Engine Room

The Disruptors is Engine Room’s flagship editorial series. Strategic conversations with the people who are actually disrupting how IP is built in entertainment, media, and the creator economy – not commenting on it, not consulting on it, not theorising about it, but doing it.

We priced attention. We priced reach. We haven't yet priced participation — and that's where the value has moved. Engine Pop founder Athena Witter on why audience IP is the next asset class, what Aardman is actually doing about it, and the question the entertainment business has twelve months to answer.

500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every single minute. Most of what launched last year won't be remembered next year. Volume went up. Value didn't follow. This is the defining commercial tension in media right now — and most businesses are on the wrong side of it.

Performance is easier to achieve than ever but far harder to sustain. In an era of shrinking content lifecycles, discover why "viral" moments are failing to build lasting business value.

Digital-first creators, formats and AI are reshaping the entertainment landscape. At TellyCast 2025, Engine Pop captured a clear shift: digital is the television business. From creator studios to Light Mode™ Storytelling, a new content economy is emerging built on agility, authenticity and emotional connection.

The Edinburgh TV Festival 2025 wasn’t about revolution - it was about reckoning. Digital is no longer the add-on; it is the main stage. From Channel 4’s call to protect creative ecosystems to Shonda Rhimes’ reminder that storytelling reflects organisational power, the Festival made clear what’s at stake. For Engine Pop, having worked inside and alongside these shifts for years, the message was simple: survival now depends on strategy, bravery, and foresight.

Disruption today isn’t loud, it’s intentional. Modern icons craft systems, not stories. In the illusion age, resonance rules.