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.
The Ankler spotlights documentary filmmakers on art as resistance
The Ankler’s Thom Powers reports that at an L.A. Documentary Spotlight event, filmmakers behind “American Doctor,” “Rehearsals for a Revolution” and other films discussed making work on Gaza, Iran and climate change.
News creators struggle to monetize despite dominating Americans’ news diets
Digiday’s Alyssa Mercante reports that nearly 60% of Americans now get news from social media, yet creators describe news as “the most difficult category” for brand deals due to brand safety concerns.
NBCUniversal’s Bravo Fan Fest leans on talent-as-creators for brand deals
Campaign US’s Saleah Blancaflor reports that NBCUniversal signed seven sponsors, including Colgate, Ally Bank and Wayfair, for Bravo Fan Fest in Charleston, each with an integrated commerce activation.
Gotham Group and Toonstar partner on up to 12 animated kids series
Variety’s Isabelle Farina reports that The Gotham Group and Toonstar are partnering to produce up to twelve original animated series for kids, launching on direct-to-audience platforms rather than traditional networks.
Fake Wedgewood poll shows how easily media outlets get duped now
TVREV’s Alan Wolk reports that a political polling firm called Wedgewood admitted its summer survey showing Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow collapsing below 10% support was a fabricated “experiment.”
KISS shows creator deals can run both ways for legacy media brands
The Media Leader’s Liz Parkin reports that KISS illustrates how combining traditional media strengths with creator-economy tactics lets established brands build on their heritage while adapting to changing audience behaviours.
Creators are restructuring as holding companies to court brand dollars
Ad Age’s Gillian Follett reports that top creators like Cody “Clix” Conrod are reorganizing under holding companies, hiring CEOs and executives to run diversified businesses spanning media, products and events.
TikTok, iHeartPodcasts add three more creator shows to podcast network
Inside Radio’s Hannah Kosh reports that TikTok and iHeartPodcasts are adding three creator-hosted shows covering internet culture, sports and fashion to their podcast network, launching between late October and December.
Commerce publishers pivot from SEO to social and loyal audiences
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that The Independent’s social-commerce revenue overtook its SEO-based commerce revenue for the first time in September, per CEO Christian Broughton.
Sony TV signs creator Thea Von Engelbrechten, launches ‘Hazelwood’
Variety’s Michael Schneider reports that Sony Pictures Television signed a multiyear first-look deal with content creator Thea Von Engelbrechten, best known for her “Moletown Drama” social accounts with 2.5 million TikTok followers and 1 million Instagram followers.
XR Pay launches payroll platform for creator advertising deals
The Measure’s Jon Lafayette reports that XR Pay, which pays celebrities in commercials, has launched XR Pay for Creators to help agencies and marketers onboard and securely pay content creators, replacing ad hoc tools like Venmo.
YouTube partners with AliExpress to expand shoppable video affiliate push
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that YouTube and AliExpress struck a global affiliate deal, letting creators in the US, Brazil, Germany, and the UK earn commissions on tagged products.
Substack’s app emerges as a paid-subscription driver for creators
Simon Owens reports that Substack’s app is driving paid subscriptions for creators, a theme he explores alongside items on Disney scaling creator collaborations and LinkedIn’s creator revenue-share question.
Journalists are trading newsrooms for creator-economy careers, Media Leader finds
The Media Leader’s Jack Benjamin reports that journalists who built careers in traditional publishing are leaving it for the creator economy, citing Marina Hyde and Goalhanger as examples of the shift.
WSJ plotted a six-show streaming slate, courted Emily Sundberg
Business Insider’s Lucia Moses and Nathan McAlone report that the Wall Street Journal drafted plans for a six-series streaming push, including a live morning show and an Emma Tucker interview franchise.
Spotify launches Patreon-style memberships for podcasters
The Ankler’s Natalie Jarvey reports that Spotify’s new Memberships feature went live yesterday in the U.S. and more than two dozen other countries, letting podcasters sell monthly or annual subscriptions for bonus episodes, ad-free listening and other perks directly through the app.
Deadline: new horror label ‘Made By Spooky’ pitches creator-first model
Deadline’s Matt Grobar reports that a new horror label called Made By Spooky has launched with a creator-first approach, aiming to produce genre content by working directly with the creators behind it rather than through traditional studio channels.
NBA’s esports league pivots to creator-led media company
Simon Owens reports that NBA Take-Two Media CEO Andrew Perlmutter is rebuilding the NBA 2K esports league as a media company, shifting from team-based tournaments toward creator-led shows after the NBA and Take-Two found audiences preferred individual streamers over organized competitions.
iHeart’s Pittman knocks rivals’ big podcast talent spending
Axios’s Kerry Flynn and Christine Wang report that iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman called out “exuberance” in podcast talent deals, pointing to rivals paying more than shows can earn back.
YouTube sweetens creator incentives to narrow TikTok’s social commerce lead
eMarketer’s Grace Harmon reports that YouTube is expanding creator incentives for shoppable content as it works to close the social commerce gap with TikTok Shop.
UK creator partnership spend to top £1.2bn in 2026, IAB UK says
The Media Leader’s Charli West reports that IAB UK forecasts UK creator partnership spend will hit £1.2 billion in 2026, up 26% year-on-year from £966 million in 2025.
Publishers’ post-Google playbook: subscriptions, AI deals, reorgs
Digiday’s Kimeko McCoy reports that Axios, The Verge, Politico, The Wall Street Journal and Time are each rewriting operations for a post-search era, from subscriber-linked AI chatbot access to restructured audience teams to ads served against AI agent traffic.
A screenwriter’s side hustle became a multi-business writing empire
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Simon Owens interviewed Amy Suto, a former Hollywood screenwriter who left the industry to build a paid Substack newsletter with more than 1,000 subscribers, a freelance job platform called Cozy Jobs, ghostwriting work, and self-published novels.
Facebook Marketplace taps ‘Nobody Wants This’ for a cross-promo ad
Ad Age’s Tim Nudd reports that Facebook Marketplace built an ad around Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This,” with Kristen Bell racing through a train station searching for a man named Noah.
UTA promotes seven agents to expand creator division leadership
The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin reports that UTA has promoted seven agents within its Creators division, with revenue there tripling over the past five years, as the agency expands into new lines of business, New York and U.K. operations, and sports creators via Klutch Sports.