Creators gain multiple distribution pathways as Netflix-YouTube convergence takes shape

Less than two months into 2026, Netflix’s argument that it competes in a broader creator-driven entertainment market is starting to look more credible.

Last week, Google revealed that YouTube generated more than $60bn in revenue in 2025, surpassing Netflix’s reported $45bn over the same period and underlining YouTube’s position as a competitor for viewer attention.

Google also said it now has more than 325 million paying subscribers across its consumer services, led by YouTube Premium and Google One. Netflix, for its part, ended 2025 with more than 325 million global subscribers, according to its fourth-quarter earnings.

Those disclosures came just days after Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos appeared before the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, as lawmakers scrutinised the streamer’s planned $83bn acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets.

Appearing before senators, Sarandos reiterated that competition in entertainment no longer sits neatly between streaming services alone, arguing that Netflix increasingly competes with creator-led platforms.

“A growing number of YouTube’s creators are operating like major studios, producing high-quality, serialised, professionally financed content that directly competes for attention with traditional Hollywood film and television,” he said.

January offered further evidence of how far those boundaries have shifted. Broadcasters including the BBC confirmed moves towards YouTube-first content, while major creators launched their own production companies. Netflix itself expanded its slate of creator-led programming, moving deeper into formats and talent pools once considered firmly “online”.

Whether this convergence is sufficient to redefine the market for antitrust purposes ultimately rests with regulators. As previously reported by The Daily Influence, expansive market definitions have historically struggled to gain traction in fast-moving and already concentrated sectors.

For creators, however, the focus is increasingly on how value is being structured – and which options remain available.

A tale of three models, for now

Netflix’s recent creator deals point to three distinct ways the platform is now working with creators.

The first is a distribution-led model, visible in its arrangements with Mark Rober and Ms Rachel. In both cases, Netflix is hosting content that is also available for free on YouTube, with no current requirement for exclusivity. The content remains creator-owned, while Netflix licenses the right to distribute it to subscribers.

By contrast, Netflix is also commissioning creators directly. Deals with creators such as Alix Earle and Alan Chikin Chow involve original series made exclusively for the platform, with Netflix taking on production and distribution in a more traditional studio-style arrangement.

A third model sits between the two. Last week, Netflix announced a new family series with Jordan Matter and his daughter Salish Matter, adapting their popular YouTube challenge videos into longer-form, episodic programming.

The series builds on an existing format that has already attracted a large, young audience online. It is not simply a re-upload of existing YouTube videos, but nor is it a complete reinvention of the approach that has proven popular with fans.

At present, creators have several ways to work with Netflix, reflecting a market still in transition. As convergence between creator platforms and streamers becomes more apparent, the focus shifts from whether these markets overlap to how long the flexibility endures.

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