Seventy-eight percent of watch time with Spotter’s long-form YouTube creators now happens on connected TVs, according to EMARKETER’s interview with Spotter’s president. Social to CTV advertising convergence is no longer a forecast. Your creators are already on the big screen, and your media plan probably still treats them as a phone-only line item.
Why the living room is now a creator channel
For years the split was tidy. Social budgets bought thumb-stopping vertical video. TV budgets bought polished spots in lean-back environments. Different teams, different agencies, different KPIs.
That wall is cracking from both sides. Creators are licensing back catalogs to streaming services. Streamers are chasing creator audiences. Brands are trying to move social-native assets into TV inventory.
Take the supply side. Digiday reported that between the first and second quarters of 2025, the creator-powered CTV channel Creator Television saw a 95 percent increase in total minutes viewed and a 111 percent increase in total user sessions. Its head of content did not share ad revenue figures, so treat that as a directional signal on audience, not proof of ad performance.
Samsung TV Plus and Tubi have also expanded their creator offerings, standing up dedicated FAST and AVOD channels for creator videos, per Digiday’s follow-up reporting. This is no longer a side experiment.
Creators are no longer just part of the marketing mix. For a growing share of audiences, they are the media, and they deserve a line item that sits alongside TV, not buried under social.
Where does creator content actually show up on TV?
Three routes matter. Each carries a different risk profile.
- YouTube on the TV set. The same creator, the same channel, a bigger screen. Your existing creator deals may already deliver CTV impressions you are not counting.
- Licensed creator channels. FAST and AVOD channels on Samsung TV Plus, Tubi and similar services carry creator back catalogs. Per Digiday, the standard practice is that creators license older content while keeping first broadcast rights for new content on their owned social channels.
- Premium streamers. Netflix is the loudest example. Rachel, which originated on YouTube, was the only program in Netflix’s first-half top 10 that was not a Netflix original.
The takeaway: creator IP has legs beyond the feed. And the creators who build serialized, repeatable formats are the ones getting pulled onto TV first.
Can you just run social ads on TV?
Short answer: you can, but you probably shouldn’t do it lazily.
Brands are experimenting with repurposing social video for CTV ads, aiming to lower costs, improve measurement and expand reach, according to The Current. The same piece reported that TelevisaUnivision introduced a tool for integrating social videos into TV programming, and that Roku announced a tool in December to convert social marketing materials for CTV.
It works when the creative is good. Timothy LaLonde of Filmkraft and Screenbridge told The Current that smaller brands can unlock television this way, but he was blunt that social content and TV content are different animals. A phone-scrolling aesthetic dropped next to premium programming can feel cheap.
So what does adaptation look like in practice?
- Re-cut for the lean-back screen. Cleaner audio, steadier framing, readable on-screen text at ten feet.
- Keep the creator voice. The reason it performed on social was the person, not the production gloss. Strip that out and you have a bad commercial.
- Secure the rights up front. Most influencer contracts cover organic posts and paid social usage. CTV and programmatic usage is a separate ask.
That last point is where legal and procurement teams get burned. If you are tightening paperwork anyway, our piece on contracting for proof of use is a useful companion.
The measurement shift: clicks out, completion in
Here is the uncomfortable part. CTV does not give you a click.
Nic Paul told EMARKETER that with nearly four-fifths of his creators’ viewership on TV screens, advertisers must adopt TV-style metrics such as completed views and frequency. His phrasing was that the click is gone, and what remains is engagement, completion and fandom.
For performance-minded teams, that is a mindset reset. Last-click attribution will undercount creator value on the big screen. You need a framework that blends view-through, brand lift, search lift and incremental sales testing. Most teams do not have that yet. Our coverage of why unified measurement remains rare explains how wide the gap is.
Practical steps for the next campaign:
- Ask every creator for CTV share of watch time, not just total views.
- Request completion rate and average view duration by device type.
- Run a holdout test. Match a CTV-exposed audience against an unexposed one and compare downstream search or sales.
- Set frequency caps across social and CTV together so you are not hitting the same household six times with the same creator.
How the deal terms change for creators and brands
Creators have noticed their leverage. Four creators and talent managers told Digiday they planned to use CTV expansion to charge more for sponsored content. Courtney Hirsch, CEO of Jomboy Media, said the CTV presence helps lock in premium one-year or multi-year sponsorships.
Read that as a pricing warning. If a creator you work with signs a Tubi or Samsung TV Plus licensing deal, expect the next rate conversation to reference it. Brands that lock creator rates early have a real advantage here, particularly if the agreement includes first-look rights on CTV extensions.
Consider negotiating:
- Whitelisted usage windows that explicitly name CTV and programmatic placement.
- Category exclusivity that extends to licensed TV channels, so a competitor does not appear in the same creator’s FAST lineup.
- Performance bonuses tied to completion rate rather than raw impressions.
Vetting creators for a TV audience
Not every creator belongs on a television screen. Serialized, long-form formats translate. Reaction clips and trend-chasing shorts often do not.
EMARKETER’s coverage of the Spotter interview described top creators building “series IP” with predictable cadence and loyal audiences. That is your screening filter. Look for consistent publishing, strong average view duration and an audience that returns. Younger viewers are central to this shift, which lines up with our look at why Gen Z prefers YouTube and what that means for briefs.
Also revisit how you rank talent. Follower count says little about TV-readiness, and native platform signals are a better starting point for vetting.
The brands that win this convergence will not be the ones with the biggest TV budgets. They will be the ones that can prove a creator’s value without a click.
Risks to price in
I would not hand over a large budget without eyes open on these.
Brand adjacency. Licensed catalogs on FAST channels can sit beside content you would never choose. Ask for channel-level reporting.
Audience overlap. The same viewer may see your creator on YouTube, on a licensed channel and in your TV spot. Without deduplication you are overpaying.
Premium perception. Not all creator content is premium. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos acknowledged on an earnings call that only some of it is, per The Current. Your creative and placement choices need to respect that.
Unproven ROI. The data here is mostly platform and intermediary commentary. Independent, brand-side outcome studies remain thin, so pilot before you scale.
Next step: pick your top three creators this quarter, ask each for CTV share of watch time and licensing plans, and run one matched-market test comparing social-only against social plus CTV.
FAQs
What is social to CTV advertising convergence?
It is the blending of social creator content and connected TV advertising. Creator videos now appear on living-room screens through YouTube, licensed FAST and AVOD channels, and premium streamers. Meanwhile, brands are adapting social-style ads for TV inventory.
How much creator viewing happens on connected TVs?
It varies by creator type. Spotter’s president told EMARKETER that 78% of total watch time with Spotter’s long-form YouTube creators occurs on CTVs. That figure reflects one company’s roster of long-form creators, so check your own creators’ device splits rather than assuming it applies across the board.
Can I reuse influencer content as a CTV ad?
Often yes, but you need the right usage rights and a re-edit for the TV experience. The Current reports that brands are repurposing social video for CTV to cut costs and improve measurement, while experts warn that social and TV creative are different formats.
How do I measure creator performance on CTV?
Use TV-style metrics: completed views, frequency, reach and incremental lift. Pair them with search lift, brand lift and matched-market holdout tests. Do not rely on click-based attribution, since CTV viewers rarely click.
Will CTV exposure raise creator rates?
Likely. Digiday reported that creators and talent managers with CTV licensing deals plan to use that presence to negotiate higher sponsorship rates. Locking multi-deal terms early can limit the increase.
Which platforms are courting creators for CTV?
The reporting names Netflix, Tubi, Samsung TV Plus, Prime Video and YouTube. Roku and TelevisaUnivision have also launched tools aimed at bringing social video into TV advertising.
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