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.
Giggly Squad podcast lands SiriusXM deal after $150M bidding war
The Ankler’s Natalie Jarvey reports that 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
MediaPost’s Colin Kirkland reports that 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
Digiday’s Alyssa Mercante reports that 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.
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
Axios’s Kerry Flynn and Sara Fischer report that 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
Next in Media’s Tess Tregellas reports that 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
Adweek’s Texas A, M University reports that 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
Variety’s Cynthia Littleton reports that 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
Variety’s Matt Donnelly reports that 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.
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.
Ex-Spotify exec raises $5.5M for music apps that skip AI generation
TechCrunch’s Ivan Mehta reports that 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.
Charlamagne Tha God lands No. 10 on Forbes’ highest-paid podcasters list
Inside Radio reports that 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
Inside Radio reports that 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%.
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
TheWrap’s Umberto Gonzalez reports that 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
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that 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.
Audacy signs Smosh, adding YouTube comedy brand to podcast network
Inside Radio reports that Audacy struck a multiyear deal for exclusive sales and distribution rights to Smosh’s podcast lineup, starting October 1. Smosh brings more than 75 million followers and 20 billion YouTube views to Audacy’s push into creator-led video and audio.
Audacy signs exclusive sales, distribution deal with creator brand Smosh
Podnews reports that Audacy became exclusive sales and distribution partner for Smosh’s podcast slate, starting October 1, 2026, covering Smosh Mouth, Smosh Reads Reddit Stories, Assumptions and URL.
ABC, Jimmy Kimmel begin talks on late-night contract renewal
TheWrap’s Tess Patton reports that ABC has opened renewal talks with Jimmy Kimmel, whose show runs through the 2026-27 season under a one-year deal signed after last fall’s suspension. Disney reportedly wants budget cuts on a show said to cost up to $100 million.
Stars Collective, LH International form AI content JV with $300M fund target
Peter Luo’s Stars Collective and Dubai-based LH International are launching an AI joint venture to develop, produce and distribute film, TV and digital projects.
YouTube’s own study says YouTube is the new mainstream
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that YouTube and research firm NRG’s new Culture and Trends Report finds 67% of 14-to-44-year-olds watch more channels no one they know watches, versus five years ago, while theatrical release awareness fell nearly 10% since 2017.
Old Navy’s MrBeast bet pays off with 22% traffic jump
Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports that Old Navy’s first single-creator back-to-school campaign, a multiyear tie-up with MrBeast, drove an over 22% jump in traffic to its kids’ assortment online.
FCC pressure pushed Talarico’s interviews to YouTube — and boosted his views
TVREV’s John Cassillo reports that Tubular Labs data shows Talarico’s Colbert and Kimmel interviews, bounced from broadcast under FCC pressure, drove 75 million of 354 million YouTube views about him this year, with most from media pages.