Rob Wade: Creativity, creativity, creativity

In delivering his optimistic outlook that the industry is about to enter a “very dynamic era of television” last week, Fox chief exec Rob Wade underscored his belief this would be fuelled by leaning into ambitious creativity.  

“We’re going to probably hear a lot of people talk about money. At the end of the day, the most important thing and the thing that has endured at Fox is creative,” he told delegates at the Banff World Media Festival. “What we’re seeing is people are way more open to smart production models, but still with ambitious creative.” 

Squeezing an interview with Broadcast in between his session and a suitably tantalising meeting with now Corus co-chief exec Troy Reeb, he doubles down on this mantra, citing the as-yet untapped IP potential in Fox’s sibling company News UK’s portfolio of British newspapers – with which the US company is partnering with to create drama projects. 

“I think we’ve all got to stop talking a bit less about money and how to make a business work, and talk more about creating,” he says. “I just want to compete in the creative business. I want to get out there and make shows and see which shows are good.” 

Outside of the News UK pact, Wade says Fox’s UK scripted ambitions are also progressing in this vein, with the US giant looking to partner directly with creative talent – both writers and producers – to devise drama which have North American leanings. He suggests Steve Knight’s iconic BBC series Peaky Blinders – a classic “western”-style story – could be transposed to the US: “instead of Birmingham, you think Boston”.  

With Fox keen on exploiting its position as a nimble, independent broadcaster-studio-distributor, having a UK broadcast partner from the get-go is not a must. 

“We’re looking at a couple of things moment which I think have got real potential, but I think the perspective needs to be changed a little bit on the creative to fit the US market,” he says.  

“I think UK broadcasters will come along [when we have something in place] but I don’t think it’s going to be necessary to get the financing in place before we do a deal.” 

In a wide-ranging interview, Wade says creativity should also be driving the non-scripted space, where Fox is a strong player with hits like The Masked Singer and Lego Masters – both existing formats which have been given a new lease of life on US network television – and newer shows like Next Level Chef, The Floor and The Quiz With Balls. 

“I think the unscripted business as a whole, has to let go a little bit and say to itself: we just need to get loose and creative,” he says. “Think about any scripted business. Who are the kings? The writers. Whereas in the unscripted business it’s still the producers, the executers. 

“There’s going to be a moment when people realise the most valuable people in the room are the people who can take a blank piece of paper and come up with an idea that’s so original. I still think in unscripted, [the trust in these people is] not quite there.” 

Fox has taken a high-profile step into this space with the recently announced creative pact with Lego Masters host Will Arnett which will see his Electric Avenue indie develop unscripted and scripted programming for the broadcaster. 

For The Floor and The Quiz With Balls, Fox has partnered with content powerhouse John De Mol’s Talpa Studios, importing the Dutch game and quiz formats in for the US market. “I’m starting to see that the combination of creative and business partnership is paramount,” he adds. “You have to be in bed with people you really respect creatively.” 

Most recently, Fox crafted a landmark deal with Amazon Prime Video for Magnum Media’s ITV format The 1% Club, distributed by BBC Studios, which sees it have an exclusive telecast, broadcasting each episode after its debut on the streamer.  

Wade says Fox’s flexibility as a traditional broadcaster enables it to make these kinds of deals with streaming majors. 

He says: “The best thing about my job is I don’t have corporate guardrails, so if I want to do a deal with Amazon, I can. 

“Amazon are independent because they don’t have a broadcast network and we’re independent because we don’t have an SVoD. So it’s us, Amazon, Netflix and possibly Max who can do that deal.” 

He adds that he had full trust in his business affairs team to be able to “figure it out” financially for Fox, though it “took a while”, but was nervous about what the editorial impact would be between such distinct players. 

“The biggest question mark was I wasn’t sure we could get on the same page creatively. And could my people play nice with them,” he says. “And we did. We have to give and take, there was push and pull, there’s some decisions on the show where we just had to accept, and vice versa.”  

Wade warns it would be more “challenging on a brand-new format”, and teases there are “other ones out there” he thinks could work, which he would assess after the summer. 

Similarly, Fox is being judicious with its £70m global format fund, which Wade launched in 2021. 

“It’s good,” he enthuses. “It’s going to sound paradoxical because we haven’t had anything that’s come through yet. But that’s ok because when my team tell me an idea just doesn’t look like it’s going to be right for us, I’m thinking: good, because we were about to make a whole series and now we can save that outlay.  

“Spending that much on that [initial idea] is fine, compared to 15 times that much on a series, which would have been a problem. 

“There’s more we could do. We’ve had a lot of success with The Floor and now The Quiz With Balls. It’s harder than it’s been because there’s so much content out there. For a broadcast network, shows used to have to be ‘quite good’. Not anymore. 

“Sometimes you watch a show and at the end think: ‘Fuck, that’s good’. And then you never watch it again. Whereas there are other shows that you have to watch again – that’s what we’re seeking.”