Creators
State of Play
Revised Nov 1, 2026The moment. Every platform with a TV screen wants long-form creator video. Tubi and TikTok launched the Creatorverse Incubator, with Tubi investing in 12 creators to develop 10 original series; Instagram is testing videos up to 90 minutes and landing on Apple TV, still with no ad-revenue share; Netflix hired Steve Wilson, a 15-year Apple veteran, to run podcast acquisition on top of more than 60 video podcasts; Banijay struck a partnership with Don’t Tell Comedy and its 14 million followers. Creators are meanwhile organizing like the companies buying from them: Ad Age has top creators restructuring under holding companies with their own CEOs, the SBA gave creator businesses an official classification code, and XR Extreme Reach, which handles over 80% of US commercial talent payments, launched XR Pay for Creators.
The tension. The distribution is being bid up and the business underneath is thinning. Simon Owens flags Business Insider’s report that Netflix may be cooling on video podcasts even as it hired someone to buy them. Digiday has nearly 60% of Americans getting news from social media while news creators call it the hardest category for brand deals. The Ankler’s Natalie Jarvey reports newsletter growth slowing industry-wide, with Taylor Lorenz saying she lost a third of her paid subscribers, and a recipe business with 130,000 email subscribers still lives on unpredictable Google and Facebook traffic. The Verge has Google’s AI Overviews dismantling the bargain where publishers fed the index in exchange for clicks, and Adweek has media buyers warning that Meta blocking links to TikTok cuts into creator campaigns that run across both.
Who’s moving. Tubi and TikTok, incubating 10 creator series. Instagram, at 90 minutes and on Apple TV. Netflix and Steve Wilson, on podcast acquisition. Banijay America, with Don’t Tell Comedy. The SBA, filing creators under NAICS code 5121. XR Extreme Reach, paying creators through Hollywood’s pipes. Beast Industries and Mastercard, on creator finance. Bill Owens, leaving 60 Minutes for Newpress. Meta, blocking links to TikTok. The Ankler’s Natalie Jarvey, on subscriber fatigue. The Daily Mail, running 12 to 15 generative engine optimization tests. Airwave, taking ad sales in-house.
What the desk is watching. Whether Instagram pays creators a share for the 90 minutes it is asking for, and whether Netflix’s podcast hire settles which way its podcast strategy is going.
A consultant built a free tracker for local TV stations’ YouTube performance
TVREV reports that consultant Mike VanZetta built PiZetta News Tracker, a tool using the YouTube API to track local TV stations’ views, subscribers and output, after being inspired by Facebook’s old CrowdTangle tool and built with vibe coding.
TVREV: brands should build owned media, not just rent reach
TVREV’s Emanuele Landi argues brands must build their own owned media formats and IP rather than only renting attention across fragmented platforms, citing Duolingo, the Sidemen and WeRoad as cases of brands turning audiences into owned businesses.
Evan Shapiro’s report maps sports fandom’s shift to social and creators
Media War & Peace’s Evan Shapiro reports that leagues and platforms will generate more than $115 billion this year even as sports rights fragment across paywalls, pushing fans toward creators, clips and highlights on social platforms.
Spanish-language outlet Latinus tops U.S. news TikTok since September
The Measure’s John Cassillo reports that Chartbeat video data ranks Latinus, a Delaware-based Spanish-language outlet covering Mexico, as the top U.S. news, government and politics TikTok creator since September 1, outposting CNN and other major networks on upload volume and engagement.
Instagram courts YouTube creators to push long-form video
eMarketer’s Marisa Jones reports that Instagram is courting YouTube creators as part of its effort to make long-form video stick on the platform.
Love on the Spectrum’s Tanner Smith signs with WME
TheWrap’s Tess Patton reports that reality star Tanner Smith, from Netflix’s “Love on the Spectrum,” has signed with WME for representation in all areas, aiming to expand into kids’ TV and brand deals.
Creator agency LV8 merges with Mirage, raises high eight figures
Adweek’s Mark Stenberg reports that LV8 is merging with sister firm Mirage Digital and raising a “high eight figures” round from Velocity Capital Management, forming a combined creator agency under the LV8 brand with Griffin Haddrill as CEO.
Netflix signs YouTuber Druski to multiyear exclusive content deal
The Verge’s Jay Peters reports that Netflix signed a multiyear deal with YouTuber Druski, who will create content exclusively for the streamer.
Daddy Yankee, Visa back vertical microseries on aTwist for new album
Variety’s Isabelle Farina reports that Daddy Yankee partnered with vertical media studio aTwist and Visa to launch “La Postal: Written in the Dance,” a microseries promoting his album, releasing on his YouTube channel and aTwist on November 3.
Sony Music podcast chief Emily Rasekh moves to CAA’s creator division
The Hollywood Reporter’s Caitlin Huston reports that Emily Rasekh has left Sony Music, where she spent seven years building its podcast business and launched The Binge network, to join CAA.
Political YouTube outlets are landing mainstream brand sponsors this election season
TVREV’s John Cassillo reports that Chartbeat data shows partisan YouTube publishers like The Bulwark, The Daily Beast, Blaze Media and David Pakman’s channel drawing sponsors such as Hims, Shopify and ZocDoc despite their overt political leanings.
Instagram’s new long-form video push has no creator payment plan
The Verge’s Jess Weatherbed reports that creators are criticizing Instagram’s new Features long-form video format, launched this week, because it offers no ad-share or performance payouts like YouTube does.
YouTube payment changes could widen brands’ influencer options
eMarketer’s Grace Harmon reports that YouTube’s creator payment changes could expand the pool of influencers brands can work with.
Red Seat Ventures lands exclusive rights to Homecoming Golf’s shows
Podnews reports that Fox-owned Red Seat Ventures struck an exclusive audio-video deal with Homecoming Golf, covering Drink Cart Scramble and Marquee Match Series across YouTube and other platforms.
NOVA’s AIIMS Creator Hub adds sports and true-crime podcasts
Podnews reports that NOVA Entertainment partner AIIMS Creator Hub is expanding its slate with new sports podcast MAYDAY, hosted by NRL brothers Terrell and Taylan May, and true crime series The Disappearance of Katie Walker.
Instagram pays creators up to $500,000 to post long-form video
Business Insider’s Sydney Bradley and Lucia Moses report that Instagram is offering select creators $50,000 to $500,000 to post long-form video to its new Features product, non-exclusively, as long as they also post same-day to YouTube.
Recipe blogger bets on direct-to-consumer as Google search fades
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that recipe blogger Nicole Hunn, who built Gluten Free on a Shoestring into a business with 130,000 email subscribers and six cookbooks, is now shifting toward direct-to-consumer products.
News Movement launches creator doc licensing network TNM Network
C21Media reports that The News Movement has launched TNM Network, a licensing arm that repackages original YouTube and creator-made documentaries for distribution on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
Beehiiv launches dynamic ad insertion and programmatic for podcasts
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Beehiiv is launching dynamic ad insertion for podcasts, following Substack’s similar move, but adding programmatic advertising available immediately with no minimum download requirement, unlike Substack’s 2027 timeline.
SiriusXM’s $160M Giggly Squad deal shows podcasts chasing creators, not shows
Digiday’s Alyssa Mercante reports that SiriusXM’s multi-year deal with Giggly Squad hosts Paige DeSorbo and Hannah Berner, reportedly worth $160 million, follows a sold-out four-night Madison Square Garden run.
Nigerian media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo builds pan-African group, eyes public listing
Business Insider Africa’s Olamilekan Okebiorun reports that Chude Jideonwo is expanding FourthMainland, his media and culture group, backed by a personal $500,000 commitment to a creator fund.
Instagram’s 90-minute video push gives creators a trust edge over publishers
Puck’s Julia Alexander reports that Meta is testing a longform video feature on Instagram allowing posts up to 90 minutes, letting creators cross-post from YouTube into the new “Features” tab to reach new audiences.
Instagram’s longform push comes with no creator revenue share
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Instagram is pushing creators to upload longform video despite having no YouTube-style revenue-sharing program, betting exposure alone will lure YouTubers and podcasters already monetizing elsewhere.
Blink49 Studios bets its future on brands and creators, not distribution
Variety’s Cynthia Littleton reports that Blink49 Studios, marking its fifth year under CEO John Morayniss, built itself as a pure-play content shop betting that owning audience relationships would matter more than owning a content library.
Brands go direct with creators as spend hits $44 billion
Business Insider’s Lucia Moses reports that marketers from Disney, e.l.f. Beauty, Keurig Dr Pepper, Yahoo and the NFL are spreading creator work across TikTok Live, YouTube, Substack and Threads, while increasingly hiring creators directly instead of through platform marketplaces.