4th&1 with Cam Newton - A YouTube First Sports Show
I served as the YouTube Director and Director of Production for this groundbreaking
sports show, leading the creative team to strategize, shoot, edit, and distribute content that resonated
with millions. From the inception of the idea—“We should do a sports show”—to
achieving over 200 million views in its first full year (2024), this project was a testament to innovation,
teamwork, and audience-focused content creation.
Summary Section
4th&1 with Cam Newton was a YouTube-first sports show built from the ground up
with a lean, agile team. The strategy was “Social First,” tapping into viral sports moments and
transforming them into engaging content. The show was meticulously designed to be broken into clips for
YouTube and Facebook, as well as vertical content for all major social platforms.
Initially conceived as a single-topic format—Cam Newton talks about
"___"—the show rapidly evolved based on viewer retention and performance data. What began as
short-form discussions grew into a 2-hour weekly show that produced over 90 videos monthly across the
channel, solidifying 4th&1 as a dominant force in sports commentary.
Success hinged on workflow efficiency and scalability. By building a robust,
repeatable content machine, the show grew from zero to 917,596 followers, generating 150 million monetized
views in its first year. With audience definition, competition analysis, and a focus on clips and verticals,
we not only thrived in YouTube's ecosystem but also competed with network TV and top creators.
Key Metrics/Results
- Achieved 96.4 million views, 3.6 million watch hours, and 298,647
subscribers within the first year, generating five-figure revenue and 423 million impressions.
- Reached 100,000 subscribers in just over 8 months (July 9, 2024)
after posting the first video on October 31, 2023.
- Reached monetization in the first month without promotion, driven
entirely by algorithmic growth from engaging clips.
- Averaged 20 million monetized views per month on YouTube and an
additional 15 million views across social platforms.
- Uploaded an average of 90 videos per month, with 60% as
horizontal monetized clips cut from the weekly hero show.
- Made a major impact during the 2024 Super Bowl with a live stream
from Radio Row, generating 20+ million views in 3 days by interviewing celebrities and guests.
Role and Responsibilities
- Organized and led the creative team, focusing on strategy and
execution. Directed and tested new thumbnail strategies, continually analyzing performance data to
maximize Average View Duration (AVD). Adjusted intro strategies—from "jump right into
it" to highlight reels, tension-building segments, and freestyle raps—based on audience
retention insights. Regularly identified top-performing segments through rigorous content analysis and
shared findings with the production team to refine workflows.
- Held frequent 1-on-1 meetings to address team challenges, monitor
creative energy, and ensure peak performance. Managed communication through Slack, streamlined projects,
and created templated documents for note-taking, content planning, clip workflows, and vertical editing.
Fostered team collaboration with clear structures and a supportive environment.
- Led the "Vertical Bois," the vertical content team,
fostering a culture of experimentation and risk-taking alongside regular editing responsibilities. To
motivate creativity, awarded a $10 gift card weekly to the top-voted vertical, as determined by the
internal team. Compiled digestible data reports for team retreats to inform decision-making and
celebrate successes. Directed the Super Bowl live stream, prioritizing speed and efficiency to get clips
and verticals uploaded in real time, maximizing daily impact and engagement.
- Embraced a mindset of experimentation and learning from failure.
While some thumbnail experiments flopped, others became our biggest performers, defying expectations.
Through deep analysis of competitor strategies, the team achieved channel-wide performance rivaling
shows with 2-3 times our viewership, focusing on strategies that aligned with our audience and the
YouTube algorithm.
Challenges and Solutions
- Massive Content Output with a Small Team
- Challenge: Operating with a small team while
maintaining a relentless content schedule. Each week, the team uploaded a full 4th&1 episode every
Thursday, 2-5 clips daily from that episode across all platforms, a full Funky Friday episode every
Friday, and at least 1 clip and 1 vertical daily from Funky Friday. This equated to 40+ uploads
weekly.
- Solution: Implemented a structured yet
flexible workflow to keep the team on track and motivated. Regular check-ins, templated workflows, and a
culture of recognition ensured deadlines were met without sacrificing creativity. Weekly internal
competitions, such as voting for the best vertical, fostered a fun, engaging environment.
- Channel Move and Audience Clarity
- Challenge: Transitioning 4th&1 from Cam
Newton's main channel to its dedicated channel without losing momentum. The move risked alienating
existing followers while disrupting established growth patterns.
- Solution: Created a monetized clips channel
months in advance to pre-align with the audience and establish a foundation for the new channel. This
ensured continuity and audience retention. The move ultimately resulted in increased views across both
channels, as the algorithm rewarded the clear audience definition. This strategy was pivotal in doubling
down on targeted growth.
- Thumbnail and Content Optimization
- Challenge: Continuously improving
performance through thumbnails and content segmentation.
- Solution: Developed detailed thumbnail
tracking documents, comparing internal successes with competitor trends. Created a searchable podcast
episode database, enabling efficient topic curation. Leveraged AI tools like Spotter AI to refine
titles, thumbnails, and audience insights. This focus on precision and innovation ensured the
highest-performing assets drove traffic and retention.
- Data-Driven Strategy and Reporting
- Challenge: Centralizing analytics to inform
strategy and keep stakeholders updated.
- Solution: Designed a comprehensive tracking
system that consolidated viewership data, monetization metrics, and platform performance into one
auto-updating dashboard. This tool provided a clear, real-time view for leadership while freeing the
team to focus on execution.
- Crisis Management: The Fight
- Challenge: Managing the viral fallout from
an incident where Cam Newton was jumped at a 7on7 tournament. The anticipation for the next 4th&1
episode was immense.
- Solution: Deliberately delayed the response
to allow the internet’s discourse to mature before systematically addressing every take. This
strategy ensured Cam owned the final narrative, setting the tone from a PR perspective. The approach
generated 1.3 million views on the main video and over 3 million across clips and verticals.
Best Moments/Highlights
- Creator Hacking for Viral Growth
Leveraging the strategy of creator hacking, we crafted transformative content centered
around notable figures in sports and entertainment. By weaving Cam Newton’s personal experiences
into these stories, we created engaging, additive narratives. This approach not only drove significant
traffic but also strengthened audience connection.
- Football 101: A Breakout Segment
What began as a lighthearted idea—Cam explaining humorous off-field realities of
NFL players—quickly became a viral sensation, garnering millions of views overnight. Recognizing
the demand, we made Football 101 a recurring segment, offering unique, behind-the-scenes insights that
consistently resonated with our audience.
- Evolving Intros to Boost Engagement
To enhance Average View Duration (AVD), we revolutionized our intro strategies multiple
times. Early variations included highlight reels and tension-building teasers, each adding 1-2 minutes
of viewer retention per video. Today, the show opens with an engaging freestyle rap between Cam and
Peggy, a format that continues to captivate viewers and set the tone for each episode.
- Notable Collaborations
4th&1
featured collaborations with iconic figures such as Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, Shedeur Sanders,
CJ Stroud, Boosie, Warren Sapp, Sauce Gardner, and the hosts of 2 Bears 1 Cave. These appearances
amplified the show’s reach and credibility, creating memorable moments for viewers.
Learning and Insights
- Audience Alignment and Channel Strategy
The biggest lesson was the critical importance of audience alignment when moving 4th&1 to
its own dedicated channel. By understanding the demographic mismatch between the original channel and
the show’s target viewers, I successfully restructured the strategy to maximize growth. This
decision was pivotal in allowing the channel to thrive independently, with clips driving the majority of
revenue and engagement.
- Maximizing Viewer Behavior
I learned
that YouTube podcast success is built on maximizing clips. This insight led to a strategy that
prioritized breaking down long-form content into digestible, shareable segments. Additionally, we
adjusted the show’s length based on audience behavior—longer episodes when retention was
strong—to capitalize on viewer engagement.
- Evolving Platforms and Viewing Habits
After attending a YouTube event, I learned that 41% of our audience was watching on TVs. This
shift in viewing habits shaped how we optimized our content for larger screens, ensuring visuals were
engaging and impactful for TV viewers.
- Continuous Data-Driven Innovation
Weekly analytics rundowns became a core part of our process. We used these sessions to
identify what worked, what didn’t, and how we could improve. From refining thumbnails to tweaking
intros, every decision was guided by data. This commitment to constant iteration helped the show
consistently outperform its own benchmarks.
- Experimentation as a Growth Tool
Experimentation was the backbone of our growth strategy. Whether testing new intro styles,
experimenting with thumbnail designs, or incorporating unexpected content segments, we weren’t
afraid to try, fail, and learn. This iterative approach ensured we stayed ahead of YouTube trends while
keeping the content fresh and engaging.
Want to work together? Reach out at kent@kentheckel.com.