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.
DraftKings co-founder backs $10M round for AI podcast startup Rebel Audio
Inside Radio’s Jimmy Jellinek reports that Rebel Audio, the AI podcast production platform founded by Jared Gutstadt, is raising a Series A led by HardScope CEO and DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish, targeting $10 million at a roughly $50 million valuation.
Creator economy splits into Hollywood deals and programmatic buys
Digiday’s Kimeko McCoy reports that Portal A co-founder Zach Blume describes a bifurcation in the creator economy, with top-tier creators landing Hollywood-style brand integrations while nano and micro creators are bought like programmatic media.
Nestlé caps creator spend at 20% of media budget, applies ad rules to paid boosts
Next in Media’s Mike Shields reports that Nestlé‘s Daniele Tundo and CreativeX CEO Anastasia Leng detailed how the Fortune 500 brand built unified infrastructure for creator marketing.
Goalhanger builds creator media venture around Marina Hyde
Advanced Television’s Nik Roseveare reports that Goalhanger has launched Goalhanger X, a creator venture model, with Always On with Marina Hyde as its first show.
Dhar Mann unveils Creator City studio campus, monthly series pipeline
Variety’s Leo Barraclough reports that creator Dhar Mann detailed plans for Creator City, a four-acre Los Angeles campus with nine sound stages and about 175 branded sets supporting 15 concurrent productions.
Marina Hyde launches Goalhanger creator venture after Guardian exit
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports that Marina Hyde is teaming with Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger to launch Always On With Marina Hyde, spanning writing, YouTube and social content, following her exit from The Guardian after twenty-six years.
The Ankler names YouTube, Spotify and Netflix power players in new Future of Entertainment 25
The Ankler’s Christopher Patey profiles 25 executives and creators reshaping entertainment, including YouTube’s Neal Mohan and Mary Ellen Coe, Spotify co-CEOs Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström, and Netflix’s Brandon Riegg.
Meta’s AI chief credits his meme feed with juicing Muse’s growth
Business Insider’s Truman Dickerson reports that Alexandr Wang, Meta’s chief AI officer, said his chaotic X posts about Muse, the company’s AI assistant, were a deliberate bid to make Meta “cool again.”
Disney taps Dhar Mann, Nastya to reach kids where they already watch
Variety’s Leo Barraclough reports that Disney Kids & Family president Ayo Davis told a MipJunior panel the studio is partnering with creators like Dhar Mann and Nastya to reach young viewers now splitting attention between “Bluey” and “Squid Game.”
Glance: social media and football are reshaping kids’ content
C21Media reports that Glance’s Romy Nicolas told MipJunior delegates that social media culture, major sporting events and classic elements like music and animals are the three forces shaping children’s content.
Kids’ TV commissioning shrinks as YouTube builds new ownership model
C21Media’s Ed Waller reports that Ampere Analysis research presented at MipJunior in Cannes shows traditional broadcaster commissioning of kids’ content continuing to contract.
Pinterest lets brands boost any eligible creator Pin, not just partners
MediaPost’s Colin Kirkland reports that Pinterest now lets brands sponsor any eligible creator Pin directly, rather than requiring a prior official collaboration, while creators can opt out without losing running campaigns.
PAVE Studios signs creator Becca Bloom for new OpenMind podcast
Podnews reports that PAVE Studios has partnered with creator Becca Bloom on Bloom’s Room, a new OpenMind original premiering in January 2027 on YouTube and podcast platforms.
TVREV’s Alan Wolk: a 26-week No. 1 hit nobody heard proves media is feudal
TVREV’s Alan Wolk notes Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” spent 26 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, yet many in media never heard of it, illustrating how algorithmic bubbles have replaced the shared monoculture radio and TV once built.
TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle grows Instagram views 22% in a year
The Measure’s John Cassillo reports that TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle has drawn 666 million Instagram video views this year, already 22% more than all of last year, per Chartbeat data.
Sony taps YouTube exec to turn creators into Screen Gems filmmakers
The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit reports that Sony Pictures hired YouTube’s head of film and TV partnerships, Fede Goldenberg, to run Screen Gems, pivoting the genre label toward theatrical projects from digital-native creators like Curry Barker and Kane Parsons.
YouTube engagement rates fall 26-38% across every video category
eMarketer’s Peter Clark reports that organic engagement rates on brand YouTube channels dropped between 26% and 38% year over year across all seven video categories tracked, citing a June report from Pixability.
Hollywood’s creator deals can leave talent signing away their own IP
Digiday’s Alyssa Mercante reports that as studios and streamers chase creator-led hits, lawyer Nima Tahmassebi warns broad work-for-hire clauses can have creators “signing away things they never meant to, like their own name, their persona.”
Meta bans ByteDance ads across its apps after TikTok safety feud
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that Meta banned ByteDance from advertising on its apps in seven countries, retaliating after TikTok blocked Meta ads urging it to adopt safety features from Meta’s multibillion-dollar settlement with U.S. attorneys general.
A touring drum tech is building a YouTube-first kids’ media franchise
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Benji Woerly, a former touring drum technician for acts like Eminem and the Jonas Brothers, built The Soovins, an animated kids’ YouTube channel with over 138,000 subscribers.
A touring musician’s YouTube kids’ franchise chases licensing deals
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Benji Woerly, a former touring musician for acts like the Jonas Brothers and Eminem, built an animated YouTube channel called The Soovins with over 138,000 subscribers.
Blumhouse signs horror TikTok star Heidi Wong for short films
Variety’s Jack Dunn reports that Blumhouse Atomic Monster signed horror creator Heidi Wong to develop original horror shorts, announced at New York Comic Con’s Blumfest panel with Jason Blum, with her first project drawing on Eastern mythology and folklore.
Creatorville, Homecoming Studios team up on true crime documentaries
C21Media reports that UK social video producer Creatorville has partnered with documentary prodco Homecoming Studios on true crime projects.
Top creators are cutting brand deals, demanding equity and titles
Digiday’s Seb Joseph reports that the biggest creators are shrinking their brand rosters, keeping fewer partners after following Advertising Week New York panels, recordings and source conversations.
Meta imposes a link tax on Facebook pages, sparing news publishers for now
Simon Owens reports that Meta will charge Facebook pages at least $49.99 a month to post more than two external links, a policy that exempts news publishers for now.