Sidemen partner with NFTS to train next generation of unscripted producers

The Sidemen are partnering with the National Film and Television School (NFTS) to train the next generation of unscripted producers.

The NFTS x Sidemen Entertainment Unscripted Formats Programme will be open to all students joining the school's one-year MA in Developing and Producing Unscripted Formats from January 2027, giving them direct exposure to Sidemen Entertainment.

Each student will take part in a dedicated industry day and a one-week work placement, allowing them to experience how digital formats are developed and produced for large online audiences.

"We're incredibly excited to be partnering with the NFTS to help give the next generation of producers a genuine insight into what the future of the entertainment industry looks like," Sidemen Entertainment chief executive Victor Bengtsson said in a statement.

"This is what the Sidemen are all about – ordinary people who found a passion and turned it into a career, and that's what we want to help people do."

Bengtsson said the group wanted to share what it had learned from building the Sidemen from the ground up with people entering the industry.

Jon Wardle, director of the NFTS, said the partnership reflected the school's efforts to prepare students for changes taking place across entertainment.

"Our role at the NFTS is to ensure students are prepared for where the industry is heading next, and this incredibly exciting new partnership will give emerging producers a unique opportunity to learn directly from a team that understands how to turn distinctive ideas into entertainment that connects with global audiences," he said.

Founded in 2013, the Sidemen grew from a group of gaming creators into one of Britain's biggest creator businesses. Their main YouTube channel has more than 23 million subscribers, while the members' individual audiences collectively reach well over 100 million.

The group now numbers six after Olajide Olatunji, better known as KSI, unexpectedly announced his departure earlier this year.

The NFTS partnership also comes amid the Sidemen’s expansion beyond their own YouTube channels and further into the wider entertainment industry.

Sidemen Productions launched in January, with a goal of making "shows like they do on TV but with our playbook". Its first major release was the third series of the group's reality format Inside, which topped Netflix charts in more than ten countries.

The partnership with one of the UK's leading film and television schools marks another point of crossover between creator-led production and the traditional entertainment industry, this time extending into how the next generation of producers is trained.

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