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.
Billion Dollar Boy Group buys LinkedIn-focused shop Creator Authority
Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports that Billion Dollar Boy Group has acquired Creator Authority, a B2B creator marketing agency and official LinkedIn partner whose clients include Amazon, Adobe and Mastercard, to expand its West Coast footprint.
Arcade CEO: premium creators are the ‘new primetime’ for brands
The Media Leader’s Charli West reports that Arcade CEO Matt Elek is repositioning the Sidemen’s management firm as a creator-first entertainment company.
Mediacorp debuts shoppertainment microdrama Love Angels across social and TV
C21Media reports that Singapore’s Mediacorp has launched Love Angels, a 20-episode microdrama billed as its first “shoppertainment” title, embedding products into the plot for a content-to-commerce ad campaign across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, MeWatch and Channel 8 with QR-code purchase links.
Target brings TikTok’s top sleep brand to 550 stores
Digiday’s Gabriela Barkho reports that Target is launching Mellow Sleep, TikTok’s top-selling sleep brand, in 550 stores starting October 18 before going nationwide by year’s end.
Orange to carry ReelShort microdramas across Africa, Middle East
C21Media reports that Orange Middle East & Africa has signed a multi-year deal to distribute ReelShort’s microdrama content through its Max It TV service across 17 markets, launching in a first wave by the end of 2026.
LinkedIn launches paid Advice Sessions for creator consulting
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports LinkedIn unveiled Advice Sessions, letting professional creators schedule and run paid consultations in-app, with Stripe payments for Business Premium subscribers paying $59.99 monthly, booking clients within a 30-day window.
Parade founder’s creator agency Devotion hires UTA’s Ed Victori as COO
Adweek’s Mark Stenberg reports that Cami Tellez’s creator marketing startup Devotion named Ed Victori, formerly of United Talent Agency and JUV Consulting, as its first chief operating officer after a year of rapid growth.
Electrify hires YouTube, VICE vets to deepen creator-funding push
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that U.K. creator-economy financier Electrify, backer of YouTube hitmakers like Veritasium, has hired former VICE programming head Al Brown to lead editorial and ex-YouTube EMEA operations chief Patrick Walker to lead strategy.
Khaby Lame’s $975 million merger stays frozen as stock craters 99%
Business Insider’s Lucia Moses and Dan Whateley report that a new Rich Sparkle Holdings filing shows Khaby Lame’s merger remains conditional on due diligence and valuation terms unchanged since January.
Ruggable shifts ad budget from Meta to ShopMy creators
Digiday’s Kimeko McCoy reports that Ruggable has moved about 10% of its ad spend from performance channels like Meta into brand channels including influencers and connected TV since last August.
Banijay Benelux partners with ClipHub for creator clipping push
C21Media reports that Banijay Benelux has partnered with video-clipping platform ClipHub to connect its format IP with social media communities via broadcaster-endorsed campaigns and creator partnerships, an alliance initiated by its Banijay NXT innovation arm.
Comscore: Jesser’s reach beat 14 NBA games with 99% incrementality
Variety’s Cynthia Littleton reports that on its “Strictly Business” podcast, Comscore’s Aaron Doades said creator Jesser topped the unique reach of 14 live NBA games in March 2026, with 99% of viewers not watching those games.
Endemol Shine Brasil teams with creator network Grupo Podpah
Advanced Television reports that Banijay Latin America unit Endemol Shine Brasil has partnered with Grupo Podpah, pairing TV format expertise with the creator platform’s 32 million-follower community, launching with Temptation Island.
Daylight adds Deuxmoi’s Deux U podcast to ad sales roster
Deadline’s Andreas Wiseman reports that podcast network Daylight has struck a partnership with celebrity news outfit Deuxmoi, bringing its weekly podcast Deux U into Daylight’s advertising sales portfolio.
YouTube’s audiobook push follows its playbook of absorbing entertainment categories
Simon Owens reports that YouTube is developing an audiobook feature likely bound for Premium, mirroring Spotify’s successful audiobook push that has already eaten into Audible’s market share.
Vox Media signs Tiger Sisters podcast for sales and distribution
Business Insider’s Lucia Moses reports that the Tiger Sisters, business and career podcasters Cherie and Jean Luo, are joining the Vox Media Podcast Network, which will handle sales, marketing, and distribution.
Disney strikes wide creative partnership with YouTube’s Dude Perfect
C21Media’s Cody Jones reports that Disney and Dude Perfect signed an “integrated creative partnership” spanning entertainment, sports, consumer products and parks.
Creators need CFO-grade rigor, ex-YouTube exec says
Next in Media’s Mike Shields talks with former YouTube executive Tara Walpert Levy, who argues creator spend must run on automated ad tech and prove itself with hard sales and profit metrics.
Whalar’s Neil Waller plots creator-to-media-company bets after $500M exit
The Ankler’s Natalie Jarvey reports that Whalar Group co-CEO Neil Waller is deploying fresh capital after selling Whalar to Accenture Song in a deal widely speculated at more than five hundred million dollars.
Billion Dollar Boy buys Creator Authority to chase B2B creator marketing
Business Insider’s Lara O’Reilly reports that Billion Dollar Boy Group acquired B2B influencer marketing agency Creator Authority in an all-cash, multimillion-dollar deal with an earnout, its first-ever acquisition.
Whalar’s James Street buys Good News Network, forms GNN Group
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports that a newly formed holding company, GNN Group, has acquired Good News Network for an undisclosed sum, with Whalar co-founder James Street joining as co-chairman and lead investor.
Fox Entertainment commits long-term to its creator studio, no exit plan
Deadline’s Max Goldbart reports that Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade says Fox Creator Studios, launched this year with Gordon Ramsay’s food roster, won’t be sold, contrasting Fox’s approach with rivals chasing quick exits in the creator space.
Nestlé centralizes creator marketing, but measurement lags
Next in Media’s Mike Shields reports that Nestlé is merging its scattered PR, media and influencer budgets into one creator marketing discipline, per digital content lead Daniele Tundo, while CreativeX’s Anastasia Leng says most brands plateau at 10-20% of spend going to creators.
TikTok, Made By Us ink multi-year microdrama slate with Moby, Hannah Stocking
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports TikTok and Made By Us Studios signed a multi-year deal for creator-led micro-series on TikTok and PineDrama, debuting with “Player,” starring Hannah Stocking, and “The Knock,” featuring Moby’s Little Walnut Productions and Adam Rose.
Dhar Mann’s creator studio lands deals with Disney, Fox and Samsung
The Ankler reports that creator Dhar Mann, whose studio produces five to seven hours of scripted content weekly across 75 sets, has struck deals with Disney, Fox Entertainment and Samsung TV.