Social media platforms and streaming services are escalating competition for creator talent and content, blurring traditional lines between the two industries, according to an eMarketer report. Streaming giants like Amazon Prime Video are teaming up with homegrown digital stars—YouTuber MrBeast has launched "Beast Games" on Prime Video—while successful creators such as Miss Rachel are licensing children’s programming to Netflix, demonstrating a shift toward hybrid partnership models.
Senior analyst Minda Smiley explained that “there’s not really one roadmap or one way that we’re seeing both social networks and the streamers go about partnering with creators.” She noted that some collaborations take the form of licensing deals, while others are structured as original series, highlighting a fluid, creator-first strategy in entertainment distribution.
This shift underscores how content strategy is evolving: platforms increasingly recognize the value of creators with established audience bases. Social networks are moving aggressively into living room content, especially social video formats, capturing advertiser interest. Advertisers in the US will channel 61.3 percent of their social network budgets into social video this year—slightly surpassing the 60.6 percent share of time American adults actually spend with social video.
The convergence of these ecosystems—social platforms pushing into connected TV and streamers securing creator-born franchises—marks a significant redefining of the content landscape. As both camps pursue creator-driven models, traditional broadcast and streaming frameworks are giving way to a new era of cross-platform content ownership and talent acquisition.
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