Six months in, Uncensored has added verticals devoted to history, royals, and soccer, drawing 4.6 million YouTube subscribers across its channels. It has licensed content to Channel 5 in the U.K. and is talking with streamers about where else its shows could live, all while running on a budget built for YouTube rather than cable.
This interview has been edited.
Mark Stenberg: Most people know Uncensored as Piers Morgan’s show. What does it look like now?
Rashida Jones: Piers is the flagship. He does a daily show and has built a massive audience. Around him, we’ve launched verticals that hit different genres: History Uncensored, Royals Uncensored, and Football Uncensored. Those bring in different audiences and different advertisers. My working plan is six or seven verticals this time next year.
Mark: Where does revenue come from beyond advertising?
Rashida: In 2027, we’ll do a lot more live events, taking the shows on the road. But licensing is the big underutilized space for creators. Linear platforms want our content and will pay a premium for it. We’ve licensed to Paramount’s Channel 5 in the U.K., and we’re in conversations in other territories.
Mark: When it comes to licensing to streamers, which are the most attractive?
Rashida: I’d look at who doesn’t have content like ours. Netflix has scooped up a lot of digital-first shows already. Prime has expressed interest but hasn’t brought in creator-first talent, so there’s white space. It’s early enough that not everyone has picked their dance partners. But if you believe the trades, consolidation means there may not be as many partners in a few months.
Mark: How do you keep costs in line when you’re competing with creators who spend almost nothing?
Rashida: There’s a sweet spot. It has to look professional enough for advertisers, with a proper set and a proper control room, not a kid in his basement. But it can’t feel overproduced, because audiences find that inauthentic, and we couldn’t afford it anyway. We’re lean intentionally. We don’t want an infrastructure that looks like traditional media, with resources sitting dormant for big parts of the week.
Mark: Is Uncensored profitable?
Rashida: For any viable media company, the goal is profitability, and we have a plan to get there. We’re much healthier than we were six months ago. But my mandate was growth, and you have to spend money to make money: on a more experienced team, on talent, on new shows. This is the building year.
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