Creators
State of Play
Revised Sep 18, 2026The moment. Three buyers spent the week acquiring podcast catalogs and the rights around them. Amazon closed its Wondery acquisition, with founder Hernan Lopez out and COO Jen Sargent running the business, bought podcast ad and hosting company Art19, and agreed to pay more than $100 million to Exactly Right Media for distribution and ad sales on a slate led by My Favorite Murder. SiriusXM won Giggly Squad after three suitors pushed offers to $150 million, and took exclusive global ad sales for Crooked Media’s podcasts, video, social and live events. Audacy became exclusive sales and distribution partner for Smosh from October 1, bringing more than 75 million followers and 20 billion YouTube views. Forbes put Charlamagne Tha God tenth among podcasters at about $27 million.
The tension. Nine-figure prices are being paid for creator inventory in the same week the IAB convened its first Creatorfronts specifically because nobody can measure it — president James Douglas unveiled a Trusted Creator Brand Deal Initiative built around a survey mapping where creator deals break down. The valuation problem is being admitted from the other end too: Evan Shapiro’s Affinity 100 ranks creators by an Affinity Quotient rather than follower count, because follower count stopped meaning anything. Buyers are pricing these catalogs off distribution and habit, not off proof, and the platforms underneath them keep moving — Spotify passed Apple as the most-used US podcast app at 24% to 21%, and in Canada YouTube passed Spotify at 35%.
Who’s moving. Amazon, buying Wondery, Art19 and Exactly Right in the same week. SiriusXM, taking Giggly Squad and Crooked Media. Audacy, taking Smosh. Wondery and Amazon Music, taking a one-week exclusive window on Morbid. Steven Bartlett and Authentic Brands, launching OBSN with up to $400 million against more than 50 IP holdings. Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, launching Machine Gods twice weekly with NPR on distribution and ad sales. Meta, merging its Creator Marketplace and Partnership Ads Hub into one hub and opening Instagram live video ads on September 29. Avail, launching creatorAPI so brands can generate ad variations inside limits a creator sets. Old Navy, whose first single-creator campaign with MrBeast lifted kids’ assortment traffic more than 22%.
What the desk is watching. Whether the Trusted Creator Brand Deal Initiative produces a number a buyer can hold a seller to, and what a $150 million podcast is worth once the app share underneath it moves again.
IAB’s Creator Fronts exposes how fractured creator ad budgets remain
At the IAB’s inaugural Creator Fronts, the trade group forecast creator ad spending will eclipse $44 billion this year and pushed for standardized ways to find, contract and measure creators.
Perplexity builds out creator-marketing role with multi-million budget
Perplexity quietly filled a creator-marketing lead role paying $175,000 to $225,000, overseeing campaigns past 100 creators and reviewing “builds” made with Perplexity Computer for authenticity, per Digiday.
Giggly Squad podcast lands SiriusXM deal after $150M bidding war
Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo signed a new multi-year deal with SiriusXM for their podcast Giggly Squad. Three suitors competed for the show, with offers reaching $150 million before SiriusXM won out, per The Ankler’s reporting.
Meta merges creator marketplaces, brings live video ads to Instagram
Meta launched a unified Creator Marketing Hub, combining Creator Marketplace and Partnership Ads Hub, and will let brands run live video ads on Instagram starting September 29.
IAB’s first Creatorfronts exposes the measurement gap blocking creator budgets
At IAB’s inaugural Creatorfronts, president James Douglas unveiled the Trusted Creator Brand Deal Initiative, a survey mapping where creator deals break down.
Betches launches sponsor-free scripted series built by its own creators
Betches produced “Sisters,” a three-episode scripted show made in-house by video producers Tess Tregellas and Madeline Mahoney, who first tested the concept as short-form social videos before scaling it up. Season one ran with zero brand sponsorships by design.
Amazon pays over $100 million for Exactly Right Media podcast rights
Amazon will pay more than $100 million to Exactly Right Media for distribution and ad sales on its podcast slate, led by My Favorite Murder.
Avail launches licensing platform to let brands multiply creator ads
Avail’s new creatorAPI lets creators set guidelines for how brands use their likeness and voice, then generate multiple ad variations within those limits. It launches with Night Media and creator Emily Higgins after closed beta testing with direct-to-consumer brands.
Kevin Roose, Casey Newton launch AI show with NPR distribution deal
Former “Hard Fork” hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton are partnering with NPR for distribution and ad sales of “Machine Gods,” a twice-weekly, video-first show on AI’s consumer, enterprise and policy implications launching in October.
Betches built a scripted comedy in-house, kept season one sponsor-free
Betches producers detail how they built scripted series Sisters in-house, testing chemistry via short-form skits before scaling to polished long-form episodes, distributed organically across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts with vertical cutdowns.
Bartlett, Authentic Brands launch $400 million creator venture OBSN
Steven Bartlett’s Steven.com is teaming with Authentic Brands Group to invest up to $400 million helping creators build lasting businesses. Named OBSN, the venture pairs Bartlett’s media playbook with Authentic’s brand-management expertise across more than 50 IP holdings.
Mail Metro Media names David White head of creators
Mail Metro Media has appointed David White, formerly of creator marketing agency Whalar, as Head of Creators within its New Media division.
Steven Bartlett, Authentic Brands launch OBSN to scale creator businesses
Steven Bartlett’s Steven.com and Authentic Brands are launching OBSN, a venture pairing creator media expertise with licensing and retail infrastructure to build businesses around top creators, backed by up to $400 million in planned investment.
YouTube’s ad chief maps Oscars sponsorship push for 2029 broadcast
Google’s Americas ad sales lead Sean Downey tells Variety that YouTube’s first Academy Awards broadcast will let brands build sponsorship packages around live ad space, integrated creators and awards-season content.
Crooked Media hands SiriusXM exclusive global ad sales, distribution
Crooked Media signed a long-term deal giving SXM Media exclusive global ad sales for its podcasts, plus video, social, and live events, starting in May, while Crooked keeps editorial control and stays on other platforms.
Media War & Peace debuts the Affinity 100 creator ranking
Evan Shapiro, with Shira Lazar, Whalar Group, and Foam, launched the Affinity 100, ranking creators by a new “Affinity Quotient” instead of follower count.
Amazon closes Wondery deal as founder Lopez exits, Sargent named CEO
Amazon’s acquisition of podcast studio Wondery, announced in December, has officially closed. Founder Hernan Lopez has departed, and COO Jen Sargent now runs the business, which reportedly sought a $300 million price tag though terms were not disclosed.
Ex-Spotify exec raises $5.5M for music apps that skip AI generation
A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya raised a $5.5 million pre-seed round led by Mantis VC, with Spotify’s former ad chief Dawn Ostroff advising. Founder Máuhan Zonoozy builds interactive music toys instead of AI song generators, betting participation beats generation.
Morbid podcast signs with Wondery/Amazon, plans new shows
Indie true-crime hit Morbid has struck a deal giving Wondery and Amazon Music a one-week exclusive window on new episodes starting June 1, with Amazon and Wondery also taking over distribution and ad sales for the show.
Charlamagne Tha God lands No. 10 on Forbes’ highest-paid podcasters list
Forbes estimates Charlamagne Tha God’s annual earnings at approximately $27 million, driven partly by a renewed iHeartMedia deal reportedly worth up to $200 million over five years.
YouTube overtakes Spotify as Canada’s top podcast platform
Triton Digital’s third annual Canadian Podcast Report finds 35% of Canadians now use YouTube most for podcasts, up from 28% two years ago, while Spotify slid from 31% to 28% and Apple Podcasts dipped to 15%.
Edison: Spotify overtakes Apple as top podcast app, YouTube close behind
Edison Research’s Q2 tracker shows Spotify now the most-used podcast app at 24%, ahead of Apple’s 21%, with YouTube at 18%. A year earlier Apple led at 25% and Spotify trailed at 15%.
Genius Sports bets athlete-led shows can convert parasocial fans into league fans
Genius Sports is launching a venture with Chris Paul’s Ohh Dip!!! and Connor Schell’s Words + Pictures to build athlete-led programming powered by official sports data, starting with Paul before expanding to other athlete-creators.
Amazon MGM sets 2028 release for ‘Mandela Catalogue’ film
Amazon MGM Studios, United Artists and Amblin will release “The Mandela Catalogue” on June 9, 2028, following an 11-studio bidding war for the rights.
Twitch, YouTube Gaming and Kick draw sharply different audiences by region
Streams Charts’ new Audience Geo & Demographics tool shows 28% of Twitch’s audience is U.S.-based versus 15% on Kick and 14% on YouTube Gaming.