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.
Parade Media launches studio arm to bridge creators and TV
C21Media reports that Sydney’s Parade Media has launched Parade Studios, a production division built to develop creator-led entertainment for television, streaming and social platforms including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Spy Ninjas exec details $25M plan to grow YouTube franchise offline
Next in Media’s Shelly Soriano, president of Spy Ninjas, explains how the YouTube-native franchise grew to 47 million subscribers by borrowing WWE’s mix of big characters and unscripted improv.
Twitch CEO ties viewership growth to clip strategy, not just livestream draw
Tubefilter’s James Hale reports that Twitch CEO Dan Clancy credits short-form clipping for driving renewed “excitement and awareness about livestreaming,” as new Streams Charts data shows August was Twitch’s best month of 2026 with 1.56 billion hours watched, up 7% year-over-year.
Upfluence goes fully agentic with AI system Jaice for creator deals
AdExchanger’s Joanna Gerber reports that Upfluence has shifted to a fully agentic model powered by its Jaice system, which now handles the entire creator partnership process for brands, from writing briefs to contacting creators and negotiating rates.
Shorts Still Fall Short: Tubular data: 1-2 minute videos are the social sweet spot
The Measure’s Jon Lafayette reports that Tubular Labs’ new benchmark finds one-to-two-minute videos more than doubled their share of views to 14.5%, while videos over 20 minutes fell to 15.5% from 22.6%.
Players Pay to Play in Docs: Cinetic launches Vertical Leap investment vehicle for pro athletes
Deadline’s Andreas Wiseman reports that John Sloss’s Cinetic Media has launched Vertical Leap, a $25,000-a-year membership giving athletes a seat inside its documentary slate.
Meta and YouTube reverse course, will run ads for Musk documentary
The Ankler’s Sean McNulty reports that Meta, TikTok and YouTube initially refused to run ads for Bleecker Street’s Elon documentary, citing “political content” rules.
Kevin Mayer: Hollywood missed the social media culture shift
Deadline’s Diana Lodderhose reports that former Disney executive Kevin Mayer, now co-CEO of Candle Media, told the Zurich Summit that Hollywood failed to recognize how culture-making moved to social platforms and influencers.
YouTube expands Watch With to all creator long-form videos by default
Tubefilter’s James Hale reports YouTube will let creators react live to any eligible long-form video or livestream via Watch With, with reaction creators keeping ad revenue while original creators get attribution and “added view credit.”
Equity Models Take Shape: HardScope launches as creator-IP studio, gives talent equity stakes
In order to keep creators creating, and hang with a bundle economy, new business models need to take hold.
Chartbeat data: 2-to-5 minute videos are media’s YouTube sweet spot
TVREV’s John Cassillo reports that Chartbeat’s new benchmark finds media companies drive outsized YouTube views from 2-to-5 minute videos, with South Korean outlets like MBCNews and SBS more than doubling U.S. views per video at that length.
Brands race to get recommended by ChatGPT’s ‘AI shelf’
Modern Retail’s Gabriela Barkho reports that a new podcast episode examines the “AI shelf,” a concept from newsletter writer Deana Burke describing how chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini now recommend products.
Adweek podcast: Microsoft scaled 42 creators, 69 assets in six weeks
Adweek’s Adspeak podcast features leaders from Microsoft, Pearpop and AntiSocial detailing how Microsoft scaled a campaign to 42 creators and 69 assets in six weeks while measuring impact through search lift, foot traffic and brand lift studies rather than impressions alone.
Vertical video moves from social feeds into streaming and shopping
EMARKETER’s Gadjo Sevilla reports that vertical, short-form video has become full-funnel engagement infrastructure, citing HubSpot data that 49% of marketers name it their top-performing format versus 29% for long-form and 25% for livestream.
Banijay adapts Beat the Star as creator-led livestream for Twitch, YouTube
Advanced Television reports that Banijay Media Germany will launch Beat Aaron, a creator-led version of its Schlag den Star format, simultaneously on YouTube and Twitch on October 26th.
IAB’s CreatorFronts spotlights measurement gaps in creator ad spend
IAB reports that creator advertising has grown from $13.9 billion in 2021 to roughly $44 billion this year, and its inaugural CreatorFronts event flagged inconsistent view definitions, weak reporting, and uneven usage-rights terms as barriers to reaching $100 billion.
Fixated buys Studio71, forms 1,000-plus creator network
Variety’s Todd Spangler reports that Fixated has acquired Studio71’s North American creator business from ProSiebenSat.1, combining talent representation, production, distribution and monetization under one roof to form a network of more than 1,000 creators.
Workweek raises $17M to build B2B creator platform, ad network
A Media Operator’s Shannon Thaler Cherry reports that Workweek raised $17 million to let professionals in its five industry verticals launch their own newsletters, with a 2027 ad network matching advertisers to those creators, pushing it toward Substack, Beehiiv and Passionfroot territory.
A24, New York Times join bidders for Letterboxd at $300M-plus valuation
TheWrap’s Umberto Gonzalez reports that A24 and The New York Times have entered talks to buy Letterboxd for more than $300 million, joining Sony, Netflix, Paramount, RedBird, TPG and Alexis Ohanian as suitors for the 29 million-member platform.
Dreamspark to turn creator Michou’s YouTube hit Terminal into a global format
C21Media reports that Paris prodco Dreamspark is partnering with MichouCorp, the company behind French creator Michou, to adapt his YouTube show Terminal into a format for international broadcasters.
Sam and Colby bring Hell Week horror series to Netflix
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that YouTube paranormal duo Sam and Colby are bringing their annual Hell Week Halloween documentaries to Netflix starting in October 2026.
101 Studios commits up to $25M to launch Yes Chef Studios
The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin reports that 101 Studios is partnering with Yes Chef Group, the company behind creator Jack Goldburg’s “Jack’s Dining Room,” to form Yes Chef Studios.
YouTube pushes deeper into brand-creator deal infrastructure
Next in Media’s Mike Shields reports that YouTube plans to invest heavily in tools to streamline brand-creator deals, after touting “hundreds of millions” in agency incentives at its Made On YouTube event.
Shapiro and Lazar’s Affinity 100 ranks creators by influence, not reach
Media War & Peace’s Evan Shapiro is promoting the Affinity 100, a list he built with Shira Lazar naming the year’s most impactful creators.
Workweek is building B2B creator networks, not just newsletters, its CEO says
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Workweek CEO Adam Ryan is shifting the company from a handpicked newsletter roster into a vertically integrated platform where thousands of practitioners publish, host events and monetize expertise.