ProductNot yet confirmed elsewhere1 publisher2 min readPublished
Dhar Mann buys a nine-stage campus for his YouTube studio
Dhar Mann has bought a four-acre campus with nine sound stages for his YouTube studio, Variety reported from Mipcom. The supporting figures are reach counts, so a brand weighing a place on those sets still needs viewing data.
The Product Desk
Four figures: about 175 planned sets at Creator City; five scripted half hours made a week; seven days from script to screen for an hour of content, about 21 days for the longest episodes; 135 million Disney+ subscribers reached, a reach count rather than viewing data.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planned sets at Creator City | 175 sets | Mann says about 175 | 4 |
| Scripted shows made each week | 5 half hours | 2 | |
| Script to screen, one hour | 7 days | Longest episodes: about 21 days | 9 |
| Disney+ subscribers reached | 135 million | Reach Mann claims, not viewing data | 17 |
What happened
- Mann said Creator City will hold about 175 sets and run about 15 productions at the same time.
- Dhar Mann Studios already makes five half hours of scripted shows a week.
- On YouTube, Mann said he intends to launch one new series every month.
- According to Mann, a handful of brands will be founding partners and launch with the campus.
Why it matters
- decision A brand offered a founding slot would commit before Creator City opens, and Mann tied the opening to Super Bowl week.
- capability By Mann's account an hour of digital content goes from script to screen in seven days and the longest episodes take about 21, so a placement could be tested within weeks.
- contradiction Variety describes the studio as resembling the legacy studios creators are shaking, yet Mann named Fox and Disney+ among his partners.
In the studio Dhar Mann runs today, a coffee shop on screen is just a coffee shop. Mann said every set is unbranded and gave the reason: five years ago "nobody was taking YouTubers very serious" [5]. On the new campus, he said, that set "could be a Starbucks" and a retail store "could be a Target" [6]. He described the goal as brands "not interrupting storytelling, but being a part of it" [8].
The work being done is 2.5 hours of scripted programming a week [12]. The thing being pitched is a place that Mann called "basically where creators, brands and culture all come together in one place," and he put its sets in the future tense: "We're going to have about 175 sets" [4]. Spread over 15 concurrent productions, that is about 12 sets for each [13].
The reach figures Mann gave count households and subscribers on each platform. He said the studio is "in over 100 million households" through Samsung TV Plus [15] and in partnership with Disney+, "reaching 135 million subscribers" [17]. His case for spreading across platforms is that "different audiences live in different platforms" [14]. A household that can open Samsung TV Plus has not necessarily watched an episode. Variety's report does not include viewing or retention figures for any title, or terms for the founding partners.
We think a brand offered a founding slot should treat it as a reach purchase until the studio shows depth numbers for the format the brand would appear in. The tradeoff is time: asking for completion and repeat-viewing data by format takes longer than signing. Mann said that whatever he is working on, he can "get the audience's reaction on it" [11], so that reaction is the thing to ask for.
The 2x2 has two axes. The first is whether the brand sits in the background of a scene or drives a beat of the plot. The second is whether the studio will share completion and repeat-viewing numbers for that format or only followers and households. Background with reach numbers is a logo placement and should be priced like one. A plot role with reach numbers asks the brand to pay for integration on faith. Background with depth numbers is a low-commitment test. A plot role with depth numbers is the case Mann describes, and the only cell where we would take a founding slot.
What to watch
- Which brands are named as Creator City founding partners, and on what terms.
- Any completion or repeat-viewing figures from the studio's Samsung TV Plus or Disney+ shows.
- Whether Creator City opens in Super Bowl week, as Mann said.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence30
- Adoption35
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives75
- Confidence40
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
At Mipcom, Mann said he intends to launch one new series every single month on his YouTube channel.
- [2]
Dhar Mann Studios is making five half hours a week of scripted shows.
- [3]
Mann has just purchased a four-acre campus with nine sound stages.
- [4]
Mann said: "We're going to have about 175 sets. It's going to be able to have about 15 concurrent productions happening at the same time. It's called Creator City, and it's basically where creators, brands and culture all come together in one place."
- [5]
Mann said all the sets in the current studio are unbranded, because five years ago "nobody was taking YouTubers very serious".
- [6]
Mann said that on the new campus a coffee shop set "could be a Starbucks" and a retail store "could be a Target".
- [7]
Mann said the studio is working with a handful of brands that will be founding partners and will launch with Creator City.
- [8]
Mann described the brand approach as "the brands not interrupting storytelling, but being a part of it."
- [9]
Mann said: "Dhar Mann Studios goes from script to screen in a matter of seven days for an hour of digital content, and on the longest episodes, it takes us about 21 days."
- [10]
Variety wrote that in some respects Dhar Mann Studios is starting to resemble the legacy studios whose foundations are being shaken by creators like Mann.
- [11]
Mann said: "whatever I'm working on today, I can actually see come to life and get the audience's reaction on it."
- [12]
Five scripted half hours a week is 2.5 hours of scripted programming a week.
- [13]
175 planned sets across 15 concurrent productions is about 12 sets per concurrent production.
- [14]
Mann said that "different audiences live in different platforms" and that the studio puts out long form, mid-form and short-form content, scripted and unscripted.
- [15]
Mann said the studio is "in over 100 million households" through its partnership with Samsung TV Plus, where it is the first original creator.
- [16]
Mann said the studio is partnering with Fox in the vertical drama space, where it is doing 40 vertical dramas.
- [17]
Mann said the studio is in partnership with Disney+, "reaching 135 million subscribers".
- [18]
Mann said the "rather grand" opening of Creator City will be during Super Bowl week.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- variety.comCreator Dhar Mann on Partnering With Hollywood Studios and His Vision for Creator City in Los Angeles
1 article · October 11, 2026
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