YouTube creators – YouTube is pushing multiple creator-led shows for Emmy recognition this year, while Hollywood debates whether creator-made programming has moved beyond early viral formats. The push comes alongside broader creator-expansion efforts across platforms, from YouTu
Creators are making their Emmy case with a mix of ambition and frustration—because for them, this isn’t just about awards season. It’s about whether television’s biggest gatekeepers will finally treat YouTube-led storytelling as television.
In 2024, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan made his first plea for the Emmys to consider creators. That call is now colliding with a new reality: the platform’s messaging reads less like an outreach and more like a response to being locked out of TV’s top honors.
YouTube has been actively campaigning for six creator-led shows—each of which premiered new episodes on the platform throughout 2025 and 2026—to be considered for an Emmy nomination this year. The list is built around specific categories: Sean Evans’ “Hot Ones” for Outstanding Variety; Michelle Khare’s “Challenge Accepted” for Hosted Nonfiction; Brittany Broski’s “Royal Court” for Hosted Nonfiction; Cleo Abram’s “HUGE* If Tre” for Hosted Nonfiction; Kareem Rahma’s “Subway Takes” for Shortform Comedy; and Julian Shapiro-Barnum’s “Celebrity Substitute” for Shortform Nonfiction.
The push doesn’t stop with YouTube’s curated slate. Dropout, the comedy channel with a devoted fan following, is campaigning for recognition in 11 categories. Among them are “Very Important People” for Outstanding Variety Series and “Game Changer” for Outstanding Game Show. The host of “VIP,” Vic Michaelis (they/them), is also being submitted in the Lead Comedy Actress category.
For a growing number of viewers, the audience case is already clear. For the past three years, YouTube’s content has been more widely watched than anything else on television, according to Nielsen metrics.
This week, Digital i agency reported that average daily viewership on YouTube jumped from 87.2 minutes in 2024 to 99.1 minutes in 2025. Over the same span, Netflix dropped from 100.5 minutes to 93.4 minutes.
And yet, the culture fight is still happening in Hollywood. There’s a persistent perception—one that many creators reject—that the quality of creator-made content remains stuck in the 2010s Buzzfeed era. even as it has expanded into something far more produced. far more varied. and far more story-driven.
Khare’s “Challenge Accepted. ” for example. released one of the most heartwarming and thrilling deep dives into human perseverance this year with her “I Ran 7 Marathons in 7 Days on 7 Continents” series. Abram’s “HUGE* If Tre” explored the depths of Antarctica last month and interviewed Sam Altman late last year.
Even the format experiments are part of the argument. Kareem Rahma. Sean Evans. Brittany Broski and Julian Shapiro-Barnum have all pushed the talk-show idea in ways that don’t rely on the same pace. the same guest dynamics. or the same polished ceiling. Rahma’s embrace of random New Yorkers and Shapiro-Barnum’s kid-focused episodes are offered as proof that the format can still feel surprising. Evans and Broski. meanwhile. use silliness—hot wings in “Hot Ones. ” and elaborate costumes and games elsewhere—to disarm celebrity guests and produce richer. more entertaining interviews.
Rahma made the case for recognition during a YouTube FYC event last week. telling Tess Patton: “If you look at the shows that are in consideration at the moment. they are humongous teams — tons of money. professional equipment. pre production. post production. regular production. We’re making independent television. ” and adding. “Just because it’s not on a traditional network or streamer doesn’t mean that we should not be considered.”.
Abram echoed the urgency of the moment, telling a reporter: “It’s a really important moment for creative work. The quality of work being made on YouTube is so insanely high it feels important to me that people are aware of that. ” then warning that “Too often we have a conversation about TV and YouTube without understanding that YouTube is already TV. and some of the highest quality shows are already on YouTube.”.
In the background, YouTube’s Emmy push sits inside a much larger creator wave—one that’s showing up in mainstream distribution, platform tools, and major industry spending.
Meta announced several platform changes this past week that point further toward creator-first storytelling. On Facebook. creators will now have an AI assistant designed to help them better understand their audience. engagement trends and performance. That offering will first roll out to creators in the U.S. Canada and India. and AI translations will be expanded to include Arabic. French and Vietnamese.
Meta is also experimenting with a new Reels option that will let creators serialize their shortform videos, allowing shortform series on Reels to play episodes right after the other like on TV. TikTok has a similar feature.
TikTok and Sundance are also teaming up for a microseries writing program. The four-week online course focuses on scriptwriting for microseres and offers guidance for developing serialized, story-driven shortform shows. A clarifying note in the coverage frames the shift in terminology: microdramas are being called microseries now. a rebrand that puts distance between higher-quality shortform series and cheaper. pay-per-episode options.
Google is offering a separate kind of visibility boost for creators with digital influence. Creators with 100,000 followers or more will be able to customize how they show up in Google search results. When someone searches a creator’s name. a visual snapshot of that creator will appear at the top of Google. and they can pin favorite posts and link social media accounts—an overlay described as similar to what traditional celebrities receive.
The money and attention behind creator media aren’t slowing down, either. A report from CreatorIQ found that creator content accounts for 44% of paid media creative, and that two-thirds of increases in influencer marketing budgets came directly from paid media budgets.
Live streaming is also trending upward: Streamlabs reported that the total number of hours livestreamed increased by 6.2% compared to 2025 during the first quarter of the year. “Just Chatting. ” a livestreaming option dedicated to lifestyle content rather than gaming or any particular niche. accounted for 668 million hours in the first quarter. Twitch remained the biggest livestreaming platform in terms of total hours watched. followed by YouTube Gaming and Kick. the fastest growing livestreaming platform.
The creator pipeline into traditional outlets continues, too. Nick DiGiovanni debuted his cooking competition show “100 Cooks” on Food Network Monday. The series follows 100 randomly selected home chefs competing for a $100. 000 prize. with DiGiovanni and Alex Guarnaschelli as judges and Terry Crews hosting.
Overtime partnered with Fox One on a new shortform competition series called “Race to Glory,” following two teams of shortform creators competing against each other. Among the creators involved are Rakai, Sketch, Rose Ruland and Tylil.
Accenture Song will also expand its creator reach: the consulting company’s tech-powered marketing division is acquiring the creator and social agency Whalar from Whalar Group. The plan is for Accenture to use the acquisition to expand its reach in the creator economy and influencer marketing arena. Whalar’s co-CEOs Emma Harman and Jo Cronk will continue in their roles and join Accenture Song through the acquisition. along with Whalar’s team of over 170 employees. Whalar Group will still operate independently and manage Sixteenth, Foam, Moby Ventures, The Lighthouse and The Business of Creativity.
Accenture’s announcement is framed as the latest strategic acquisition, after the company acquired Superdigital in 2025 and Unlimited in 2024.
Meanwhile, creator-led audio and video are landing on larger screens. Several podcasts—including “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” “Rotten Mango,” “The School of Greatness,” “What Now?. with Trevor Noah. ” “Moral of the Story” and “The Deep 3 Podcast”—are releasing episodes on Tubi as part of a collaboration with SiriusXM. The deal isn’t exclusive, meaning these shows will still be available on YouTube and other podcasting platforms.
Outside the awards conversation, creator entertainment continues to test wider theatrical and streaming audiences. Glitch’s “The Amazing Digital Circus” finale grosses $20.2 million at the box office. following limited event screenings for the ending of Gooseworx’s series. Because “The Amazing Digital Circus” is a one-time event. it can’t have the widespread reach of “Obsession” or “Backrooms. ” which have so far earned $224 million and $212 million at the box office. respectively.
PrestonPlayz is also releasing his movie “100 Hours Stranded” in select theaters.
And across social platforms. creator culture keeps showing up in unexpected formats. like “The 1 Minute Talk Show.” Described as set in a desk and armchair setup in an NYC park. the show features hosts Aiden Wall and Sean Kane and band leader MorrisCornCorn who scream at and run down random passerbys for their weirdest stories. The account is cited as having 1.3 million TikTok followers.
For YouTube’s Emmy campaign, though, the stakes are simpler: will voters treat creators as television makers—or keep them outside the rooms where awards shape what the industry decides to value?
YouTube Emmys creator-led shows Hot Ones Challenge Accepted Royal Court HUGE* If Tre Subway Takes Celebrity Substitute Dropout Vic Michaelis Digital i agency Nielsen