How creators are reshaping the entertainment industry

For years, creators were seen as the faces that helped sell products and drive engagement across social platforms. 

But we’re well past that now. 

What we’re witnessing is a shift in entertainment itself. Creators aren’t just promoting shows, they’re becoming the shows. They’re building production arms, developing their own IP, and operating as fully-fledged media businesses, often with deeper audience connections than traditional broadcasters. 

The power dynamic has flipped.

Younger audiences aren’t tuning in to linear schedules. They’re not flicking through the TV guide or waiting for a programme to start. They’re actively choosing content, curating it on their own terms, and increasingly, that content is creator-led. 

YouTube recently overtook Netflix in total streaming watch time in the home, not on phones, but on TVs. That’s not just a stat, it’s a statement. 

It tells us that user-generated content has moved from something people watched in snatched moments on the train, to something they actively sit down with on the sofa. That shift in consumption is already reshaping how and where entertainment gets made.

Creators aren’t waiting for permission

In 2025, we’re also seeing the beginnings of a move away from the dopamine-hit era of short-form content. Yes, TikTok and Reels still dominate daily behaviour, but there’s a growing appetite for longer, more intentional viewing. 

TikTok has been planning a TV app for big-screen consumption, and Meta’s rumoured to be working on an Instagram app for TVs. Even YouTube’s partnership with Delta Airlines sees creator content now featured in-flight 

This shift isn’t accidental, it’s creator-driven. The best creators have already evolved beyond trends and algorithms. Take Jesse Chuku, known online as Chewkz. He started on YouTube Shorts with cinematic, high-production storytelling and now has over 4 million subscribers. 

He’s spoken openly about the craft that goes into his work and the role that AI and small, agile teams play in helping him scale that vision. 

It’s not just the content either. Creators are forging new routes to market. They’re launching fashion lines, developing digital products, and setting up distribution ecosystems on their own. Jesse’s ‘BO’OH’O’WA’ER’ merch range, born from a running joke in his videos, wasn’t brainstormed in a boardroom, it came straight from his audience. That community-first, feedback-loop model is something traditional media has never quite mastered. It’s direct, fast-moving, and fiercely loyal. And it’s that loyalty which gives creators the freedom to experiment.

The TV isn’t dead, it just looks different

Then there’s Amelia Dimoldenberg and Chicken Shop Date. Originally a magazine column, rejected by broadcasters, and now a decade-deep creator series with millions of views and a genuine cultural foothold. She’s created episodic, TV-style content. 

It’s bingeable, familiar, but always distinct. 

And now, having built her audience independently, mainstream media is circling back. But the point is: she didn’t need them. She built the value on her own.

It’s this independence that’s fuelling a new era of creator TV. Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels are already experimenting with creator-led programming. 

Linear TV, once thought to be fading, is getting a fresh lease of life through creator-first formats that bring audiences back to the big screen. 

We’re seeing episodic content, franchise formats, and premium production values, all driven by creators who understand their audience better than anyone. When watch-time became the most important metric, creators didn’t panic. 

They adapted. 

And the byproduct of that adaptation is entertainment that looks and feels like TV, just without the traditional gatekeepers.

What happens when audiences follow people, not platforms

AI and automation are accelerating all of this. It’s not replacing creativity, It’s supercharging it. Whether for editing, scripting, or audience insight, tools are helping creators do more with less. 

They can learn on the fly, test ideas at scale, and iterate faster than any production house. And because they’re often solo or small-team operations, the ability to maintain creative control is intact. 

We’re heading towards a future where a creator-led TV app, or even a network, is not only viable but expected. Whether it’s an evolution of YouTube, a new FAST channel, or something we haven’t seen yet, the infrastructure is already taking shape. 

FAST channels won’t replace YouTube or TikTok, they’ll sit alongside them, adding new layers of distribution and revenue for creators who are ready to scale. Think of it as the next iteration of the entertainment stack – built not by studios, but by creators.

The next blockbuster might be homemade

Creators are no longer playing in someone else’s system. They’re building their own. This isn’t just a shift in content. It’s a shift in power, and the entertainment industry is going to have to catch up – or risk getting left behind.

Because the next big show isn’t coming from a studio lot in LA. It’s being written, shot, and uploaded from a creator’s living room.

Olly Lewis is CEO of The Fifth