YouTube readies millions to keep its biggest stars away from Netflix

According to Bloomberg, YouTube has started approaching some of its biggest channels with multimillion‑dollar offers to keep new videos exclusive to the platform for set windows. The offers reportedly vary by creator: some packages include direct financing for shows, others include a cut of major brand deals YouTube brings to the table. At the time of Bloomberg’s report, no deals had been signed, but YouTube was said to be close with several partners.

The move lands as Netflix leans harder into creator‑led formats that feel a lot like the YouTube you already watch on your TV. Nielsen has shown YouTube pulling a larger share of connected‑TV viewing than Netflix in the U.S., and Netflix has been cherry‑picking the exact personalities who’ve built those habits. Historically, YouTube acted as the backbone of the creator economy via its Partner Program; this is YouTube behaving more like a buyer.

YouTube says it has paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the last four years.

Who Netflix is recruiting

Over the past year, Netflix has been turning video podcasts and YouTube‑native formats into appointment viewing on its app — sometimes without taking the originals off YouTube at all.

• The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Rewatchables and The Big Picture — Netflix partnered with Spotify to bring video versions from The Ringer onto Netflix.
• Exclusive video partnership with iHeartMedia covering more than a dozen shows, including The Breakfast Club, My Favorite Murder and Dear Chelsea.
• In May 2026, Jay Shetty moved full video episodes of On Purpose to Netflix and Spotify under a multiyear deal reportedly worth up to $100 million. Older episodes and promo clips remained on his YouTube channel.
• Hot Ones: Extra Heat with Sean Evans launched on Netflix in 2026, while the original Hot Ones continued releasing new episodes on YouTube.

The Shetty deal shows how Netflix can siphon attention without “emptying” a channel. Even if back catalogs and clips stay on YouTube, moving the flagship video episodes shifts the audience relationship elsewhere.

The creators YouTube wants to lock in

The real targets aren’t just the biggest subscriber counts. They’re channels that already run like small studios: repeatable formats, recognizable hosts, built‑in ad appeal and production teams that can deliver on a schedule. That’s why Netflix’s creator slate ranges from podcasters and interviewers to chefs and family creators.

• Nick DiGiovanni — food creator reportedly bringing more than 43 million YouTube subscribers.
• Mythical Kitchen — spinoff from Rhett & Link’s world with 4 million+ subscribers.
• Ms. Rachel, Mark Rober, Danny Go!, Stokes Twins — creators Netflix has licensed from or partnered with as it builds a broader creator lineup.

Across these deals, the combined YouTube audiences Netflix has tapped reportedly exceed 500 million subscribers. Food channels are especially telling: they already look and feel like television, with clear formats and massive back catalogs. Netflix can essentially license a ready‑made ecosystem instead of incubating one from scratch.

For YouTube, the counter is straightforward: pay up to keep the tentpoles at home and sweeten the pot with ad and shopping infrastructure that only YouTube controls. Per Bloomberg, final contracts hadn’t been signed when the outreach surfaced, but YouTube was close to locking in several creators under the new offers.