“The programme helped us translate creative vision into investor language,” explains George Caton-Coult of Pop Paper City
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“There’s plenty of production companies making great shows and YouTubers building loyal audiences but very few organisations sitting at the intersection of these two worlds,” suggests producer and self-professed TV Whisperer Ed Sayer. Having worked in the entertainment sector for over thirty years, he’s seen lots of changes – enough to inspire him to create a new company that’s better suited to a new media landscape. Enter Legend Entertainment, his freshly-launched venture that’s leading by example when it comes to innovative content creation models.
“Legend fills this gap by creating vertically branded ecosystems,” he continues, unpacking the ins-and-outs of his company. “We don’t just make one programme. We build entire brands across TV, podcasts, YouTube, publishing, live events and retail. It’s a very different approach to the traditional project-by-project model that most linear companies follow.”
It’s also a proven concept – one that’s been used to great effect by Amazing War Stories, Ed’s brand that brings real historical tales to life originally via the hit history podcast of the same name. “That was my first step in proving a new studio model could be born out of a single intellectual property with multiple potential revenue streams,” he tells us. “With that one brand, I built a digital first IP that spanned podcasts, YouTube, broadcast, publishing and live events – but it all started with just a podcast. Its success showed me that audiences wanted this type of storytelling – and more importantly, that the model was scalable.”
“It helped translate creative vision into a language that resonates with investors”
According to Ed, this new way of working will flip traditional commissioning models on their head. Gone are the gatekeeper-led days of making a single piece of content then hoping for another gig. “We change the way factual content is developed and monetised,” he explains. “We create brands that are owned in-house and monetized across many streams. Broadcast is just one spoke in the wheel,” says Ed. “It’s disruptive because it makes us less dependent on any single platform and in turn, creates long-term value around IP.”
Keen to broaden his understanding of this brave new model, Ed applied for the Creative Enterprise: Investment Readiness scheme to surround himself with other innovative thinkers. “I wanted to enter an environment where I’m surrounded by people who are really experienced in their own fields to see what they’re doing. That’s what I really love about the scheme. It brings together an eclectic and diverse range of companies and mentors, each of whom bring a different perspective on your business. As a start-up founder, that’s really useful.”
The experience encouraged him to flesh the concept out even further. Following Amazing War Stories’ success, the scheme convinced Ed that Legend could be applied to other genres, from survival and adventure, to crime. “The scheme helped me to step back and realise that what I’d built with Amazing War Stories wasn’t just a one-off – it was a replicable system. It gave me the confidence to frame Legend as a multi-verticle studio,” he says. “However, more than anything, it helped me to translate that creative vision into language and structures that resonate with investors.”
“I can show scale and resilience… that’s exactly what investors want”
Likewise, it’s made Legend more investible by re-wiring his approach to pitching outside of his usual arena. “There’s a very British thing in business where you’d rather bury yourself,” laughs Ed, commenting on how, in the TV world, pitches are often all about the idea and not necessarily the folks behind them. “People would listen to me pitch and say, ‘You’ve got to make the whole thing about your vision and experience because that’s why people are going to trust you. That old way of thinking was embedded in me,” he adds. “Whereas in business, people are investing in you. The programme offers incredible insights that you wouldn’t get otherwise.”
It’s also helped ensure that the commercial viability of his idea is crystal clear to would-be investors. “It sharpened my proposition,” he says. “In TV, we’re used to pitching ideas but not necessarily businesses. The programme’s mentors challenged me to put myself and my vision at the centre and show how the model can scale. That shift turned the pitch from ‘here’s a great history brand,’ into ‘here’s a replicable studio model with multiple verticals and revenue streams.’ That’s a much more investable proposition.”
Overall, Ed feels his Investment Readiness journey has helped Legend Entertainment become more valuable, alluring and sustainable for long-term success. “It’s definitely done that,” he says, reflecting on his main take-aways from the scheme. “It’s given me the toolkit to show investors that Legend isn’t a gamble. It’s a studio with a repeatable model. By outlining how we’ll replicate Amazing War Stories’ journey across other verticals, I can show scale and resilience,” he adds. “That’s exactly what investors want.”