---
type: claim
domain: entertainment
description: "Creators overtook traditional media as the primary news distribution channel for younger demographics, marking a structural shift in information flow"
confidence: likely
source: "ExchangeWire industry analysis, December 16, 2025"
created: 2025-12-16
depends_on:
- creator and corporate media economies are zero-sum because total media time is stagnant and every marginal hour shifts between them
- social video is already 25 percent of all video consumption and growing because dopamine-optimized formats match generational attention patterns
related:
- in-game-creators-represent-alternative-distribution-ecosystems-outside-traditional-media-and-platform-creator-models
reweave_edges:
- in-game-creators-represent-alternative-distribution-ecosystems-outside-traditional-media-and-platform-creator-models|related|2026-04-04
- Hollywood studios now negotiate deals on creator terms rather than studio terms because creators control distribution access and audience relationships that studios need|supports|2026-04-17
supports:
- Hollywood studios now negotiate deals on creator terms rather than studio terms because creators control distribution access and audience relationships that studios need
sourced_from:
- inbox/archive/entertainment/2025-12-16-exchangewire-creator-economy-2026-community-credibility.md
---

# Creators became primary distribution layer for under-35 news consumption by 2025, surpassing traditional channels

By 2025, creators captured 48% of under-35 news consumption compared to 41% through traditional channels. This represents a tipping point where creators have become the dominant distribution infrastructure for information among younger demographics, not merely popular content producers.

This shift has structural implications beyond content preference. When creators control the distribution layer, they capture the relationship with the audience and the data about consumption patterns. Traditional media's core value proposition—audience access—erodes when the audience relationship belongs to the creator.

The evidence for this being a macro reallocation rather than a niche trend:
- Global creator economy valuation: £190B (projected 2025)
- US ad spend on creators: $37B by end of 2025
- Influencer marketing investment increase: 171% year-over-year

These figures indicate sustained capital reallocation from traditional to creator distribution channels.

## Evidence

- Under-35 news consumption: 48% via creators vs 41% traditional channels (2025)
- Global creator economy value: £190B projected 2025
- US ad spend on creators: $37B by end 2025
- Influencer marketing investment increase: 171% year-over-year
- Source: ExchangeWire industry analysis, December 16, 2025

## Implications

If this pattern extends to entertainment (likely, given entertainment is inherently more creator-friendly than news), traditional distributors lose their bottleneck position in the value chain. The distribution function itself has migrated from institutions to individuals.

The "small media companies" framing is significant—creators now operate with audience data, format strategies, distribution capabilities, and commercial infrastructure previously exclusive to media companies.

---

Relevant Notes:
- [[creator and corporate media economies are zero-sum because total media time is stagnant and every marginal hour shifts between them]]
- [[social video is already 25 percent of all video consumption and growing because dopamine-optimized formats match generational attention patterns]]
- [[media disruption follows two sequential phases as distribution moats fall first and creation moats fall second]]
- [[value in industry transitions accrues to bottleneck positions in the emerging architecture not to pioneers or to the largest incumbents]]

Topics:
- [[domains/entertainment/_map]]