I produced new fronts and up fronts for seven years, and what YouTube just announced at Brandcast twenty twenty six, it is the biggest shift in the creator economy
since AdSense launched.
If you think that YouTube has stopped caring about creators, you need to watch this video because I am breaking down the news that came out of YouTube's upfront this week and why you need to be thinking like a showrunner from this point on.
I'm not even doing an intro, okay, because I am so fired up. YouTube
basically stood on stage during television upfront week, the same week that traditionally is owned by Disney,
by NBCUniversal,
by Warner Brothers, and they said, we're not proving we should be considered television anymore. We are television now. Honestly, after reading the reports from Brandcast 2026,
I don't think most creators fully understand how big the shift actually is. YouTube officially unveiled a creator shows slate. This isn't the first time that YouTube has had original programming. They've done it before, but this is a massive shift because
for the first time, at least to my knowledge, YouTube is packaging creator content as an upfront slate that advertisers
can buy into
exactly like traditional television.
YouTube CEO, Neil Moen, has been saying that YouTube is the new TV for a few years, but this year,
they didn't just say it. They acted like it. But you may be saying, hold on a second, Darren. What the heck are upfronts?
And why should I care? Upfronts are a series of events that happen every year
where TV broadcast companies hold these big splashy events at Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, all these big venues in New York City for advertisers,
and they announce their new programming. They'll announce priorities
for the year, and then, of course, they're announcing advertising opportunities.
Because right after it, they go into this big selling period where all of the advertisers
buy all the inventory.
New fronts are the same thing, but with digital media companies.
YouTube
actually used to present during new fronts, not up fronts. But a few years ago, they shifted to up fronts, which in itself was a signal that a lot of creators
were not paying attention to because not all creators even know what upfronts are.
But I do because I produce new fronts for over seven years, and I also produce the digital broadcast and a companion digital experience
to NBCUniversal's
upfront. So I happen to know just how important
it is to pay attention to it. Now I was not at YouTube's upfront, which they call Brandcast, but I did read the reports. And here are the biggest takeaways that creators and entrepreneurs
should be paying attention to. First up,
YouTube officially wants creators to think like showrunners. That's right. Exactly what I've been telling you.
Think like a showrunner.
The biggest announcement, the one that's made all the press, the one that's being hyped up is that YouTube is launching this formal creator show slate, which included a whole array of shows, several shows from Alex Cooper. There was a show from Trevor Noah, and then there also were shows from creators such as Kareem Rama and Hopescope.
And I think one, maybe two micro dramas. I was actually really interested if they were going to foray into micro dramas, and it looks like they are. And they also talked more about this new interface that they've built to showcase them.
This is not available to all creators, just select creators.
Now I don't wanna say I told you so, but I totally told you so. I've been saying episodic storytelling was gonna take over YouTube for over a year. In fact, YouTube CEO Neil Mohan's 2020 priorities
stated, and this is a quote,
the error of dismissing creator content as user generated is over,
and that is a good thing. And if you stick around till the end, the last point is gonna tell you why. And the creators they highlighted look less like influencers
and more like digital first production studios,
creator led studios.
This has also been a big talking point for mister Mohan. He has said that creators are now the new stars in studios, and they made that the center of the upfront. Here is Evan Shapiro's reporting from inside the event, and he's using the same language that I have been using.
They elevate creators to showrunners.
This matters because YouTube is clearly rewarding creators who can build binge worthy viewing experiences
instead of isolated feeds and viral videos.
Incidentally,
this also aligns with what came out of Amazon's upfront.
They mentioned that advertisers
were now focused on outcomes,
not reach.
So you don't have to have the biggest audience anymore. You need to have a trusted audience.
Now you say, Darren,
I'm not even close to that scale, and the show's interface that you mentioned is only available to select creators,
not me. So why does this matter to me and my business?
Well, this is the direction that you need to be thinking because of my next point. TV watch time is surpassing mobile in The US.
This is probably the most important stat from the entire event,
and it has remained consistent since last year. Connected TVs continue to be YouTube's biggest watch surface in The US. And
not to throw another stat at you, YouTube currently accounts for roughly 9.7%
of all US TV viewership
consistently beating Netflix, which is number two, and they sit at 7.6%,
which is 2% less. That doesn't just translate to longer watch sessions or higher
production values.
That is just technicalities.
What it really means is unique perspectives,
uncopyable
brands,
and emotional connection.
Things that you have. People are not just casually scrolling feeds anymore. They're still doing that. But they're also sitting on their couches watching YouTube the way you used to watch cable.
And that is why you're seeing YouTube push episodic storytelling,
push cinematic formats, live events. Live events are a really big thing within YouTube and also now creator led shows
because it's what the data is telling them to do. Now your biggest strength is not your production studio,
it's you.
Your experience,
your perspective,
your character,
which leads me to my next point, and it's a good one. YouTube wants creators building media businesses.
This might be the biggest shift underneath everything, and I think it's gonna excite you. Now if you saw my prediction, I thought the big focus was gonna be shoppable experiences,
but more in the vein of what they did with Coachella
or what they're planning for the Oscars. Basically, those big tentpole type of events.
Now as I said, I wasn't at the event, so I'm just reading reports, but it seemed like
that wasn't exactly the vibe. They did talk about this, but the vibe was centered on creators
being the studios.
The platform
is hyping creator led studios.
The platform is moving creators away from relying purely on AdSense, which if you are monetized, AdSense is amazing, but it doesn't provide a huge amount of revenue. YouTube is now moving towards diversified diversified media businesses.
That includes shopping,
that includes brand integrations,
that includes memberships, that includes live events,
that includes affiliate revenue, and it also includes interactive viewing experiences.
They called this frictionless
commerce, which would allow viewers to buy products directly from the TV screen without leaving the app. Even the new ad formats and the shopping integrations
were all designed around turning YouTube into a full entertainment and commerce
ecosystem.
Now I know you may not see yourself as a studio yet, but
YouTube sees you as a studio. And I don't see that as intimidating.
I see that as super inspiring.
Could you ever imagine
that you could be building a TV studio right now from your own home? The biggest takeaway from Brandcast twenty twenty six is this.
The error of just posting random videos is ending.
YouTube is now rewarding creators who can or have the potential
to build worlds,
to create repeatable
formats,
to build audience relationships,
not just viral videos,
to develop recognizable
and uncopyable
brand identities,
and turn their channels into actual entertainment
networks
with commerce and shopping.
In other words,
the creator economy is growing up.
I mean, it's in its twenties now, so I think it was time. And the creators who will prosper in this next era probably are not gonna look like influencers,
at least not the way that we've seen influencers.
They're going to look like the new showrunners.
And that is why I love this era because I get to bring together all of my loves and also all of my career experience
creating shows,
working with media companies and brands,
producing thought leadership content, and now building a personal brand. So I'm into it. Now I want you to head into this weekend thinking differently. So to help you with this shift, I actually just finished putting together a season planner
that I have put inside my school community. It's called the storytelling room, which has over 480 creators right now.
And the season planner is designed to help you stop thinking about the next upload and start mapping out episode arcs. You can grab that planner plus a whole bunch of other resources and also join our live chats. I do live chats every other week within my school community
by clicking on the link that's in my video description.
But if you feel overwhelmed or you want even more strategic guidance, I do coach, I do consult, and you can get all of that info in my video description,
or
you can check out this playlist that's popping up on the screen. Until next time, keep thinking like a showrunner.