Instagram courts long-form creators with offers of up to $500,000

Instagram moved into YouTube’s territory with a US test of videos lasting up to 90 minutes and paid recruitment of selected YouTubers, while leaving broader creator monetization unresolved. YouTube’s results underscored the business at stake: television viewing supplied one-third of its $11.2 billion in quarterly advertising revenue.

Key developments

Instagram pays to recruit YouTubers

Instagram approached selected YouTubers with offers ranging from a $50,000 floor to as much as $500,000 to post in its new horizontal, long-form Features format.

Selected creators can receive upfront compensation for bringing longer productions to Instagram, rather than relying on an established revenue-sharing program.

Oct 30 · Tubefilter

Long-form test lacks a broader payment model

Instagram began a limited US test of Features, supporting horizontal videos up to 90 minutes and reversing Adam Mosseri’s longstanding resistance to long-form video. The platform has not determined how, or whether, it will pay creators more broadly, prompting complaints on Threads and Reddit.

Creators outside the recruitment deals have a new distribution outlet but no clear direct return on longer productions.

Oct 26–29 · The Verge · Creators · The Verge · Creators · TechCrunch Social

TV delivers a third of YouTube ad revenue

YouTube generated $11.2 billion in Q3 2026 advertising revenue, up 9% year over year, with living-room TV viewing contributing one-third. Premium and Music subscriptions reached a record 150 million, while advertising growth slowed.

Living-room audiences now account for a substantial portion of the advertising business supporting YouTube content.

Oct 28–30 · Tubefilter · Social Media Today - Latest News

YouTube tests earlier payouts

YouTube is testing a $20 minimum payment threshold, down from $100 or local currency equivalents. Randomly selected creators in the United States, India and Indonesia are included.

Smaller earners in the test can access their earnings before accumulating $100.

Oct 27–29 · Net Influencer · Social Media Today - Latest News

Microdramas gain subscriptions

YouTube added subscriptions for microdramas as creators publish episodic mini-series through Shorts. The company said the format generated more than 6.5 billion views in the first half of 2026.

Serialized short-form creators gain a subscription revenue option alongside their episodic programming.

Oct 27–29 · YouTube Official Blog · Social Media Today - Latest News

Former child influencers gain removal rights

California enacted Senate Bill 1247, allowing adults who appeared as minors in paid social media content to require a parent, guardian or family member to delete or edit it.

Family creator businesses can lose the ability to retain commercial posts featuring children once those participants become adults.

Oct 29 · Net Influencer

Thumbnails will adapt to audience segments

YouTube’s upcoming dynamic thumbnails will direct more impressions toward the image that performs best with each audience segment, discovery chief Todd Beaupré said. The current thumbnail A/B system splits traffic roughly evenly.

Different viewers can receive different winning images, changing how creators interpret thumbnail performance.

Oct 30 · Net Influencer

Tubi unveils creator-led shows

Tubi unveiled the first ten shows from its Creatorverse Incubator, featuring TikTok stars. The Fox-owned streaming platform announced the initiative seven months earlier.

Participating creators gain a route from social platforms into ad-supported streaming programming.

Oct 27 · Tubefilter

Substack launches curated feeds

Substack introduced shareable lists that group writers, podcasters and publishers into collections with their own chronological feeds. Users can also save lists made by others.

Reader and creator recommendations can now become persistent discovery feeds for publishers.

Oct 30 · On Substack

YouTube tests spam remediation

YouTube is testing a process that lets channels review content and edit or delete videos that may violate its spam policies.

Channels in the test have a way to address potential violations in flagged videos.

Oct 30 · Social Media Today - Latest News

Also this week

Creator businesses

• Mastercard partnered with MrBeast’s Beast Industries on co-branded programs for digital professionals that will bring its services into the creator economy. Tubefilter

• The Small Business Administration officially recognized creators as small businesses, bringing them under the agency’s umbrella. Digiday

• Social-only briefs generated 30% of revenue at DMG Media’s year-old New Media division, which is developing creator-led intellectual property for younger audiences. Digiday

• Beast Industries named Michelle St. Jacques its first chief marketing officer. Traders Union · Indian Television Dot Com · Storyboard18

Programming and production

• Chronicle Media pitched its Ubiquity predictive audience model to creators, studios and brands as a way to identify audiences before projects begin. Tubefilter

• Red Seat Ventures secured exclusive audio and video rights to Homecoming Golf’s tentpole properties, with programming support launching through the comedic series “Drink Cart Scramble.” Net Influencer

• Edits was optimized for Apple’s folding-screen iPhone Duo, while a desktop version entered testing ahead of release. Social Media Today - Latest News

• Jubilee Media plans its first live election special for November 3, tracking results in several key US races. Tubefilter

Platform controls

• Substack announced chat channels, freewalls, discounts and podcast updates focused on audience connections, payments and feed control. On Substack

• Instagram chief Adam Mosseri and commentator Michael Shellenberger separately opposed aspects of Australia’s proposed algorithmic opt-out regulations. Social Media Today - Latest News

• Etsy is introducing stricter rules on AI use in listings, citing buyers’ difficulty identifying AI-generated content and sellers’ concerns about competing with it. The Verge · Creators

• Twitch said it replaced all-or-nothing temporary suspensions earlier this year with separate streaming and chat penalties targeting where a violation occurred. Net Influencer

Discovery and commerce

• X expanded shared credit for reposted images, allowing more users to benefit from engagement on linked graphics through its Original Content Rewards Program. Social Media Today - Latest News

• Reddit is separating recommended discovery from followed-community browsing, with its default For You feed combining joined communities and personalized recommendations across 138,000 active subreddits. Tubefilter · Social Media Today - Latest News · TechCrunch Social

• TikTok launched its Must Eat restaurant guide in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco, drawing on 40 million dining posts, reviews and comments through its Local feed. Tubefilter · Social Media Today - Latest News · TechCrunch Social

• AnyMind partnered with Meta to let enterprises use Facebook and Instagram live video ads to draw new audiences into live commerce streams. Net Influencer

Brands and audiences

• Men account for 54.4% of global social media user identities, with only three regions showing a female majority and Southern Asia showing the largest male skew at 65%. Passionfruit

• LinkedIn recorded growth in creator ads, membership and time spent on the platform in Microsoft’s fiscal 2027 first quarter. Social Media Today - Latest News

• Disney plans a week-long Super Brand Days product promotion on TikTok Shop during the holiday season. Tubefilter

• SharkNinja CEO and co-founder Mark Barrocas said customers generated 98% of Ninja CREAMi’s one billion global social media impressions last year. Net Influencer

What to watch

• Jubilee Media’s first live election special runs on November 3, testing its move into live results coverage.

• Disney’s week-long TikTok Shop Super Brand Days activation is due during the holiday season.

• Watch for the desktop release of Edits following its current testing; release timing has not been announced.