Piers Morgan is leaving behind a decades-long career in traditional print and broadcasting, which he predicts will disappear over the next decade, and embarking on his first solo career, betting fully on the future of digital media.
The veteran media critic this week bought an uncensored YouTube channel from Rupert Murdoch, one of his first employers and close ally, which he says was “very generous”. Despite this, he ended his three-year contract with News UK worth tens of millions of pounds. ” and offered to stay overnight.
The day after the news broke, Morgan, sitting in a cafe near his home in Kensington, admitted it was a gamble, but unusually confident it would pay off.
“I want to be a global forum for debate and big interviews,” the 59-year-old former tabloid president says, adding that he plans to launch new podcasts, live shows and a broader uncensored series that will include other hosts. His own existing YouTube audience indicated ambitious plans to create.
“If you can hire the right people, build a stable of the right people, and commercialize them properly, there’s no reason why you can’t build a billion-dollar business in five years.”
Piers Morgan (left) interviews UFC CEO Dana White on his uncensored YouTube channel © YouTube/Piers Morgan Uncensored
Morgan’s move is not only a bold bet on the value of his personal brand, but also on the inevitable and imminent dominance of digital platforms as audiences, especially younger generations, abandon legacy media. be.
His YouTube channel already has 3.6 million subscribers, and his most popular shows have 20 million viewers. More than three-quarters of his audience is under the age of 45, and more than half of them are in the United States.
“We’re probably the No. 2 show in the world for news, debate and opinion, after Joe Rogan. There’s no other show that does that consistently and in big numbers,” he said. “It’s a bit of a gamble. The way I see it, it might not work out, but it’s not like starting a startup.”
I get along really well with Rupert and Lachlan. We have all known each other for a very long time. But I didn’t want to be an employee anymore.
He is already thinking about what will appear next on his YouTube channel under his ownership. Morgan said Donald Trump has promised interviews at the White House and believes he has interviewed the president-elect more than any other journalist.
Morgan said Trump has called him “five or six times” since the summer, most recently a few weeks ago when he told the host he looked good on TV. He said it was a “cheerful conversation.”
“Since winning such a big victory, he’s clearly calmer and more focused on his legacy, and he’s getting a second chance to be an incredibly innovative and historic president. .”
The deal with News UK means Mr Morgan is now full owner of the Uncensored brand, but means Mr Murdoch’s business will make up a smaller share of YouTube’s ad revenue over the next four years.
He said he felt the terms of the deal were right because they had “built this together” and had turned down a “very generous offer” from News UK to continue a similar deal.
“I get along very well with Rupert and Lachlan,” he said of Mr Murdoch’s eldest son and chosen successor to his media empire. “We’ve all known each other for a long time, but we didn’t want to be hired hands anymore.”
Morgan now fully owns the Uncensored brand © Charlie Bibby/FT
Morgan still publishes books with News Corp’s HarperCollins and will write occasional columns for Murdoch newspapers. For now, Uncensored will continue to broadcast from News UK studios in the United Kingdom as well as the United States. “Everything is very, very friendly. I really want to remain part of the family.”
But ahead of his 60th birthday in March, he said the opportunity was too great. “This is my first time being my own boss. I could have taken the easier route of continuing as an employee, but I would have kicked myself.”
Linear network stuff is over. It will take a while for it to die, but it is dead.
It’s also motivated by the recognition that the future of media is online, he said, pointing to data that suggests YouTube will become Americans’ preferred way to watch TV “quite quickly.”
He added: “For the first time in history, more people in America watched the U.S. presidential election on YouTube than watched it on cable or broadcast, in terms of results, analysis and opinion.” “So how did Trump win? Well, a big part of it was due to the activity of all the YouTubers and streamers.”
Creator-driven online programming has become increasingly influential, with many media experts crediting shows like The Joe Rogan Experience with mobilizing young “broculture” voters toward Trump.
UFC boss Dana White, who was appointed to Meta’s board this week, made it clear who he had to thank when he took the stage with Trump on election night: Others like Adin Roth and Nerk Boys who are “mighty and powerful Joe Rogan” along with the persona on the internet.
These influencers’ shows garner millions of views as podcasts and YouTube videos, and billions more as clips on social media.
“The power of YouTube is now available to everyone,” Morgan said, referring to world leaders who have appeared on his show, including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. pointed out the appeal of his own channel. “You can be interviewed on traditional TV, but where are you going to get that kind of audience? It’s the future.”
Morgan and Rupert Murdoch, 2022 © Paul Edwards/The Sun//News UK/PA
Morgan believes traditional cable and terrestrial channels are doomed.
“The linear network stuff is completely dead. It’s going to take a long time to die, but it’s dead. I guarantee none of it will exist in 10 years,” he said. . “Everything is moving from legacy media to personal brand media. Some of the biggest stars in the world are not affiliated with any networks or newspapers like they were when I was growing up. The Internet. And thanks to social media, (they) are working for themselves.”
He believes that the media empire built by conservative political commentators like Ben Shapiro, who has about 7 million subscribers on YouTube, and specifically his broad-based media group The Daily Wire, is a model for the future. We believe that this is the case.
They also earn a lot of money. Morgan is very conscious of that when evaluating his potential value. “We haven’t commercialized this channel at all. All we’ve done is take a share of YouTube’s ad revenue. Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Ben Shapiro I have a lot of different ways to commercialize my following (and) I’m one of the most followed people in the world on YouTube in this game.”
If the right people come along. . . And if you commercialize them properly, there’s no reason why you can’t have a business worth $1 billion in five years.
The advertiser also said much of his business is focused in the U.S., where the most lucrative audiences are found, while YouTube also reaches younger audience groups that other news broadcasters have struggled to reach. He said he also liked it.
“If I walk around with you for an hour, whether it’s here, or New York, or Los Angeles, or Sydney, or anywhere else, you’d be surprised how many people would come and talk to me. It’s more than what I’ve experienced.”I’ve appeared in mainstream media before, but they’re mostly young people. ”
His channel tends to be a mix of interviews and debates with guests ranging from politicians to celebrities and even controversial figures like Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate. This channel is more than just a shock tactic in the culture wars. Even his critics would agree that he seeks to provoke informed discussion and challenge his guests. “I don’t want to be a circus,” he said.
Elon Musk, who has been accused of giving a platform to extremist voices amid posts on his social media site This is another interview for which I am hoping to be interviewed.
He said the billionaire was a genius and was right to highlight the scandal, but was still troubled by the spread of misinformation and misinformation on social media, including about Mr. . I don’t know if he thinks about it more than he should. ”
