Netflix dropped news on shareholders last Thursday that most creators scrolled past. By the end of April, every one of their 325 million phones worldwide gets a TikTok feed.
Same swipe, same scroll, same dopamine loop. Just Netflix.
And here's the part nobody's pricing into their rate card yet: Netflix isn't just stuffing that feed with clips of Stranger Things. They've been quietly writing checks to the biggest podcast companies on earth for the last six months.
The numbers are a lot
Netflix's April 16 shareholder letter dropped three numbers that matter for anyone making money on content:
325 million paying subscribers
$3 billion in projected 2026 ad revenue (double 2025)
190 million people already watching the ad-supported plan every month
190 million is bigger than the entire US population. It's watching ads right now.
Why the podcast deals should have your attention
In the last six months, Netflix cut deals with three podcast giants:
Spotify handed over Bill Simmons, The Ringer, and The Rewatchables (Netflix Tudum)
iHeartMedia handed over The Breakfast Club, My Favorite Murder, Dear Chelsea, and Bobby Bones (iHeartMedia release)
Barstool handed over Pardon My Take, Spittin' Chiclets, and The Ryen Russillo Podcast
More than 30 video podcasts started showing up on Netflix in January.
Netflix didn't buy these shows. Didn't stick them in a YouTube-style ad share. They paid each network a licensing fee to be the only place you can watch the video versions. The audio still lives on Spotify and Apple. Just the video is exclusive.
That's the money story.
On YouTube, you get a cut of ads on your video. You share the revenue, forever. On Netflix, you get paid upfront for the video rights and keep everything else. Your audio feed. Your email list. Your merch. Your YouTube.
Imagine your favorite TV show, but you still own it.
That's the template. Right now it only works if you're Barstool-sized. Won't stay that way.
Three moves for this week
1. Check your sponsor math against Netflix's ad inventory.
Brands that used to only buy YouTube and Instagram now have a premium Netflix option at 190 million monthly viewers. If you're in sports, true crime, celebrity interviews, or entertainment commentary (exactly the niches Netflix is buying), your next sponsor pitch is competing with Netflix ads whether you know it or not.
Know your CPM (cost per thousand impressions) before your next sales call. If you don't know it, you're guessing.
2. Stop posting vertical video like it's a side project.
Netflix is the fourth giant to put a vertical feed on a mobile homescreen, after TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. If you're still treating vertical as the afterthought you clip from your real long-form content, you're late. Every major attention platform has now admitted vertical is the default.
Clip every piece of long-form content you have into at least three verticals. This week. Not next quarter.
3. Think about your video rights separately from everything else.
The Netflix deals just proved something that didn't exist a year ago: there's a buyer who'll pay you upfront for video-only rights while you keep your audio, your list, your channel, your merch, your community.
Even if you're too small for Netflix right now, this market exists and it's growing. Start thinking about your content as unbundled assets. Video rights. Audio rights. Newsletter rights. Merchandise rights. Each one is sellable separately.
What opens the door for everyone else
Three signals that would shift this from "Barstool-sized only" to "you can play too":
A tiered licensing program. Watch for a Netflix announcement about mid-tier podcast licensing, probably Q3 or Q4.
Creator ads inside the vertical feed. Netflix is rolling out new ad products in 2026. If creators get a cut, it's a YouTube-style opportunity on a premium platform.
Creator tools. Netflix acquired InterPositive in Q1, an AI company making video production tools (per the Q1 letter). If they open those tools to outside creators, Netflix stops being a TV company and starts being a platform.
The feed launches this month. The door for creators cracks open over the next year.
Worth the watch.
Creator Business Daily covers the money behind the content. Subscribe for deal breakdowns every Tuesday, sponsor rate data every Thursday, and a take on the week in creator economy every Sunday.