Fox Creator Studios has entered into a production agreement with comedian Tom Segura’s YMH Studios for a series of projects designed to be released across his existing digital and direct-to-consumer channels.
The agreement calls for Fox Creator Studios and YMH to jointly develop and finance assets that will be released through YMH’s established digital and podcast network. Austin-based YMH Studio has 2.1 million followers on YouTube. Segura is an acclaimed stand-up comedian who has appeared in seven stand-up specials on Netflix since 2014 and leads the comedy short series “Bad Thoughts,” available on the streamer.
Fox’s goal in forming Fox Creator Studios is to do business with established content entrepreneurs who have a track record of building multiple business ventures on the foundation of successful podcasts and personalities. In addition to Segura, other personalities collaborating with YMH include Bert Kreischer, Christine Pacitsky, Lauren Compton, and Danny Brown. YMH Studios is led by President Ryan P. Hall. Fox Creator Studios was launched in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, led by media executive and investor Billy Parks.
“They’re building a business for themselves,” Parks, who launched Fox Creator Studios at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, told Variety. Parks was impressed that YMH launched the “2 Bears 5K” touring venture, which includes 5K runs by Kreischer and Segura that land in various cities. According to 2B5K’s website, the event taps into both stand-up’s fan bases by offering attendees the opportunity to experience “fun, community, and a legendary afterparty.”
Billy Parks, President of Fox Creator Studios
Photo by Andrew Stiles
“They have a podcast network that not only Tom is on, but that he built and supports along with other podcasts that they own and operate. They do ad sales and they have a direct-to-consumer audience that actually provides content on pay-per-view,” Parks says. “And he said Tom had an idea for a show (‘Bad Thoughts’) and instead of doing a lot of development and pitching and trying to get someone to say ‘yes’, he put his money and time and energy where his mouth was. That kind of fierce independence and understanding of his own direct relationship with his audience and consumers is very much in sync with what we do at Creator Studio.”
Teaming up with Fox will allow YMH Studios to pursue more ambitious ideas, Segura told Variety. According to Fox Creator Studios, the partners are actively working on several projects, including “a stand-up comedy showcase highlighting both established and emerging voices, an animated horror-comedy series, and a live-action comedy series set in an airport bar.” News of the deal between YMH Studios and Fox Creator Studios comes on the same day that Fox’s West LA studio grounds host Press Publish LA: Hollywood Creator Summit, a conference featuring top figures in the creator economy.
“We all know it costs money to work with the people you want to work with, but you need money just to run the camera,” Segura says. “It’s also the brains that work there, and we get to hear from them. We can ask them anything from creative thinking to hiring a particular producer or producers. Or we can have a discussion about what’s the best approach to distributing this. They’ve got a lot of great resources in that world, so it’s exciting to partner with someone who will elevate what they’re doing.”
Hall said Fox’s strength in adult animation, such as “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy,” makes it a perfect fit for YMH Studios’ audience. There have been offers from Hollywood heavyweights in the past, but the circumstances were never right.
“Billy and I probably spent too many months together talking about this and thinking, ‘Is this a good match?'” Hall said. “We’ve really found success by allowing ourselves to make what we want to make, and that’s what worked for us over two seasons of Bad Thoughts. To Billy and Fox’s credit, they’re like, ‘We’ll support you if you need us, but we’d like to give you a little freedom.’ We trust your intuition and vice versa. ”
Successful digital media entrepreneurs at the scale of Segura and YMH Studios need that kind of speed, Hall said.
“In this new world of creators, you have a choice: be successful or just work in business for eight months. People will find a way to succeed,” he says.
Parks emphasized that the deal with YMH Studios is representative of the type of creators Fox Creator Studios is looking to hire. It’s also a sign that the market is evolving beyond YouTubers and TikTok users to talent that in another era might have pursued network sitcoms or raunchy studio comedies.
“Creators come in all shapes and sizes, whether they’re just putting out on TikTok and want to tell a story and try something new, or one of the biggest touring comedians in the world with two massive series on Netflix and seven comedy specials on Netflix. These are perfect beacons for comedians,” Parks says. “This is someone who has a great relationship with their audience and consumers, who has a vision and is ready to make it happen. They have a great idea and we’re really excited that they wanted to bring it to life here.”
