Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. could be a win for the creator economy—but not in the way you might expect.
While the deal may offer top creators new opportunities to ink deals for original shows, the bigger impact of the mega deal would be pressure on YouTube. The video-sharing platform has been moving onto Netflix’s turf as it seeks to conquer the living room and win streaming ad dollars.
That competition has prompted Netflix to ramp up its creator efforts recently, from striking deals with YouTubers like Mark Rober and Ms. Rachel to courting podcasters. In October, Netflix launched a new partnership with Spotify to bring top video podcasts to the streaming platform.
The $72 billion Netflix-Warner Bros. deal, announced last week, includes the legacy media company’s film and television studios, HBO and HBO Max.
Sure, combining the business operations of these two companies could potentially give creators more visibility and new channels for their content, as well as more runway for Netflix to take on new projects. But that’s still a big if. Any deals are likely to go to creators with the biggest existing audiences who are already developing TV-like content that could be a good fit for Netflix.
But the new company would immediately create a larger, creator-friendly rival for YouTube, which has dominated streaming charts all year. As of October, YouTube accounted for 12.9% of total TV watchtime in the US, compared with 8% for Netflix. Warner/Discovery, which includes Discovery+ and HBO Max, made up 1.3%.
The competition with YouTube, rather than another premium streamer, is Netflix’s best defense if antitrust regulators investigate the deal. That seems likely: On Sunday, President Trump said that the combined market share of a new Netflix-Warner Bros. “could be a problem.”
Netflix could also argue that it competes for attention and ad dollars with video-first social platforms like Instagram and TikTok, meaning its share of the competitive market isn’t actually that big at all. By 2027, social video ad spending in the US is expected to exceed connected TV and linear TV ad spending combined, per EMARKETER. (For a smart take on what’s going on in the streaming ad market, read this Next in Media article).
Still, the one major edge that Netflix has on YouTube is its wide library of original content and deep pockets to develop massive shows. YouTube shuttered its Originals division in 2022 and doesn’t provide capital to creators to develop content.
For creators, the prestige—and the paycheck—that comes with a Netflix show is hard to turn down. So far, YouTube has managed to retain creators who take Netflix deals: Abandoning YouTube means leaving their core audience and an important revenue stream behind.
But there are signs that some creators are willing to make the jump. The podcasts included in the recent Netflix-Spotify deal, such as several popular sports-focused shows from The Ringer and true crime shows like “Conspiracy Theories,” can no longer distribute full episodes on YouTube.
Taken together, these pressures could cause YouTube to bolster its creator offerings. That could include funding for creators to develop content, better deals for creators to stay on the platform, like dedicated ad sales for their content, and a pipeline for creators to make it onto bigger screens. Even one of these would be a major win for many creators.
Of course, all of this depends on whether or not the deal goes through. Besides antitrust scrutiny, Netflix has another potential roadblock: On Monday, Paramount, which many expected to be the buyer, launched an $108.2 billion hostile bid to acquire all of Warner Brothers Discovery.
In other news…
The Round Up
The Golden Globes announced its first-ever nominees for the new “best podcast” category. They include Alex Cooper, Amy Poehler, Mel Robbins and NPR’s news show “Up First.” The awards show snubbed top podcaster Joe Rogan, as well as right-wing hosts such as Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Ben Shapiro.
OpenAI’s Sora app, which turns text prompts into videos, is losing enthusiasm after initially shooting to the top of Apple’s App Store, Bloomberg reported. The social networking aspects of the app are also falling flat. “No one interacts with my posts and none of my real-life friends are on the app, so my content mostly sits untouched,” said one user.
Pinterest announced a partnership with Walmart that allows Pinterest users to add recipe ingredients to their Walmart shopping cart. Recipes and meal planning are a popular use case for Pinterest. It’s not surprising that the move comes as OpenAI and Instacart announced their own grocery shopping experience, which allows users to do everything from brainstorm meals to purchase items within ChatGPT.
YouTube plans to host several events in Washington D.C. as part of the United States’ 250th birthday next year. This year, it hosted similar events, called “YouTube in Session,” which include conversations with Senator Cory Booker, Senator Chuck Grassley, assistant to the Secretary of War Sean Parnell and former Navy Seal turned podcaster Shawn Ryan.
FlightStory, a media and investment firm co-founded by “Diary of a CEO” host Steven Bartlett, announced a strategic investment in Maggie Sellers Reum’s “Hot Smart Rich,” a podcast and female-focused media and investing company. FlightStory’s parent company Steven.com raised funding in October at a $425 million valuation.
Substack launched a pilot program matching a small group of its newsletter writers to brands for deals. During the testing phase, Substack will not take a cut of these sponsorships.
Meta Matters
Facebook launched its first holiday shop for Facebook Marketplace, an in-app shopping feature primarily for secondhand goods. Creators are also curating gift recommendations on Marketplace through a new feature called collections. Marketplace is one of the few reasons why Gen Zers use Facebook and a big reason why the app still leads in social commerce.
Meta Platforms will give Facebook and Instagram users in the EU the option to share less data and see fewer personalized ads starting in January, according to the European Commission. The move comes after the EU regulator said Meta’s pay-or-consent model, which allowed EU users to pay a monthly fee for an ad-free experience, didn’t comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Instagram announced that users can now reshare Stories from public accounts to their own Story. Previously users could only share public posts to their Story.
Today in TikTok
TikTok launched a new feature called Shared Collection, which allows users to organize content on the app to share with friends and family, such as restaurants to try or clothing to purchase. It also announced a Shared Feed, similar to Instagram’s Blend feature. On TikTok, the feature lets friends watch a feed of videos they both might like in a private chat.
The short-form video app also announced TikTok Nearby, a new feed that shows local content, such as restaurants, museums and videos from creators. To start, the feature is only available in the UK, France, Italy and Germany. The feed is similar to Snapchat’s Snap Map and Instagram’s Map feature, which both also show local content as well as content from friends.
By the Numbers: $15.8 billion
That’s how much US shoppers are expected to spend on TikTok Shop in 2025, more than double what they spent last year, per market research firm EMARKETER. Overall, TikTok Shop will make up nearly one-fifth (18.2%) of total US social commerce sales this year, according to the forecast.
Last week, we wrote about how the recent vibe shift around TikTok Shop and its blowout Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales could be a turning point for the shopping feature. This new forecast suggests our instincts were right.
Talent Tracker
The number of LinkedIn users adding “founder” to their profile in the U.S. jumped by 69% since last year, according to new research from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph. (That includes us!)
Brianna Gays has been promoted to chief marketing officer of Smartly. Previously, Gays was the advertising platform’s senior vice president of marketing and communications.
Matthew McRae was appointed to Snap’s board of directors. McRae is the CEO of Arlo Technologies, which makes security camera systems and video doorbells.
The NFL is hiring a director of international social content in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australia. The role will play a key role in “building and expanding the league’s social footprint on a global scale” and its international influencer operations.
Soundbite
“I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions. That’s clear, and one day I’ll be back in that space, but that’s not what I’m paid for now,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, referring to his previous work hosting his podcast “The Dan Bongino Show.”
The admission comes during a continued rise in independent media and news-focused creators. These creators often blur the lines between fact and opinion, instead catering to an audience that increasingly wants to hear a point of view—or someone to validate their beliefs.
They also aren’t held to the same fact-checking or ethical standards as traditional news outlets, which can be problematic in a media landscape rife with misinformation. Tune into last week’s podcast where we discuss this in the context of the Olivia Nuzzi-Ryan Lizza scandal.
Political Download
The Trump administration is moving to deny visas to fact checkers, online content moderators and others who have worked in the misinformation sector. That comes as platforms like X, Facebook and TikTok have shifted away from human-led content moderation toward user-driven and AI programs.
Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, said he hosted 130 creators at his official residence last week. Shapiro also said he’s “made content” with hundreds of creators and podcasters since taking office in 2023.
