Hey Creatorverse readers,
Football season is here, or should I say football creator season. The NFL is once again increasing its creator partnerships as part of a push that includes bringing back the NFL and YouTube’s Creator of the Week program for the third year in a row, collaborating with Snapchat and planning content with top creators like Deestroying (6.5 million YouTube subscribers), Zach King (43.4 million subscribers), Gabriela Moura (11.5 million TikTok followers) and Dhar Mann (27.6 million YouTube subscribers).
The NFL’s creator strategy has become a central part of its audience expansion efforts in recent years, especially as the NFL has made moves to expand its female and non-American audiences. Last year’s Creator of the Week program led to more than 86 million views across all YouTube and NFL channels. And this year creators are especially important as the NFL will have nine international games throughout the 2026-2027 season — the most in the league’s history. For those, the NFL is tapping creators in countries like Australia for the San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams game and Brazil for the Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys game.
“For us, it’s really a combination of global and local relevance,” Ian Trombetta, senior vice president of Global Social, Creator and Content Marketing for the NFL, told me. “Of course, there are amazing creators like MrBeast or IShowSpeed whose communities have no borders, but there are also emerging creators within each of our international markets who have a deep knowledge of the local culture and have the ability to provide a new perspective on their experience with the league as well as the clubs throughout the year.”
Sure, the NFL has seen some occasional grumpiness from older fans sick of seeing internet stars on the field, but by and large the NFL’s strategy is a prime example of a major sports league successfully partnering with creators. Creators were also instrumental in turning FIFA World Cup 2026 into a cultural moment, and NBC has been using creators to beef up its Olympics coverage since Paris 2024. These partnerships can greatly increase younger audiences. About 45% of fans under 35 get “most” or “all” of their non-live sports content from social media, according to a report from Hub Entertainment Research.
That’s why what’s happening at the U.S. Open is so jarring.
This year the tennis tournament credentialed nearly 100 creators, which is almost twice as many as last year. And those creators and influencers have low-key been nightmares. An umpire had to interrupt Naomi Osaka’s match against Anastasia Zakharova to tell a group to stop taking photos and walking around mid set. The U.S. Open denied this group was part of its official program, but they’re a prime example of the breach in courtside etiquette that’s happening right now. Things have gotten so bad that Wimbledon has said it’s not planning to issue special credentials to influencers.
It’s not entirely shocking that this is happening. By its very nature, filming in public is distracting, but it can be hidden among the cheering crowds in a football stadium or soccer arena. That’s not really the case when you’re talking about a quiet and focused sport like tennis. However, the Olympics have proven you can incorporate creator coverage into events while still staying respectful to these athletes.
The real problem is that the U.S. Open is chasing creators rather than focusing on the needs of its athletes. It also doesn’t seem like the organization has given creators clear guidelines about what they should and shouldn’t post or what’s expected of them.
It’s a delicate balance. When done well, collabing with creators can breathe new life into a league, recruiting a new generation of potentially lifelong fans. When done poorly, you get mass outrage.
Now onto the rest.
Kayla Cobb
Senior Reporter
kayla.cobb@thewrap.com
What’s New
Amelia Dimoldenberg ends “Chicken Shop Date” after 12 years
After changing the interview game, one creator-led series is coming to a close. Amelia Dimoldenberg (4.1 million TikTok followers) announced that she will be ending “Chicken Shop Date” to focus on other projects. “I feel like it’s now time to move on from this adventure and onto a new one,” Dimoldenberg said on Instagram.
Dimoldenberg has been expanding her brand recently. Her newest YouTube series “Passenger Princess,” where F1 racers teach her how to drive, scored over 5 million views across its six episodes. She’s also in the second year of her creator-focused education program, Dimz Inc. Academy, and is developing a YA drama for BBC, which has been described as “Skins” for Gen Z. It just goes to show that nothing is forever in the creator economy.
Live streaming is up over 7% compared to last year, and YouTube Live is still the leader
Though live streaming is slightly down this quarter compared to last, total hours streamed is up 7.6% compared to the second quarter of 2025, according to a new report from Streamlabs. Among live streaming platforms, YouTube Live remained the leader, accounting for 60.3% of total watch time. As for Twitch, the Amazon-owned platform continued to stabilize after its post-COVID era declines, accounting for 21% of all live streaming. Kick, which accounts for 6.2% of this pie, remained the fastest-growing platform. Hours watched increased 36.7% year-over-year, but annual growth slowed compared to the first quarter. Remember: Kick is where live streamers go after they’re kicked off of every other platform.
Andrew Yaffe steps down as CEO of Dude Perfect
The first CEO of the sports-focused comedy group Dude Perfect (62.7 million YouTube subscribers) is out. Andrew Yaffe is stepping away from the company after two years in a separation that’s being described as mutual.
One creator-focused executive leaving is a blip, but nine is a trend. From November of last year until now, several major c-suite executives and presidents have left creator-helmed companies including Audiochuck, Unwell, Mythical, Beast Industries and Good Good Golf. Scalable has a great breakdown of these departures. At least one of them (*ahem* Good Good Golf) happened because of a public controversy, but the larger trend shows that scaling creator businesses may be a harder gig than people thought.
Platform Updates
Threads overhauls analytics for creators, and TikTok revamps its comments section
If you’ve wondered how to go viral on Threads, that mystery is about to become a bit clearer. The Meta-owned platform is changing its insights panel to feature AI-powered summaries of how posts perform. This new panel will detail statistics like views, viewers, likes and reposts while also telling users whether a post performs better or worse compared to other posts.
Speaking of changes, TikTok is also mixing up its commenting options by adding voice comments, creator polls, photo carousel comments and Live Photo comments. Much like YouTube, Reddit or Twitch, comments are integral to TikTok. Though there’s no way to directly profit from a popular comment (yet), it’s not unusual for creators to make posts that round up funny or interesting responses.
Raptive introduces an ad-supported platform for creators, and X revamps its payment structure
Raptive, an advertising management and tech company that helps creators build and monetize websites, launched Raptive Community. The ad-supported platform will let Raptive’s creators build and monetize direct relationships with their audiences. Basically, while creators’ viewership metrics can change based on the whims of a platform’s algorithm, companies like Raptive help creators keep their content in one place. Creators that are part of the Raptive Community will receive a 50/50 share of advertising revenue.
It’s not the only company modifying creator payments. Last Wednesday, X changed all of its payouts to U.S. creators to X Money, the company’s payment service. X also blocked Operation Bluebird from using the name “Twitter” in a court ruling.
About 66% of payments to Roblox creators in the U.S. went to areas with a low concentration of tech workers
Almost $444 million in Roblox payments to U.S. creators went to parts of the country where the concentration of tech workers was lower than the national average, according to the company’s Global Impact report. The report also found that 83% of creators surveyed operate as individuals rather than as established gaming studios and that U.S.-based Roblox creators generated a total GDP impact of $752 million in 2025, which is up 69% compared to 2024. Something to keep an eye on as the lines between Hollywood, gaming and creators continue to thin.
Movers and Shakers
KevOnStage moves hit podcasts “Here’s the Thing” and “The Bald Brothers” from Patreon to The Volume
Comedian and actor Kevin Fredericks, aka KevOnStage (2.6 million Instagram followers), is moving two of his hit podcasts from Patreon to Colin Cowherd’s network, The Volume. “Here’s the Thing” and “The Bald Brothers” will move to The Volume as a move to increase sponsorship and brand partnership opportunities. Fredericks will also increase his episode output with a new weekly schedule as part of the move. This comes after the star made TIME100’s Most Influential Creators list.
“[The transition] gives both shows the chance to connect with even more viewers and introduce them to audiences who appreciate the culture, conversations and personalities at the heart of each one,” Fredericks told me. “To me, podcasting is an integral part of creator strategy. Long-form content allows you to connect with audiences in a way short-form simply can’t. You can build community through podcasts. That’s why it’s been an important part of my strategy for years.”
Spencer Lackey teams up with Neon, Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Spooky Pictures on a new horror movie
Spencer Lackey (3 million Instagram followers) will be teaming up with Neon, Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Spooky Pictures on “Lust,” which will be written and directed by Lackey. Previously, Lackey released the short film “You Are Here.” The movie was well regarded on the festival circuit and produced by one of the modern kings of horror himself, Mike Flanagan.
The Onion’s InfoWars prepares for its next creator-focused iteration
After eight episodes of madness and Tim Heidecker giving his best Alex Jones impression, InfoWars under The Onion will be launching its reunion special this Thursday. After that, the channel will be transitioning to become a more creator-focused hub for offbeat comedy. The Onion CEO Ben Collins previously told me that collaborations with Dev Lemons and Husk are in the works.
“We’re debuting brand new shows, new guests from the world of comedy and entertainment and a lot more original content from a variety of creators. We said that we wanted to create the ‘Adult Swim’ of the internet, and we’re well on our way — we’re building the kind of platform the internet has been wanting and has desperately been missing, and it starts with the reunion episode later this week,” Heidecker, the creative director for InfoWars, told me. Be on the lookout.
Who to Watch
Chef Bae
If you watched Alix Earle’s Netflix show, chances are high you’ve already met Brooke Baevsky, aka Chef Bae (576,000 TikTok followers). A celebrity private chef and recipe developer, Baevsky is known for her delicious looking food. But what makes her distinct is how she’s able to make these mouth-watering dishes look like they were effortlessly thrown together. If you’re missing the charms of the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen days, she’s a good replacement. And with appearances on Food Network and America’s Test Kitchen, you know she has the cooking chops to back up those scrumptious-looking videos.
Bonus Content
- Inside Mamdani’s Private Army of Public Influencers (via New York Times)
- MrBeast’s God King Problem (via Business Insider)
- Why Brands Are Turning to Older Creators for Authenticity AI Can’t Fake (via Digiday)
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This report provides a weekly deep dive into the creator economy. It highlights key trends, political and technological developments, data points and industry leaders all with the goal of making you smarter about this constantly evolving space.
