The news: Nic Paul, co-founder and president of Spotter, said YouTube creators are rapidly evolving from individuals into full-fledged media companies.

In an EMARKETER interview at Advertising Week New York, he described how today’s top long-form creators are operating like “TV networks,” producing serialized, high-engagement content that commands the kind of appointment viewing once reserved for broadcast. Spotter—known for advancing creators capital in exchange for licensing their back catalogs—has already deployed nearly $1 billion to date, powered by predictive models that forecast viewership and revenue potential.

Paul said 78% of total watch time spent with Spotter's long-form YouTube creators now occurs on connected TVs (CTVs), underscoring how creator content has migrated from phones to living rooms. Our own data generally backs that up: YouTube dominates CTV view time, surpassing Facebook US users by 2027. “If you’re looking for where younger audiences are actually watching TV today, it’s here,” he noted.

Why it matters:

• Creators are building sustained IP. Paul emphasized that top creators aren’t just making viral hits—they’re developing “series IP” and ongoing franchises with predictable cadence and audience loyalty. That gives brands the reliability of TV paired with the intimacy of influencer marketing.
• CTV is redefining engagement metrics. With nearly four-fifths of viewership happening on TV screens, Paul argued that advertisers must think beyond clicks and adopt TV-style metrics such as completed views and frequency. “The click is gone,” he said, “so it’s about engagement, completion, and fandom.”
• Brands still underestimate creator scale. One of Paul’s biggest challenges remains education. Many advertisers still assume creators are niche, when in fact, “some creators are bigger than entire cable networks.” Spotter found that one of its family-focused creators ranked as the eighth most-streamed show across all US streaming in 2024.

Our take: Paul’s comments capture a turning point: Creators are no longer just part of the marketing mix—they are the media. His point that “YouTube isn’t social” reframes long-form creator content as premium storytelling that deserves its own line item in media plans. As younger audiences migrate to on-demand creator ecosystems, brands that still allocate budgets as if social, streaming, and television are separate silos risk missing the real front row of modern entertainment.

Spotter’s playbook—funding, licensing, and optimizing creator IP—also signals the rise of a new intermediary model built for the era of fandom-driven media. Where agencies once brokered airtime, companies like Spotter now broker attention itself.

Go further: Read our YouTube Influencer Marketing 2025 report.