2025 was the year when YouTubenot Netflix, has officially become the best streamer in Hollywood. Reason: The creators have become the new titans in town.
You may have sensed a change in tone in Netflix's recent earnings calls. Executives insist Netflix beats YouTube while also making it clear that they are open to deals with their stars.
“We want to do business with the best creators on the planet, wherever they are,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on the company's October earnings call.
This is not just talk. Netflix has struck deals with star creators including children's entertainer Ms. Rachel, The Sidemen and science teacher Mark Rober. Agreements have been signed to achieve at least 33 video podcasts to the platform in early 2026 and had the verified names “Survivor” and “Bachelor”, playing on the fact that Netflix's Next Original Franchise could look like this.
Amazon won the biggest prize in the creative economy when it signed YouTuber MrBeast for two more seasons of its competition show last year. Animal games. The second season will air this month. Comcast's Peacock, Disney's Hulu and others are also actively collaborating with creators.
“The creator economy has reached a new level,” said Brent Weinstein, a senior executive at talent giant Creative Artists Agency. “There has been a generational shift among people who have never known a world in which YouTube, TikTok or Instagram were not ubiquitous in society and central to their lives.”
CAA's Brent Weinstein (center) with YouTubers Rhett and Link. John Kopaloff/Getty Images for Mythical Entertainment
Entertainment companies have dabbled in creator-led shows in the past, but they mostly cast influencers in typical hosting roles. These early attempts were often unsuccessful. But as YouTube began to dominate the living room, overtaking Netflix as the most-watched streaming service on television, Hollywood looked again at creators.
“I used to try to have these conversations, and it was very difficult to get anyone to take you seriously,” said Jack Harris, who is starting a new creator services division at Innovative Artists. He said studios are interested in creating shows with not just one but an ensemble of writers.
One of those taking creators seriously is Fox-owned Tubi, which launched Tubi for Creators in 2025, a program that brings shows created by creators to the streamer. As of November, Tooby had over 10,000 episodes from over 100 creators. The plan is to provide some with funding for development and revenue from the brand.
“We're not trying to help them create TV shows—they're already doing that,” said Rich Bloom, a senior executive at Tubi who heads Tubi for Creators. “Creators have already proven that they can create truly complex content with high production value and storytelling. Streaming platforms need to figure out how to properly leverage, highlight and build on this success.”
Ms. Rachel's YouTuber success has translated to Netflix. Netflix
The creators have grown up
Today's creative economy is different from the one Hollywood faced in its previous forays into this world.
YouTube, along with Instagram and TikTok, has become a staple in many people's entertainment diet. This has helped independent creators establish stable revenue and distribution streams. Advertising giant WPP predicted that advertising income on the creator's platform will eclipse legacy media for the first time in 2025. The Interactive Advertising Bureau has calculated that advertising expenses for authors in 2025, growing four times faster than the entire media industry.
This ad revenue has helped many creators shell out money for expensive videos, and some are even producing scripted series reminiscent of traditional TV shows. YouTube is driving this shift, products and updates encourage the creation of such shows.
Creators are also combining teams that increasingly resemble old-fashioned media companies with executive teams from old Hollywood and its talent agencies WME, CAA and UTA, each of which now has divisions dedicated to digital creators. MrBeast's company, Beast Industries, employed 350 people as of April. Dhara Manna said it had 200 employees as of July.
The increased professionalism of the creators attracted investors. Stunt troupe Dude Perfect raised $100 million in 2024, and MrBeast and Dhar Mann offered to investors in early 2025.
“When I talk to people in Hollywood, Madison Avenue and Wall Street, they always talk about two topics: the rise of artificial intelligence and the economics of creativity,” said Jeff Housenbold, president and CEO of Beast Industries. “We're using both of the most important themes known to mankind right now.”
Will new formats appear?
Netflix's interest in creators comes after streamer's departure everyone is at the “engagement” or how many people watch and interact with its platform. As the days of rapid subscriber growth come to an end, Netflix is focusing on getting people to spend more time on the service. This helps prevent them from being canceled and is also a boon for Netflix's growing advertising business.
Some Hollywood insiders believe Netflix and other streamers will offer new content formats as they get closer to creators.
One idea that often comes up in conversations is interactive shows that allow people to feel connected to their favorite creators. Then there is mini-dramas – soapy food filmed as a vertical video, designed to be viewed on a phone. Its popularity is rapidly growing thanks to new applications with roots in China.
Hollywood is eyeing new formats such as short soapy dramas from apps like ReelShort. ReelShort via YouTube
Netflix recently updated its app with vertical video preview. Could this be a precursor to a more mobile-focused format?
Despite the successes of their creators, blockbusters and prestige television will not disappear. Tubi, which is a leader in the field, has recently seen creator-owned content make up less than 2% of the episodes in its library. And some recent creator-led shows have flopped. Netflix gets lukewarm reviews for YouTube dating show adaptation “Pop the Balloon” For example.
The sheer number of independent creators is making it harder than ever to figure out who will make it on the bigger stage, leading to some caution among buyers in Hollywood, said Lisa Filippelli, partner at Select Management Group.
“They don't spend too much on riskier things,” she said of the major studios.
Many in Hollywood believe that the lines will inevitably blur and people will eventually stop distinguishing between creators and traditional talent.
“The tipping point may be that we stop thinking about it, because there's a stark difference between traditional and signature content, and just start talking about what content is popular on TV,” Tubi's Bloom said. “I think we're not that far away from that.”
This story was originally published Aug. 28, 2025, and has been updated with new information.
