Franchise News

With Over 16 Million Subscribers on YouTube, Over 10 Million Followers on TikTok, and Recently Publishing the Top-Viewed YouTube Short Video In The World In July 2022, Dan Rhodes Joins the Largest Independent Kids and Family Content Studio To Turn His Love of Magic Into a Global Franchise

Pocket.watch, the leading kids and family studio creating global franchises for Generation Alpha, has signed teenage magician Dan Rhodes to its roster of kids and family digital-first talent. The partnership will take the global YouTube (DanRhodesMagicTV) and TikTok (@danrhodes) star to the next level with content development, original programming and franchise opportunities. This is pocket.watch's first major creator whose audience has been built on YouTube Shorts and TikTok.

In July 2022, Dan Rhodes published the most watched YouTube Short in the world, which generated over 170 million views in its first two weeks and now has over 320 million views. With 27 million combined followers on YouTube and TikTok (16.6 million and 10.4 million respectively), Dan is truly a cross-platform star. He reached the 10 million subscriber mark on YouTube faster than any other creator in the world. His book "The Magic" became available in the United Kingdom in August 2022 and will launch in the United States on November 22, 2022 (currently available for preorder). This momentum will be followed by a broadened expansion of his brand under the pocket.watch umbrella including content distribution beyond YouTube, new original content, brand partnerships and live events.

Unlike his predecessors, self-taught magician Dan Rhodes is known for revealing the secrets to some of his favorite tricks to inspire younger kids to enjoy practicing magic. With more than double the Instagram (@danrhodesmagic) followers than magic icon David Copperfield, Rhodes has Asperger's syndrome but has used the condition to channel his creativity and focus on showcasing his personal passion for the craft that attracts today's digital audiences.

"Dan is one of the most exciting magicians in the world who has globally captured the hearts of young audiences through his approach to teaching while entertaining," said Kerry Tucker, Chief Marketing and Franchise Officer, pocket.watch. "We are so excited to welcome Dan to the pocket.watch family and expand his reach to new platforms and new audiences."

The star from Oldham, England, who rose to fame when he sawed "Britain's Got Talent" judge Amanda Holden in half during a 2019 appearance on the show, actually taught himself magic through watching YouTube videos.

"I've been practicing magic since I was six years old and I'm ready to launch my dreams into something even bigger with pocket.watch," said Dan Rhodes. "The new opportunities I will have by joining pocket.watch are beyond anything I could do on my own and I'm really looking forward to what we can do together."

"We are so happy to see Dan's success on YouTube, from the early days with long-form videos right through to becoming one of the fastest growing channels since uploading Shorts 18 months ago," said Andrea Donovan, Development Partner Manager, YouTube. His incredible rise to 16.7 million subscribers proves the global appeal of magic, and Dan's personality and formats continue to amass fans, and entertain and amaze viewers."

Pocket.watch recently announced the expansion of its creator roster with 13 new creators. Led by Chase Landau, SVP Creator Management, pocket.watch has been focused on bringing in creators with new diverse perspectives and from new platforms. Pocket.watch continues to create unprecedented value for the kids and family creator community and for its global distribution partners with a strategy that builds upon its existing content. The pocket.watch library is now over 70,000 videos, cumulating to more than 20,000 hours of available content.

To stay up-to-date on all things Dan Rhodes, follow DanRhodesMagicTV on YouTube, @danrhodes on TikTok and @danrhodesmagic on Instagram. For more information about the pocket.watch roster of franchises and creators and its premium slate of content, visit pocket.watch.

The company's content library, consisting of tens of thousands of kids and family videos, is distributed globally on over 40 platforms, generating hundreds of millions of hours of viewership every month. The content library comprises many seasons of the company's breakthrough MishMash™ format alongside pocket.watch originals including the Emmy-nominated Ryan's Mystery Playdate and the animated series Onyx Monster Mysteries and Love, Diana Adventures.

Pocket.watch's gaming division, p.w Games, boasts multiple mobile game successes including Love, Diana Fashion Fabulous and Tag with Ryan, which together boast over 40 million downloads.

The company generates massive value for advertisers and digital creators through their in-house creative and media agency, clock.work, which creates best in class media and branded entertainment campaigns with the world's largest advertisers, marrying the massive reach of the pocket.watch network audience with custom integrations and scaled media programs across YouTube, YouTube Kids, mobile gaming, OTT channels and the metaverse.

Founded in 2017 by Chris M. Williams (CEO), the company's headquarters and filming studios are located in Culver City, Calif. The executive team includes studio veterans and visionaries from a mix of traditional and digital entertainment backgrounds, including Xavier Kochhar, Albie Hecht, Jon Moonves, and Kerry Tucker.

For more information about pocket.watch, please visit pocket.watch.