After a flurry of podcast deals earlier this year, Netflix is “open to anything and everything” in the second half of the year, Marian Lee, CMO of Netflix, told us.
That could mean getting creative with deal structures.
“We’re trying different models and what might work,” Lee said. “We’re also very fast to pivot if we find that maybe that type of model doesn’t work.”
While many of the recent podcast deals have been exclusive, previous deals with creators like Mark Rober and Ms. Rachel haven’t required them to pull their shows from YouTube. Rober struck a deal with Netflix in August 2025, while Ms. Rachel’s episodes have been available on the streamer since January 2025.
As Kaya reported in May 2025, Netflix was already pushing for exclusivity back then, but some creators at the time didn’t want to enter into agreements that would hurt their income or momentum on YouTube.
That’s why it might be surprising to see some of these major podcasters give up posting their long-form episodes on YouTube. That includes Jay Shetty, who will start exclusively distributing his podcast “On Purpose” with Netflix and Spotify later this month. He will no longer be able to share full episodes to the show’s 5.7 million YouTube subscribers, though he can continue to post Shorts.
But video podcasting is still a relatively new format and people may not have the same loyalty to YouTube for podcasts as they do for other creator content.
While YouTube says that over 1 billion people watch podcasts on the platform every month, 70% of Americans who watch podcasts there said they would switch from YouTube if a podcast were to become only available on another platform, according to October data from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights.
That could help explain why these hosts are more willing to experiment than long-time YouTubers. In Shetty’s case, the reported $100 million price tag was also likely hard to turn down.
70% of US weekly podcast viewers on YouTube said they would switch platforms from YouTube if a podcast were to become available only on another platform.
Still, what people say isn’t always aligned with how they behave. And whether or not Netflix continues on this deal spree will largely depend on whether people watch the shows it has already signed.
Marketing plays a big role in ensuring that happens.
Lee told us social media creators operate very differently from how shows and movies have traditionally been produced and greenlit. That means “we can’t jam them into our model of marketing a traditional TV show or a film,” she said.
At the same time, she sees many similarities between creators and some of Netflix’s hit shows. One example is “Bridgerton,” which was produced by Shonda Rhimes’ production company Shondaland.
“Rhimes and her team, they think about the universes that they are creating for the long-term… that’s exactly how Salish and her dad are thinking,” Lee said, referring to Salish Matter and her father Jordan Matter, who announced a partnership with Netflix in February.
That includes thinking about merchandise. For Bridgerton, that means plaids and Scottish tartans since the next season is being shot in Scotland. “I know that in six months everyone on Pinterest is going to be searching for Scottish tartans,” Lee said.
We’re already on the lookout!
Our full interview with Lee, out now on the Scalable podcast, is worth a listen—it was her first-ever podcast interview!
We also discussed why Netflix lets fans “do the hard work for them,” who Lee sees as Netflix’s biggest competitors and why marketing hasn’t changed as much as you think, even with the rise of AI.
You can tune in on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever else you get your podcasts.
The Smart Glasses Wars
Who would have thought that the tech battle to watch this summer would be between Snap and Meta over their smart glasses?
First, Snap announced the long-awaited consumer version of its AR glasses, Spectacles or Specs. They cost a whopping $2,195 and are currently available for pre-order.
Then, Meta announced three new pairs of Meta-branded AI glasses, which start at $299 or about $80 less than the entry-level Ray-Ban and Oakley models. One of the pairs is a collaboration with Kylie Jenner that features a gemstone on one of the lenses.
“Mark Zuckerberg was very excited about it,” Nicola Mendelsohn, Meta’s head of global business group, told Jasmine about the Kylie glasses.
We’re sure he was. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel also seemed excited to show off the new Spectacles in an interview on CNBC. But online reactions to both pairs of glasses were largely negative: Some people called out how Spiegel’s ear appeared to be bending under the weight of the glasses, while others, particularly women, were quick to liken Meta’s glasses to a surveillance or spying device.
Zooming out, both CEOs have said that smart glasses are the next computing platform and have bet big on them. Snap debuted its first glasses in 2016 and has spent $3 billion over the past 11 years to develop them. (That’s about half of what Snap made in revenue in 2025.)
It’s also roughly the same amount ($3.5 billion) that Meta invested in EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban, last year. The glasses are also the most visible representation of Meta’s AI bet—which the company says could cost up to $145 billion this year—outside of its social media ad business.
That means that neither CEO can easily give up the fight.
Get our unfiltered thoughts and analysis in Thursday’s podcast or watch below.
The Round Up
Bending Spoons, an Italian holding company known for acquiring and reviving tech brands, closed up 40% in its US market debut on Wednesday, giving it a $25.7 billion valuation. The company’s portfolio includes AOL and platforms used by creators such as Vimeo, WeTransfer, Streamyard and AI photo-editing app Remini.
Forbes announced Forbes Creator, a new network of content from creators, founders and industry leaders including video, podcasts and live experiences. Forbes is also launching Creator Correspondents, a new program that will offer participants access to its live events with the goal of bringing its reporting and stories to new audiences.
UTA partnered with AI company Coactive on a new AI tool to help brands and creators better understand what content performs the best and why.
📊Meta Names First Chief Data Officer
Alex Schultz is now Meta’s first-ever chief data officer. Most recently, he was the company’s CMO.
We spoke to Schultz about Meta's strategy around AI and creators last month. What stood out to us was that he was also vice president of analytics, meaning data was always a critical part of his job—and the company's marketing strategy.
But by bringing a data role into the C-Suite, Meta is trying to be recognized as more of a leader in the AI space, which Schultz said isn’t quite the case yet. “People aren't focused on Meta as the No.1 most important company,” he said.
At the same time, Meta is also sending a signal to the market that data and analytics are crucial to the business overall. That could help improve the perception of its hefty AI spending.
Denise Moreno, most recently vice president of consumer marketing and growth, will be Meta’s new CMO.
Substack announced new country leaderboards for users in the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, which are five of the company’s fastest-growing markets outside the US. The leaderboards highlight top local newsletters, as well as up-and-coming publications.
Longer-form posts on Substack can also now be translated from English into 15 different languages and from 100 different languages into English. These moves come as Substack has also been hiring executives to lead partnerships in different markets lately, including France, Japan and Italy.
Riverside is also getting into the newsletter game. Through a new AI tool, the podcast and video recording platform will allow users to turn their existing videos and shows into newsletters. Users can also create and send original newsletters without using the AI tool.
“Substack and Beehiiv start you at a blank page,” Riverside CEO Nadav Keyson told TechCrunch. “We help them turn a recording they’ve already made into newsletter-ready content with far less effort.”
Sports Desk
The Premier Lacrosse League announced $100 million in Series E funding led by Ares Management and Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai. Other investors included Creator Sports Capital.
As lacrosse returns to the Olympics in 2028, the PLL is building out its YouTube presence and overall strategy for athletes as creators.
Regulatory Woes: Youth Safety Edition
TikTok is finalizing a settlement related to a lawsuit that alleges that social media apps are addictive to minors, to avoid a trial in Los Angeles this month, Bloomberg reported. A TikTok spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meta lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit by more than two dozen US state attorneys general accusing it of designing Facebook and Instagram to be addicting to children, Reuters reported. “We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
Snap was sued in a case alleging that Snapchat is responsible for 12-year-old’s rape. It’s the latest lawsuit alleging that the company is accountable for sexual abuse that young users say they experienced due to the app, CNN reported.
“We care deeply about the safety and well-being of all Snapchatters, and our teams have worked for years to build safeguards, launch safety tutorials, partner with experts, and work with law enforcement to help prevent the misuse of our platform,” Snap told Scalable in a statement.
Brand Buzz
Lowe’s announced a new program for creators that lets them pitch new product ideas for potential distribution in retail stores. Creators will also have access to the home improvement retailer’s product design and development teams to help bring their ideas to life.
Last year, Lowe’s launched its first creator network, allowing creators to curate storefronts with recommended products. It also announced a high-profile partnership with MrBeast.
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