Thomas Benski’s new outfit Lumina Media has made a seven-figure investment and taken a minority stake in Arcade, the management company behind The Sidemen.
Arcade said Lumina’s investment, which includes a minority stake along with “capital and strategic expertise,” will allow the outfit to “accelerate its expansion across EMEA.”
Founded by Jordan Schwarzenberger, Sam Uwins and Aaron O’Neill in 2021, Arcade manages The Sidemen, the British YouTube collective, which includes popular influencer KSI, are widely considered to be one of the most popular YouTube brands of all time. The group has more than 130 million YouTube subs and 40 billion views to its content, according to today’s announcement.
Arcade and The Sidemen have launched six businesses, a fan membership platform called Side+ and two seasons of Big Brother-esque reality series Inside, the first for YouTube and the second for Netflix. Two more are in the offing, including a soon-to-launch U.S. version for Netflix.
Arcade marks Lumina’s 12th investment since the group was launched by Pulse Films founder Benski in late 2024, including Carrousel Studios with Omar Sy, Louis Leterrier, and Cecile Gaget, Magna Studios with Marisa Clifford and Davud Karbassioun, kids IP brand Strike and gaming studio Creators Corp. Lumina said together they already generate more than $100M in combined revenues.
When it launched last December, Lumina was backed by a first round of funding in mid-eight figures, with investors including Magnus Rausing’s BFK, Charles Dorfman’s Dorfman Media Holdings and SVS Holdings.
Benski said: “Arcade is building exactly the kind of creator-led platform the market needs – where talent expands IP, builds brands, and engages consumers at scale. Jordan, Sam, and Aaron have already proved the power of their model with The Sidemen, and immediately we want to take it further: cementing The Sidemen as generational talent and IP with a truly global, multi-platform reach, while giving more creators the chance to become true entertainment powerhouses. We’re proud to back visionaries like the team at Arcade and The Sidemen to seize this moment and capture the full scale of the opportunity.”
Schwarzenberger added: “Our mission at Arcade has always been to unlock the true potential of creators, helping them grow from content makers into culture-shaping brands. The Sidemen have shown what’s possible when you combine authentic talent with ambition, and their journey remains central to the future we’re building. With Thomas, and his team at Lumina as active partners, we immediately have the strategic platform to take this model further, helping brands scale their IP, to become truly creator first, and at the heart of global culture.”
The move comes with traditional TV executives debating with more and more urgency how best to leverage YouTube. Creators like The Sidemen have become hugely popular and are dominating the landscape for young viewing, and YouTube is immediately the second-most watched platform in the UK, behind only the BBC. In the UK, where Arcade is based, the government is considering forcing YouTube to prommote content made by the broadcasters.
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