British podcast production and distribution business Goalhanger, whose portfolio includes The Rest is Politics, The Rest is History, Empire, and We Have Ways of Making You Talk, this morning announced the launch of Goalhanger Ventures, a new investment and partnership arm which it says will back creator-led businesses operating across video, social, audio, live, and commercial platforms.
Alongside the launch, Goalhanger has announced two initial partnerships. The first is an equity investment in Invisible Media, a digital media business which owns a number of YouTube channels covering business and economics, including The Invisible Hand. Goalhanger says its investment will support the company’s next phase of growth, as it seeks to continue growing its audience and developing new specialist formats.
“With The Invisible Hand, we’ve already shown that younger UK audiences are engaging at scale with content about macroeconomics, business and geopolitics, proving there is a real appetite for serious ideas when they are delivered with clarity, energy and purpose,” said Charlie Tymon, founder of Invisible Media. “Through this investment, we’ll be able to draw on Goalhanger’s expertise in building, scaling and monetising industry-leading IP as we grow a brilliantly aligned, YouTube-first business with huge potential.”
The second deal announced by Goalhanger is a commercial partnership with cricket content brand Backyard Cricket, which is active across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Goalhanger says it will provide funding and strategic support to help Backyard Cricket grow across production, longer-form video, commercial partnerships, sponsorship, and merchandise.
Big ambitions for digital-first creators
Earlier this year, Goalhanger launched The Accelerator, a programme through which the media business provides creators with investment, training, mentorship, and access to some of Goalhanger’s professional resources, to help scale their businesses. Goalhanger Ventures will similarly see the company work with smaller creator-led media businesses which have potential for future growth, though these partnerships will include longer-term investments and financial tie-ups.
“Goalhanger Ventures is about giving exceptional creator-led businesses the infrastructure to grow without losing what made them special in the first place,” said Jack Davenport, co-founder of Goalhanger. “Invisible Media and Backyard Cricket are very different propositions, but they both have that rare combination of editorial clarity, audience trust and genuine momentum. Our role is to help them scale thoughtfully, commercially and creatively, while protecting the independence, personality and quality that their communities already respond to.”
Last week, VideoWeek reported on the convergence between the TV and creator worlds. Traditional media companies have started adopting creator-like tactics on social platforms, while creator-led media companies are building TV-like sales machines.
In many ways, Goalhanger sits at the nexus of this trend. It’s a true digital native media business, as its content is primarily distributed across third-party platforms, including YouTube and Spotify. Yet it was co-founded by Gary Lineker, Tony Pastor, and Jack Davenport, all of whom have worked extensively for UK broadcasters. A lot of the talent who lead its popular podcasts have close ties to TV too, including Lineker himself, Richard Osman, Katty Kay, and David Olusoga. And the production quality across its shows generally is TV-like in quality.
Last week’s report highlighted that amid this convergence between TV and creators, broadcasters could benefit from partnering with small but growing creators, offering them access to greater resources to help them scale their businesses. Aside from the commercial terms of these deals, broadcasters would benefit in the long run through their relationships with creators who take off. Goalhanger, it seems, is thinking along those same lines, using its infrastructure to help scale growing creators, while also establishing relationships with some of the big media businesses of the future.
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