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.
Media giants strike direct deals with creators instead of chasing their audiences
TVREV’s John Cassillo reports that Disney and Fox are signing deals with creator Dhar Mann to produce content, following his NFL “Chief Kindness Officer” role. Tubular data shows Mann’s July YouTube watch-time outranked many networks, despite minimal audience overlap with Disney’s kids channels.
X swaps engagement-bait payouts for a quality-based creator fund
X’s Original Content Rewards Program launches Sept. 8, replacing its 2023 revenue-share model that paid creators for impressions regardless of content quality. Media buyers and agents tell Digiday X still isn’t top of mind for creators despite the change.
Unicorn expands creator-to-IP studio slate with four new originals
TheWrap’s Kayla Cobb reports that creator management firm Unicorn is developing four new series with talent from its roster, including shows from the creators behind viral accounts madmax_fluffyroad and oldjewishmen. It’s the latest push to turn individual creators into owned, produced IP.
YouTube switches public view counts to first-frame plays, not 30 seconds
The Hollywood Reporter’s Rick Porter reports that YouTube now counts a public view from a video’s first frame instead of after 30 seconds, matching TikTok, Instagram and X. Payout thresholds still rely on engaged views and watch hours, unchanged by the switch.
YouTube expands Stations feature beyond music to creator content
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that YouTube is rolling out its always-on Stations format, first tested with music at Coachella, to creator content, media channels, and podcasts, positioning it as a native FAST rival to Netflix and Tubi.
Undisclosed AI sponsorships spark fan backlash for top YouTube creators
Filmmakers Matti Haapoja and Sam Kolder posted unlabeled videos promoting AI platform Higgsfield’s Seedance 2.5, prompting fan accusations of undisclosed paid partnerships. Higgsfield later confirmed creators were compensated via cash and platform credits.
NYT tests AI search summaries, sparking newsroom union pushback
Semafor reports that The Times quietly rolled out AI-generated summaries and links in search for a small subset of readers, its first unmediated generative AI text product. The editorial union says it violates the paper’s own AI standards, which require human oversight.
Callaway yanks Good Good Golf driver ad after backlash over shove scene
Sports Business Journal reports that Callaway deleted a Good Good Golf driver promo after backlash, in which YouTuber Garrett Clark shoves a woman to the ground and threatens her over touching his club. The brand has partnered with Good Good since 2023.
Disney taps YouTube creator Dhar Mann for 20-episode family series
C21Media reports that Disney has struck an original content deal with Dhar Mann Studios, commissioning a family-focused 20-episode series. The move brings a top YouTube creator’s studio into Disney’s traditional development pipeline.
OpenAI exec frames growth as a self-funding flywheel, teases ChatGPT for teens
forum.openai.com reports that Chris Lehane describes OpenAI’s model-user-revenue loop as self-reinforcing, funding compute for future models. He also previewed ChatGPT for teens, positioned as a safer, more guided product for younger users.
YouTube redefines “view” as one frame, splitting it from “engagement”
StreamTV Insider reports that YouTube overhauled its metrics, counting a single frame seen as a “view,” matching TikTok and Instagram, while the old longer-watch standard becomes “engagement.”
Vertical media sector projected to hit $150 billion in 2026 revenue
Variety’s Cynthia Littleton reports that a new Owl & Co. report projects global vertical media revenue will reach $150 billion in 2026, a 42% jump from 2025, with $131 billion coming from advertising on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Formula E’s creator series drives 42% of its annual video views
Campaign’s Eszter Gurbicz reports that Formula E CMO Ellie Norman says its Evo Sessions creator series, made with Arcade Media and The Sidemen, generated 42% of the sport’s annual video views this season.
Disney taps Dhar Mann for 20 episodes of vertical-style content
Disney signed digital creator Dhar Mann, who has 170 million followers, to produce 20 original episodes. The deal follows Disney’s Verts short-form launch and a recent TikTok tie-up, part of a push to expand Disney+ into a broader content ecosystem.
Wella’s AI-personalised audio campaign drives 70% engagement lift
ExchangeWire reports that Azerion and Digitas used AudioStack’s AI platform to turn one Nioxin script into 100 personalised audio ads across UK locations and audience segments. A brand lift study found 70% of exposed listeners took or intended to take action.
Ann Taylor relaunches with first major campaign since 2017
Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports that KnitWell-owned Ann Taylor debuts “This Is Ann,” its biggest integrated campaign in nearly a decade, plus a NYFW pop-up and 2026 ambassador program. It follows a February Substack launch aimed at building direct fan community.
Wellness content tops YouTube Shorts engagement, data shows
eMarketer reports that Wellness Shorts hit 116% average percentage viewed in Q2 2026 in Dash Social data, beating beauty, retail, and the overall 84.6% benchmark. It’s the only category staying above 100% for six straight quarters.
YouTube dangles cash to keep top creators off Netflix
VideoWeek’s Tim Cross-Kovoor reports that YouTube is offering top creators millions to stay exclusive, per Bloomberg, countering Netflix’s push to sign YouTube-originated talent. Creators who work with Netflix risk losing marketing support, event features, and brand campaign inclusion on YouTube.
LiveMode expands from World Cup viral hit to Premier League, Champions League rights
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that CazéTV parent LiveMode, fresh off record YouTube concurrency during the 2026 World Cup, will stream a free weekly Premier League match on YouTube in Brazil and Portugal via deals with ESPN and DAZN.
YouTube dangles exclusivity money to keep creators from Netflix
eMarketer reports that YouTube is offering top creators millions for exclusive uploads, funding programming or cutting them into brand deals, as Netflix courts the same talent. Defectors risk losing YouTube marketing support and brand-deal revenue share.
AI brand deals spark backlash risk for influencers
Business Insider’s Sydney Bradley and Dan Whateley report that OpenAI flew influencers to a luxury resort to promote ChatGPT Work, drawing hostile comments and mockery. Creators now weigh AI sponsorship paychecks against audience backlash tied to AI’s environmental and labor concerns.
Disney taps YouTube creator Dhar Mann for 20-episode series order
Variety’s Michael Schneider reports that Disney has signed a deal with Dhar Mann Studios, the Burbank creator known for viral morality-tale videos, for a 20-episode youth and family series. Dhar Mann Studios claims 170 million followers and nearly 300 million weekly views across platforms.
Ad Age tracker flags Reddit, ByteDance, OpenAI moves for brands
I see you AI. Ad Age’s emerging tech roundup covers Reddit’s new AI feature turning comments into videos, plus ByteDance and OpenAI developments. The item is a curated digest rather than a single news event, aimed at brands and agencies tracking platform shifts.
Amazon builds out creator services to sell brands the full customer journey
We’ll take it from here. Amazon’s Matt Sandler and Angie More detail how Creator Services treats digital stars as entrepreneurs, not just content makers, building e-commerce storefronts like Kelce Clubhouse around shows.
YouTube dangles exclusivity payments to fend off Netflix creator raids
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that YouTube is offering top channels millions to upload exclusively for a period, reviving upfront payments it abandoned years ago as Netflix, Disney and Paramount court its biggest stars.