Viewers rate creator content on par with TV – but platforms are yet to catch up, survey finds

Audiences increasingly see creator content as indistinguishable from traditional television, but most streaming platforms have yet to fully integrate it despite growing demand, new research has found.

The study, conducted by Tubi in partnership with The Harris Poll, found 63% of viewers say watching creator content feels no different from streaming a TV show, while 67% believe it is more original than most traditional film and television programming. Yet only 37% said platforms are currently bringing existing creator content onto their services.

The gap points to an opportunity the streaming industry has been slow to act on. Some 76% of viewers said they want more programming from independent or smaller creators, while 36% want creators cast in original programming and 33% want ads for creator content featured on platforms.

Streaming itself continues to dominate for engagement. Ninety percent of viewers said they are most engaged when watching TV shows or movies on demand, compared with 79% who said the same about scrolling social media — suggesting that when creator content does appear on streaming platforms, it lands in the highest-attention environment available.

Fandom and nostalgia also featured prominently in the data. Sixty-five percent of viewers said they feel part of a community based on what they watch, up 15% year on year.

As previously reported by The Daily Influence, broadcasters and streaming platforms have increasingly turned to creators as a pipeline for new talent, reflecting a broader shift in which audiences are becoming less concerned with whether content originates from traditional studios or digital creators.

Recent examples include TikTok personalities appearing on established formats such as Dancing with the Stars, while major creator collectives have begun launching their own production companies and television-style formats.

The Tubi data suggests that shift is being driven as much by audience expectation as by platform strategy, and that the gap between the two remains wide.

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