storm incoming
The landscape of children's entertainment is shifting—fast. In this eye-opening conversation, multi-award-winning creative executive Jesse Cleverly shares why now might be the perfect time to work in media, despite all the doom and gloom.
The Perfect Storm (In a Good Way)
Jesse drops a perspective bomb early in the conversation: while traditional media is facing seismic changes, he genuinely believes we're entering "an interesting and great moment" for the industry. Why? Because creators no longer need permission to build audiences.
"If you've got a great idea or you are a great creator, you can go out and learn what works," Jesse explains. The empowering nature of new platforms means you can test and refine before spending €10 million on a 50-episode series. Revolutionary? Absolutely.
The Creator Burnout Crisis
But it's not all sunshine and viral videos. Jesse pulls back the curtain on a troubling reality: many successful digital creators are exhausted and burned out, trapped in a world of low CPMs (cost per thousand views) with no sustainable revenue model beyond grinding out content.
The solution? Studios and creators need each other now more than ever. Traditional media professionals bring crucial skills in brand development, monetization, and long-term value creation that many creators desperately need but don't have the bandwidth to develop themselves.
Rethinking the "Kids' Audience"
Here's where Jesse gets provocative: he questions whether the traditional definition of a "kids' audience" was actually created by commercial television rather than reflecting what children genuinely want.
His evidence? When given true choice, kids increasingly watch content made for broader audiences. His own research revealed young viewers gravitating toward shows like "Heartland" (a Canadian horse ranch drama) because there's "no punching and killing"—not because it was marketed to them as children's programming.
"I wonder whether this definition of the kid audience is also a product that we used for media in the commercial television age," Jesse muses, challenging fundamental assumptions about age-appropriate content.
The Power of Niches
Forget mass audiences—Jesse sees the future in passionate, engaged communities around specific interests. His favorite example? Werewolf romance fiction is "killing it" with tens of millions of readers, yet virtually no one is creating werewolf video content.
The math is simple: going from broad, low-engagement audiences to narrow, high-engagement niches means higher lifetime value (LTV) per fan. Plus, we're not limited to local markets anymore—you can reach every werewolf romance fan in the world.
"The goldfish and the water," Jesse says. "We've been swimming in the world of low-hanging fruit local markets. We're not in local markets now—we're in the world."
5 Key Takeaways
- Permission is Dead: You don't need a commissioner's approval to build an audience anymore. Create, test, learn, iterate—then scale.
- Creators Need Studios (and Vice Versa): Digital creators have audiences but often lack monetization expertise. Traditional media professionals have those skills but need to understand platform-native content.
- Value Has Shifted: Historical kids' media companies like Nickelodeon made most of their money from licensing and merchandising, not the TV shows themselves. That model still works—just on different platforms.
- Rethink Your Audience: Age-based demographic targeting may be a legacy TV construct. Focus on interests, values, and what genuinely resonates rather than arbitrary age brackets.
- Play the Long Game: Build communities, not just view counts. Engineer awareness through the "primordial soup" of social platforms, then nurture what evolves.
The Primordial Soup Theory
Jesse's closing metaphor brilliantly captures the new creative landscape: platforms like YouTube and Instagram are the "primordial soup" where millions of content ideas compete to evolve. Most will die away, but a few will succeed and thrive.
His role? "Watching the shoreline and waiting... oh, that one looks like it might evolve. And then you run in, grab it, help it up onto land."
Why This Matters Now
Jesse’s argument in a nutshell: Traditional TV commissioning is contracting. Streaming services are tightening budgets. But direct-to-audience platforms are exploding. For creative professionals willing to adapt, learn new skills, and genuinely listen to what audiences want (rather than what we think they should want), the opportunities are enormous.
What do you think? Is Jesse's optimism naive or strategic? He's seen both worlds, from BBC commissions to digital-first studios, and he's betting on a future where authentic engagement beats mass distribution every single time.
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