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.
Sony’s digital studio signs Brian Cox for YouTube science content
Deadline’s Max Goldbart reports that Sony Pictures Television’s digital studio has struck a long-term partnership with BBC scientist Brian Cox to create original science, astronomy and culture formats for digital platforms.
Evan Shapiro’s Creator Ecosphere Map scores influencers by affinity, not reach
Media War & Peace’s Evan Shapiro previews his 2026 Creator Ecosphere Map, built with Shira Lazar and Whalar’s Jon Goss, which ranks creators by follower count alongside a new Affinity Quotient score measuring fan engagement and action.
AI firms pay influencers five to seven figures, but fan trust is at risk
Business Insider’s Sydney Bradley and Dan Whateley report that OpenAI, Google, Meta, Anthropic and startups like Higgsfield are paying creators five to seven figures to promote AI tools, per three talent managers.
Microdrama founders say Hollywood is now chasing the format it once mocked
TheWrap’s Tess Patton reports that at TheGrill 2026, Shortical’s Guy Shimoni, Mansa’s David Oyelowo and Nate Parker, and aTwist’s Jana Winograde said traditional entertainment players now court microdrama studios after dismissing the format eighteen months ago.
Tidy Cats pairs Kumail Nanjiani with creator Jordan Howlett for true-crime parody
Campaign US’s Shannon Miller reports that Tidy Cats and agency Golin Ketchum launched “Special Litter Unit,” a three-part parody starring Kumail Nanjiani and creator Jordan Howlett.
Horror microdrama app Room418 adapts ‘Night of the Living Dead’ for vertical video
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports that new L.A.-based studio Room418 is developing a vertical-video reimagining of George A. Romero’s 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead.
Apple Podcasts swaps editorial curation for algorithmic recommendations
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Apple Podcasts has replaced its regional human-curated recommendation feed with an algorithm, citing Podnews, moving the app closer to how Spotify and YouTube surface shows to listeners.
Netflix becomes No. 3 podcast platform in its first year, Sounds Profitable finds
Podnews reports that Sounds Profitable’s Podcast Landscape 2026 study found Netflix named by 21% of podcast consumers as a platform used in the past year, ranking third behind YouTube and Spotify, ahead of Apple Podcasts, even as overall reach held flat at 74%.
Dealmakers pivot from mega-mergers to creators and IP, Raine says
TheWrap’s A.J. Katz reports that at TheGrill conference, Raine partner Erik Hodge said dwindling mega-merger targets are pushing Hollywood dealmakers toward creators, IP and smaller companies that can scale, citing talent migrating to YouTube as a key opportunity.
Alan Wolk’s new book argues the media monoculture has collapsed into ‘Feudal Media’
TVREV’s Alan Wolk previews his new book arguing that a shared, commonly trusted media environment has splintered into disconnected bubbles he calls Feudal Media.
Top media YouTube Shorts creators beat average views by 200x
TVREV’s John Cassillo reports that Chartbeat data shows U.S. media generated nearly 85 billion YouTube Shorts views this year, with average per-video views at 46,400 even as top performers exceed that by factors of nearly 200.
Live Nation backs new creator-focused live events firm Creator Nation
Tubefilter’s James Hale reports that Live Nation is funding Creator Nation, a new venture led by Alexis and Scott Fisher that will connect digital creators with live events, brands, and management resources.
Guy Raz buys ‘How I Built This’ from NPR, partners with Vox Media
Inside Radio reports that Guy Raz acquired full ownership of “How I Built This” from NPR and partnered with Vox Media to expand it with video episodes, double publishing volume in early 2027, and new live events.
AGC Studios launches creator-led IP division, AGC Digital
Variety’s Leo Barraclough reports that AGC Studios has launched AGC Digital, a division that will partner with digital creators to turn their ideas and audiences into film, TV and unscripted franchises.
TikTok’s One Pay guarantees creators brand-deal payment within 30 days
Tubefilter’s James Hale reports that TikTok is launching One Pay, a feature within its TikTok One marketplace that pays creators for brand deals within 30 days of a video posting, with TikTok taking zero cut.
Podcaster A.J. Gentile accuses manager Night Media of illegal talent brokering
The Ankler’s Natalie Jarvey reports that Why Files host A.J. Gentile filed a California Labor Commissioner complaint against Night Media, alleging the unlicensed management firm violated the Talent Agencies Act and owes him $743,988 in commission from one year of repping him.
NPR’s new content chief bets on video podcasts to rebuild its funnel
Nieman Lab’s Sarah Scire reports that NPR chief content officer Nadine Zylstra discussed acquiring Casey Newton and Kevin Roose’s Machine Gods, a deal Bloomberg previously reported was approaching five million dollars.
Future Today signs Volt Factor as AVOD distribution partner
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports Future Today becomes global AVOD partner for Volt Factor’s creator shows.
Slow Ventures adds 3 niche creators to its $64 million creator fund
Adweek’s Mark Stenberg reports that Slow Ventures has backed career-advice creator Erin McGoff, textile maker Will Lasry, and fisherman Kyle Lee with equity stakes of $1 million to $3 million.
How bar meetups became a 40,000-member CPG media and events company
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Daniel Scharff turned informal CPG meetups into Startup CPG, now a 40,000-member Slack community with roughly 70 events a year, podcasts, newsletters and over 100 sponsors.
ShopMy turns creator posts into paid ads with new Spotlights tool
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that ShopMy launched Spotlights, which repurposes top-performing creator content into paid ads inside Meta’s Partnership Ads and TikTok’s Spark Ads.
Twitch uses AI transcripts to judge streamers’ brand safety
Tubefilter’s James Hale reports that Twitch CEO Dan Clancy told The Snarketing Podcast the platform now uses AI to transcribe live streams and flag whether a streamer’s content matches an advertiser’s brand safety guidelines.
Guy Raz takes full ownership of ‘How I Built This,’ partners with Vox Media
TheWrap’s A.J. Katz reports that Guy Raz has acquired full ownership of “How I Built This” from NPR, with Vox Media handling sales, marketing, distribution and live events under the new partnership.
Motion Society taps ex-Spotify exec Chanel Simmons to run U.S. business
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports that creator economy company Motion Society has named Chanel Simmons, formerly of Spotify, Meta and Fullscreen, as Managing Director, U.S.
Meta’s creator push still trails YouTube’s ecosystem, insiders say
Next in Media’s Mike Shields reports that despite Meta CFO Susan Li touting partnership ads revenue doubling to ten billion dollars, industry voices say Meta treats creators mainly as an ad-impression source.