Brian Cox Goes Digital: Top British TV Scientist Strikes Content Deal With New Sony Studio

EXCLUSIVE: The first partnership for Sony Pictures Television’s (SPT) new digital studio was with Minecraft supremo Tom Simons AKA TommyInnit, but its second pact is in a different universe altogether.

Renowned British scientist and broadcaster Brian Cox has struck a deal with SPT International Production’s Digital Studio that will see the pair create his formats in the digital space for the first time.

Forged specifically for digital platforms, the content, which is part of a long-term partnership rather than specific series, will span science, astronomy and culture. “The collaboration aims to build a distinctive destination for science storytelling that combines world-class production values with the accessibility and immediacy of creator-led media,” SPT said.

Not to be confused with the Succession star, Cox, who already has a YouTube channel with more than 16,000 subscribers, is one of the UK’s best-known scientists. The particle physicist has presented reams of science shows, mostly for the BBC, including Stargazing Live, The Planets and Brian Cox’s Adventures in Space and Time.

Science has proved a hugely popular genre on YouTube and the BBC itself has been pushing further into the space. At the same time, traditional TV presenters like Holly Willoughby and Amol Rajan have started going direct to their audiences via YouTube.

Cox said: “It’s more important than ever to find new and engaging ways to deliver science and fact-based content to audiences, wherever they consume it. This collaboration with the Sony Pictures Television team is tremendously exciting for me, because we share a desire to make high quality, intellectually challenging, informative and entertaining content available to as many people as possible, across as many platforms as possible. We will have succeeded if our audience are entertained, challenged, terrified, excited and awestruck in equal measure by the dizzying picture of the universe painted by modern science.”

Sacha Khari and Matt Ford, the digital studio’s co-leads, said Cox is “better than anyone” at “taking the most complicated questions about existence and making them feel accessible and entertaining.” “On paper, Brian Cox and Tom Simons might look worlds apart, but there’s actually a lot in common. We work closely with distinctive talent, develop original ideas around them and grow audiences together to create scale and staying power,” they added.

Led by ex-BBC Studios and Channel 4 executives Ford and Khari, Sony’s digital studio launched last year to “engage with UK content creators, create digital originals and build creator partnerships.”

The TommyInnit deal, struck with the creator who runs the most popular Minecraft channel on Twitch, has seen him forge a 100 Questions YouTube series with guests including Cox and Stephen Fry.