Piers Morgan spoke on a panel recently at The Podcast Show in London titled “How TV Titans and Star Creators are Growing their Business in the New Video-First Age.” The panel was moderated by Kaya Yurieff and included Max Cutler of PAVE Studios, but it was really the Piers Morgan show. He pretty much hijacked the panel and talked bout his YouTube show and the media company he was building around it. Still, he was quite entertaining, and he offered a snapshot of what’s been going on in his corner of the creator economy.

Leveraging Successful YouTube Channel

Morgan is one of many celebrities and news personalities to make the jump to YouTube, and so far he’s been very successful. His flagship Piers Morgan Uncensored show started on TalkTV (a Rupert Murdoch-backed UK channel) in 2022 but then fully transitioned to YouTube and podcast platforms in early 2025. Morgan acquired ownership of the Uncensored brand from News UK/TalkTV via his production company, Wake Up Productions, giving him full control to expand it independently. With over 4.4 million subscribers and tons of daily views, Morgan’s core show will be the centerpiece of his new media company.

Margan has a very particular brand as a well-known personality, and he certainly knows how to leverage it and grow an audience. On the panel, he explained how he loves being the “ringmaster” that overseas “smart, passionate, fiery debate.” He sees himself in the middle of the far right and far left, and he explained how he can pretty much talk to anybody. I’ve never been a huge fan, but the strategy makes a ton of sense.

Business Expansion

Morgan’s company is raising around $30 million at a $130 million valuation, and he brashly explained how he wants to grow this into a $1 billion company. He explained how he’s already expanding with History Uncensored (with Bianca Nobilo) and The Royals Uncensored (with Katie Nicholl and Jo Elvin). He also plans for more verticals like true crime, sports, etc. This will be the big test – can he extend the brand and content beyond his flagship show. Time will tell, but he has the capital, and he explained his commitment to premium production values. I wouldn’t bet against him.

Creator Economy

Naturally, Morgan also made some brash predictions about the demise of television in the next ten years. Of course things are changing, and the creator economy and YouTube will swallow up more and more viewer attention, but TV isn’t going away. It’s just evolving.

Overall, Morgan is positioning Uncensored as a creator-led media network that leverages his personal brand for broader growth, moving away from traditional TV constraints toward independent, high-engagement digital content. It’s one of the more successful examples of a high-profile broadcaster fully pivoting to independent digital operations.

Others will follow, and many will get rish going off on their own. But the broadcast media companies, cable companies and streamers will sill have a place in the ecosystem. But they will need to adapt.

The podcast industry is evolving, as is pretty much everything in the entertainment business. We’ve been hearing about “convergence” for decades but now we’re seeing an acceleration. We’re seeing podcasts turn into YouTube channels and vice versa. We’re seeing YouTubers streaming on channels like Netflix. All of the lines between delivery platforms are blurring. This creates huge opportunities for many, but it’s also unsettling for those who like to stay in their comfort zone.

We’re also seeing monetization strategies evolve as well, with podcasters and YouTubers embracing a wide variety of revenue sources beyond just traditional advertising. These types of 360 deals work particularly well with celebrity podcaster and creators.

A recent article in the New York Times explains this in the context of the New Heights podcast from Jason and Travis Kelce. Podcasts can essentially “become an entire lifestyle brand — complete with merchandise, live events, shoppable content, and dedicated fan hubs.” This approach marks a significant evolution. Instead of just selling ad slots, Amazon is helping creators monetize their personal brands across multiple touchpoints — social media, live events, product lines, and more. Other big names like Dax Shepard, Keke Palmer, and LeBron James are also part of the roster.

And it’s not just Amazon. The article doesn’t address this, but niche content creators, including those in the B2B space, can also leverage their audience across multiple platforms, particularly newsletters and memberships.

This article focuses more on creators in the entertainment space:

Fans will show up for — and spend money on — anything and anyone connected to their favorite shows. This logic is aligned more with product placement, sponsored content or celebrity endorsements (or a hybrid of all three) than with traditional podcast advertising. Under every rock is a monetization opportunity.

Not every celebrity can pull this off. We saw a rush of celebrities try to launch podcasts during and after Covid, and many of them failed. Few have the personality to thrive with this type of content. But those who do can make a killing, and we’re now seeing companies expand the types of revenue opportunities available to these creators.

On December 17, 2025, the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) board of directors unanimously rejected a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid from Paramount Skydance (a combined entity led by David Ellison). Instead of accepting this all-cash offer of $30 per share, the board reaffirmed its commitment to a competing merger agreement with Netflix, valued at approximately $82.7 billion (or $27.75 per share).

Risks Cited by the Board

The rejection was primarily based on what the board termed “significant risks” associated with the Paramount offer, and the board went into great detail regarding those risks. The board accused Paramount Skydance of misleading shareholders by claiming the bid was “fully backstopped” by the Ellison family (including billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison). In reality, much of the financing relied on an “opaque revocable trust” structure, allowing potential withdrawal of funds, and commitments from foreign sovereign wealth funds. Additionally, Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners pulled its backing days earlier, further eroding confidence in the deal’s certainty.

The board also emphasized regulatory and national security hurdles. Heavy involvement from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi raised red flags for U.S. national security reviews (via CFIUS) and antitrust scrutiny, potentially delaying or blocking foreign control of major American media assets like Warner Bros. and HBO.

Finally, the board expressed concerns about overly ambitious operational projections. Paramount Skydance touted $9 billion in cost synergies, but the WBD board dismissed this as unrealistic, warning that aggressive cuts would “make Hollywood weaker, not stronger” by harming long-term creativity and value.

Overall, this came across as a very forceful and persuasive rebuke of the Paramount offer.

The Netflix Offer

While Paramount’s $108.4 billion hostile offer grabbed headlines with its higher $30-per-share all-cash price tag, the Warner Bros. board views the competing Netflix merger, announced earlier in December, as the clearly superior path forward. Valued at roughly $82.7 billion in enterprise terms ($72 billion equity), the Netflix deal equates to about $27.75 per share, but the board emphasizes quality over quantity, calling it a more certain and strategically sound transaction.

The Netflix agreement combines cash ($23.25 per share) and Netflix stock ($4.50 per share equivalent), providing shareholders with immediate liquidity plus upside exposure to Netflix’s high-growth streaming business. Crucially, it carries far less execution risk: No new equity raises are needed, and financing is secured through fully binding debt commitments from major banks—eliminating the funding uncertainty plaguing the Paramount bid.

Unlike a full-company takeover, the Netflix merger targets WBD’s crown jewels: the Warner Bros. film and TV studios, HBO’s premium content library, and the Max streaming platform. Declining linear cable networks such as CNN, TNT, and TBS are slated for a spin-off into a separate entity. This would invlove shedding legacy assets that face cord-cutting headwinds and allowing the combined Netflix-WBD streaming company to be a force in the future of entertainment. By prioritizing certainty, strategic fit, and long-term value over a riskier premium, the board believes the Netflix partnership positions shareholders for sustained growth in a streaming-first world.

Who Will Win?

It’s anybody’s guess. I thought Paramount might have the upper hand with their Trump connections and their willingness to shameless curry favor for their deal. But this forceful response from the board suggests that they’re willing to fight for what they perceive to be the better offer.

You may not remember him, but Will Rogers was both a beloved cowboy and a humorist. Once, he said, “Everything changes. People are now taking their comedians more seriously and their politicians as jokes.” Ironically, this comment was made back in the early part of the 20th century. That was when the comedic period in America was at its highest. However, it does seem to be true more now than ever.

Aside from Mr. Rogers, the satirical and witty commentary on every subject by other iconic humorists, like Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain, both informed and entertained Americans throughout the early 20th century. These gods of the literary world set a precedent for mocking and criticizing politicians publicly in ways that were so witty and clever that they were received better than the news outlets of that period. People like Rogers, Wilde, Twain, and more paved the way for many of their modern day successors like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and more.

Let’s take a look at some of the celebs turned political – either to politics as a career or to being looked at as a political satirist. If you decide to take a closer look, you can see these people on many of the channels found on the service that saves including Biography, CBS, and HBO.

Ronald Reagan

We all know Reagan as a former President of the United States. Before that though, he was an actor. Once Mr. Reagan finished his stint in college, he became an announcer for sports radio in Iowa. He has a voice that was powerful and that voice went hand in hand with his good looks. With this one–two combination, he was able to get a contract with Warner Brothers where he easily transitioned into a movie star.

Shirley Temple Black

Nobody could have known that this child actor – iconic as she was – would one day be able to reach beyond her string of family films. The tap shoe wearing, curly-haired star from the mid 20th century stepped away from Hollywood around 1950 and turned herself more towards politics. She began with a stint in foreign service with the General Assembly of the UN in 1969. From there, she became the US Ambassador to Ghana in the year 1974. After that, she went on to become the Chief Protocol of the US and the US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold earned the nickname “The Governator” by becoming the governor of California, a position he held from 2003 – 2011. He began his career as Mr. Universe and transitioned from there into a career as a movie star. He turned political after that and managed to get elected as governor after he replaced Gray Davis when Mr. Davis was recalled from that position. Schwarzenegger was reelected in 2006. Now that his stint as governor has finished, he seems to be turning back to Hollywood to keep himself busy.

Jesse Ventura

This guy was a professional wrestler. He ended up turning political and becoming the governor of Minnesota. Before that, he was also in a movie called “Predator” with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ventura started his adult life with a tour in the US Navy. From there, he became a wrestler with the WWF (now WWE). After that, he acted in quite a few action movies. He began his political career as the Mayor of a town in Minnesota called Brooklyn Park and went on from there to become the governor.

Jerry Springer

Jerry Springer’s original claim to fame was an incredibly trashy talk show where there was more fighting than talking most of the time. Aside from that, Jerry was in quite a few different TV shows and even acted on Broadway in the hit show The Rocky Horror Show as well as in Chicago. He is also a political satirist. Before he hosted one of the most iconic and embarrassing TV shows of all times, he was the mayor of Cincinnati in the late 1970s.

Clint Eastwood

This Oscar winning screen legend is also a politician. He became the mayor of a city called Carmel by the Sea back in the 1980s and was an appointee to the California State Park and Recreation Commission back in 2001 and to the California Film Commission back in 2004. These days, he is the subject of frequent memes on social media.

Ever since the Princess Leia bikini scene in Star Wars, the idea of a bikini constructed with metal has been forged into the minds of men and women everywhere. What woman doesn’t want to be the princess, wearing the type of exotic clothing that is going to make men from all over the universe take notice?

Judging from the forward-thinking and borderline futuristic beachwear options featured at Fashion Rio, the five-day seaside fashion showcase, we might be closer to the trends of Tatooine than anyone previously thought.

Forging a Fashion Success?

Fashion designer Triya is largely responsible for championing the metal bikini in 2013, which looks like the undergarment of a female knight that has been crafted specifically for the body of the model, and their body alone. And yet, somehow, it is not all together unattractive—at least on the runway.

The media certainly seems to be responding, with an Associated Press article appearing on many major news outlets, and subsequent fashion blogs.

But the main question on most people’s minds is whether or not this is a viable fashion trend that will continue to evolve for years to come, or if this is an ill-conceived idea from a recent game of D&D.

Metal is So Hot Right Now…Literally

Putting aside the ubiquitous fashion question of whether or not this would even be comfortable, other questions of logistics immediately jump to the forefront when considering wearing a plate of metal, no matter how stylish or fitted, to a beach. This is a place that is filled with sand and salt water that is invariably going to find its way into every little nook and cranny of your body.

Is the bikini going to rust or tarnish? It is going to become unbearably hot baking in the midday sun like a station wagon seat buckle?
If these are the questions you were asking yourself before you even got to the above paragraph, fear not, because there are some metal options that (un)fortunately do not have the type of mass that is going to drag you down underwater, or stop a bullet.

Off the Runway Alloys

Among the bandeau tops found at Fashion Rio were a collection of more practical items that were still forged in the great furnace of style. For instance a fringed metal swim skirt, a metal mesh upper body wrap, and a few more selections made from more traditional fabrics but accented with metal embellishments stand out as options for those women who do not want to look like they are about to be involved in a jousting match. There are even bathing suits that simply look like metal, despite being made from another material.

As is the case with most haute couture, some adjustments must be made before all of these fashion ideas are modeled into real life. However, given the amount of publicity metal swimwear has received, it’s easy to predict an alloyed trend at the beach this summer.

Simon is a writer and content specialist who is addicted to being on the front page of anything. A graduate of Dalhousie University, he specializes in using the em dash too often. Currently, Simon rests his typing hands in Vancouver, Canada. Check out a recent example of his work here.