C21 launches D2C Entertainment Summit with Audience First focus as entertainment business transforms

C21Media has launched the D2C Entertainment Summit, which will run as a track within Content London, Content Americas and Content Europe and as a standalone one-day event in London during June 2027.

The direct-to-consumer initiative will focus on Audience First strategies, taking a deep dive into how producers, creators, brands and technologies are moving from a B2B market, where content went to market through commissions and acquisitions, to a D2C environment in which it goes directly to the audience.

C21 editor-in-chief & managing director David Jenkinson said: “The D2C content revolution is redefining how entertainment is conceived, funded, produced and distributed without a broadcast or streaming partner at the heart. It will provide another layer of opportunity – alongside, but not replacing, traditional channels.

“This goes beyond what the creator economy represents, with a focus on building IP and longer-form narrative. It’s also about much more than being ‘digital-first,’ an already-tired definition of a much broader market. ‘Everything together’ is a much more eloquent way to think about the future of entertainment, as IP owners roll out new audience-first strategies, while also partnering with the traditional entertainment sector to provide windows of opportunity as a secondary market.”

The D2C Entertainment Summit is designed to help all sectors in the value chain understand how to manage this fundamental change to how the entertainment business is structured and connect with the market in the most effective way to take full advantage of the opportunity. It will bring together the best of the new world with the best of the old.

The first D2C Entertainment Summit runs as a track throughout Content London, which takes place from November 30 to December 3, and features over 35 speakers across more than 10 sessions.

Leading the conversation are some of the industry’s foremost D2C innovators, including Togethxr’s Nancy Dubuc, who has spent her career anticipating where audiences are heading next, and Candle Media’s Kevin Mayer, who has helped shape the direct-to-consumer revolution. YouTube’s Mairi Brewis, Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab’s Lauren Anderson, Substack’s Rosie Gee, Sidemen Entertainment’s Victor Bengtsson, Podimo’s Georgia Brown and LinkedIn’s Yessi Bello Perez are also centre stage.

Across a raft of sessions, speakers will examine everything from audience ownership, subscriptions, memberships and creator partnerships to YouTube monetisation, platform strategy, community-building and fandom. Delegates will gain practical insights into building audiences they own, turning followers into superfans, creating creator-led brands, extending IP into new businesses and developing direct-to-audience strategies that drive growth in the New Content Economy.

For more information and to register for Content London, CLICK HERE.

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