I cover creators at Like & Subscribe, a standalone Ankler Media newsletter that’s being sampled today for paid subscribers to The Ankler. I wrote about 2026 as the summer of reality TV and covered Ankler Media’s conversations and convenings at Cannes Lions. I’m natalie@theankler.com
There’s little question that 2025 was the year creators went mainstream. From Ms. Rachel’s debut on Netflix to Salish Matter’s debut in Sephora stores, last year was transformative to how the worlds of business and entertainment — not to mention audiences and consumers — view digital-first talent.
Now what?
I started this year asking how the creator economy would respond to the vibe shift. Now that 2026 is halfway over, I’m getting some answers. And it’s good news: Dealmaking activity in the creator economy is on track for a record year. During the first six months of 2026, there were 70 M&A transactions across the creator economy according to Quartermast Advisors, which measures all creator economy dealmaking and dropped its H1 2026 report earlier today. (The firm defines a creator economy transaction as one where at least one of the company’s products, services, or content primarily enable, represent, monetize, distribute or are built around digital creators and the creator ecosystem.) That’s up 23 percent from the first half of 2025, which saw 86 deals across all 12 months.
These weren’t speculative bets. With the creator economy now in its third decade and projected to hit $235 billion this year, companies in the space are “growing and maturing,” says Quartermast founder James Creech. He doesn’t tally the size of the deals, but based on available information, it’s clear that more money is changing hands compared with last year (when the top deal, Bending Spoons’ acquisition of Vimeo, was valued at $1.38 billion but the drop-off was steep, with the next biggest deal valued at $250 million). The top five deals of 2026 so far compiled by Quartermast based on their reported value:
- eBay acquires secondhand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for $1.2 billion (February 18)
- Netflix acquires Ben Affleck’s AI-powered filmmaking tech startup, InterPositive, for up to $600 million (March 5)
- Accenture Song acquires creator marketing agency Whalar for an estimated $500 million-plus (June 8)
- James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems acquires Vox.com, New York magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network for more than $300 million (May 20)
- Byron Allen acquires a controlling stake in BuzzFeed for $120 million (May 11)
What’s notable about this list is how few of these transactions are for pure creator businesses. But Creech says he expects they will all have a downstream effect on the creator economy. “There’s an increasing convergence between traditional and digital,” he explains.
Looking beyond M&A to the full landscape of creator deals through June, convergence does seem like the buzzword. Jay Shetty’s $100 million podcast distribution pact with Spotify and Netflix is a rare team-up as the two giants take on YouTube. And BBC’s landmark agreement to produce original programming for YouTube indicates that the line between legacy media and digital content creation continues to blur.
The shifting balance of power was on display in Fox Corp.’s planned $22 billion acquisition of Roku and has also been playing out at the box office with the surprise success of Obsession and Backrooms, from filmmakers who didn’t wait around for a greenlight from Hollywood to start building their connection with audiences.
This speaks to something that came up a lot in my conversations at Cannes Lions — that it’s outdated to think of the creator economy as its own sector when it’s rather a complex ecosystem that will have a broader impact on every aspect of contemporary business. “We have entered the creator age,” David Freeman, the longtime former head of CAA’s digital representation business and founder of a new investment and advisory firm, Kynetic Media Ventures, recently told me. “We’re learning from and with creators how to create a meaningful relationship with audiences and fandom.”
While you were traveling in Europe post-Cannes or enjoying hot dogs and fireworks over the Fourth of July, I combed through all the major headlines to bring you today’s breakdown on the state of creator dealmaking right now, from the major acquisitions to the seven-figure podcast distribution agreements to the streaming pacts shaping how creators leverage their audience. Let this be your guide to the five trends driving the industry, plus your refresher on any deal news you may have missed. (For last year’s action, you can also check out my mid-year and full-year 2025 guides.)
From today’s newsletter, I’ll loop you in on:
- The tech and entertainment giants — OpenAI to Fox to Netflix — making major creator economy plays
- Why creators’ direct audience relationships are turning into real cash and deal clout
- How big investors — Raine Group to Soros — are flooding back into the space after a 2025 pullback
- The new venture funds and roll-up vehicles, including a CAA- and TPG-backed player, dedicated to the sector
- The wide range of creator stars — Salish Matter to Piers Morgan — cashing in on the surging wave of investment
- How consolidation, from Whalar to talent management roll-ups, is reshaping the creator economy landscape
- Why the Netflix-YouTube battle for creator shows and video podcasts is just getting started
- New formats, new buyers, new deal models and how creators can cash in
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