Per pundit (“Media Cartographer”) Evan Shapīro, at the most recent International Market of Communications Programs (MIPCOM), something remarkable happened. #YouTube didn’t just attend the legendary television market in Cannes—it arrived as a sponsor, a participant, and as what Shapiro called “a fully-recognized, foundational pillar of the TV industry.” This shift has been unfolding for a while, and its inevitability is now being finally acknowledged.
Shapiro’s recent analysis cuts through the noise with a simple, powerful assertion: “Those who work in TV don’t get to say what TV is or is not – only the audience makes that choice.” And audiences, with numbers impossible to ignore, have been making their choice clear. They’re choosing YouTube.
Read his full post on Substack (with this point also regularly made in Shapiro’s LinkedIn posts and certainly in his notable cartography), which offers stats on how YouTube now commands a larger share of TV viewing in the United States than all of Disney’s television outlets combined. It outpaces all of NBCUniversal’s platforms combined. It exceeds both Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox—combined. Shapiro projects that by the end of 2026, YouTube will capture a greater share of television viewing than all American broadcast networks put together.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Why? It’s the evolution of television. As Shapiro notes, “70% of the world’s population are now Millennials and younger. They do not and will not consume TV the same way their parents and grandparents do.” The medium hasn’t disappeared; it’s simply migrated to where audiences actually are.
Here’s where it gets interesting for brands: this shift represents opportunity, not crisis. The distinction between “traditional media” and “creator content” is, as Shapiro astutely observes, “an industry construct, not a consumer one.” Viewers don’t care about our internal categories and business model debates. They care about compelling content, authentic voices, and being entertained or informed on their terms.
Clearly, at CreatorSquare, we’re believers. Our roster of almost 40 video podcasters—who have collectively earned some 15 million views from engaged, loyal fans—would enthusiastically agree. These aren’t vanity metrics; they represent real people choosing to spend their time with content they value, often returning episode after episode. That’s the kind of audience attention brands dream about.
What makes YouTube and the broader creator economy so powerful for advertisers isn’t just reach—it’s resonance. Creator-led content often delivers something traditional advertising struggles to achieve: genuine trust and engagement. When a creator your audience already knows and respects integrates a brand message thoughtfully, it doesn’t feel like an interruption. It feels like a recommendation from a friend.
The beauty of this moment, as Shapiro emphasized at MIPCOM, is that “it does not need to be made all at once. It can be incremental.” Brands don’t need to abandon their traditional media buys to explore the creator space. They can test, learn, and scale what works. “A core tenet of this new normal is personalization,” Shapiro writes. “Your company’s change should suit you.”
We’ve seen this play out firsthand. Brands that embrace both traditional and digital audio, which we focus on at Focus360, and the video podcasts we leverage at Creator Square, both the old guard and the new wave—they’re the ones thriving. We’re helping be in front of wherever their target audiences choose to consume content, rather than demanding audiences come to them.
The television industry is at an inflection point. As Shapiro warns, “the audiences and economics of television are eroding to the point of existential crisis” for those who refuse to adapt. But for those willing to recognize that YouTube is television—that creators are premium content producers, the opportunity is extraordinary.
As a company that values both traditional media and this evolution of the TV medium, we encourage brands to recognize that YouTube counts as “real TV” and video podcasters can offer the best of both worlds, especially in combination with linear audio. Then you’ll be ready to connect with the millions of viewers who’ve already made their choice. We’re here when you’re ready to join them.
Already have? Are you seeing YouTube and creator content deliver results for your brand? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments.
Link to Evan Shapiro’s Substack: THE WEEK THAT TV CAUGHT UP – by Evan Shapiro
