Ben Woods

Ben is a Creator Economy Analyst at MIDiA. He holds a BA in American literature with creative writing from the University of East Anglia. Before joining MIDiA, Ben spent 13 years as a journalist, where he won several industry awards. He previously worked as the tech and media correspondent for the Sunday Times and The Telegraph. His focus spans the creator tools industry, social video platforms, and streaming TV services. He is also a big video games and anime fan.

Bridging the creator gap
Monetising social video’s micro-communities

Cover image for Bridging the creator gap
Samuel Griffin and Ben Woods
The pandemic-induced boom in content creation has saturated social video platforms at a time when creators are battling a downturn in digital advertising revenues. These dual pressures of less exposure and dwindling financial returns have put pressure on mid-tier creators; the community that derives all their creator income from advertising, subscriptions, and donations, but have subscale audience to superstar creators.
Read more …

Not everyone can be a winner in the FAST gold rush

Cover image for Not everyone can be a winner in the FAST gold rush
Ben Woods
Video streaming executives searching for relief from the high cost of acquiring new subscribers have found a saviour – and it looks a lot like linear TV. Free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) is becoming a necessity for video services whose strategy of spending big on exclusive content to attract subscribers is being tested by the higher cost of capital and the squeeze on household spending power.
min read
Read more …