The Sidemen formula: Why TV formats belong on creator channels

Broadcasters and streamers keep asking how to work more closely with creators. Their standard approach is to commission a creator-led show, cast them in a film, or license their back catalogue for a streaming service. While this works, it is also incomplete. It moves creators toward traditional distribution when an untapped opportunity lies in bringing TV formats to creator channels. 

Creators are engagement engines

Successful creators do not rely on constant reinvention. They produce content around a repeatable engagement loop built on a consistent tone and community-focused values. This loop is optimised for retention and algorithmic discovery. Whether consciously or not, creators have refined these into formulas over hundreds of uploads to social platforms. Dude Perfect build content around a formula of achievement, camaraderie, and comedy via trick shot content. Dhar Mann creates scripted drama around themes of hope and positivity. The Sidemen operate on competitive chaos and the “found family”. Each one has a narrative engine that audiences return to.

However, with this formula comes pressure. Audiences expect relentless output, and creators must keep their content feeling fresh. Meanwhile, broadcasters and productions are sitting on large catalogues of formats that can be adapted for a social-first audience. These range from game shows to reality and competition formats. However, many are dormant. Rather than treating creators as talent to plug into a streaming show, broadcasters and streamers should adapt these formats inside a creator’s existing formula.

The Sidemen’s partnership with Fremantle to produce a creator version of Family Fortunes underscores the shift. The “family” mechanic taps directly into The Sidemen’s formula. The result is not a television show featuring YouTubers – it’s a format operating inside a creator ecosystem. Within two days of publishing in February 2026, The Sidemen Family Fortunes video has generated more than 3 million views on YouTube.

A new licensing pathway

This approach unlocks three advantages. Firstly, it lowers the commissioning risk. Creator audiences provide built-in distribution and demand. Secondly, it unlocks new licensing pathways. Format deals no longer need to be broadcaster-to-broadcaster, they can be broadcaster-to-creator. Thirdly, it breathes life into dormant or ageing formats. Family Fortunes is not currently airing in the UK, but The Sidemen's version introduces younger audiences to an IP that first aired in the 1980s.

Crucially, this is not about funnelling creator audiences to streaming platforms. It is about embedding traditional entertainment formats into creator channels where engagement is already proven.

The strategic shift

To embrace this shift, broadcasters and streamers must recalibrate how they think about creators. They must stop thinking of them merely as talent and start treating them as franchise partners for format adaption, co-production, and shared monetisation.

For more on the creator economy, read MIDiA’s latest report: Creator Franchises | From social channels to entertainment ecosystems.