Solving the Youth Audience problem
Traditional media continue to struggle with reaching audiences under 35 years old. But how do we actually solve this problem? Well, we know that for 16 – 34-year-olds YouTube is their main screen to watch content, TikTok is always on and they trust and relate more to creators than to traditional media. So why not meet them where they are with the people whom they like? That’s exactly what ABC Australia did!
The under-35s are ABC’s biggest opportunity to grow reach, but they can’t wait for these audiences to age into traditional platforms like TV or radio. So, with the Creator Program they made a strategic shift from external commissioning of digital creators to actually hiring these creators directly on staff. These creators post twice a day on TikTok, are fully integrated into ABC’s production and editorial workflows and are also involved in making content for Instagram, YouTube and additional content for existing screen and audio titles.
ABC’s Creator Program
Out of more than 800 applicants, ABC selected 6 creators and 2 videographers to create a small but powerful internal network that sits at the heart of ABC’s youth strategy. They favoured creators that align with the ABC genres rather than solely whether they have a massive following, making sure the creators can grow with the ABC brand in the long term. To test and scale various content formats, ABC even developed an experimental sandbox environment for creators to work in.
What happened next was a massive increase of views in science, history and comedy content: more than 92 million views were gained in a year with this new talent, with over 85% coming from under-34s. They even saw a 68% engagement increase on ABC’s main TikTok account and most importantly, they see real creator progression from the team. Some have made their TV and radio debuts, and one even had their own podcast commissioned (coming out later this year).
Credibility is key
The combination of credibility, digital skills and on-screen authenticity is the best recipe to resonate with Gen Z. So, ABC focused on working together with real experts in their subject, like Julian O’Shea (content focused on engineering & technology) who has a PhD in engineering or Maddie Massey (Science communication and pop culture) who completed her post-graduate research in biology.
Another relevant example is Aslan Pahari. This 26-year-old anthropologist has gained 7 million global followers by explaining history, religion and culture in his podcast. He’s even debunking misinformation on TikTok, becoming famous with his trademark tagline ‘Hello my friend’.
Key learnings and future strategy
By partnering creators that have a certain credibility within the topic with ABC’s general content genres, ABC Australia is building youth-focused pathways to future proof ABC. For each creator, a sandbox environment on TikTok and YouTube is created to find the right fit between ABC platforms and the creators’ content style, leading to further growth of the creator within the ABC. And with full organisational integration, including mentorship from media professionals, the Creator Program has become a major success.
Creator programs are a huge opportunity for broadcasters to increase their return on investment. Creator content is far more efficient to produce than original TV production, and if you define editorial policies and guidelines around external work clearly from the beginning, the collaboration should run smoothly.
Conclusion
Over the past few years, ABC was able to grow an incredible network of creators, future proofing ABC and building the next generation of talent. With a new group of creators joining them in October 2025, ABC will continue to build creator pathways into TV, podcasting and radio along with mentorship and providing a stable job for creators.
Want to know more about ABC’s creators? Check out ABC’s Creator Program.
Article written by Lieke Decosemaker, with the input of Daniel Ahern and Emma Lawson (ABC Australia)
