Creators are Becoming Television’s New Showrunners: WPP Media’s Adam Shlachter
CANNES, France — Creator-led video and traditional television are starting to resemble relatives at a family reunion. They arrived by different routes, insist they have nothing in common and are now sitting on the same living-room sofa.
For advertisers, that convergence is creating new ways to reach audiences that may not consider television to be a particular device, channel or programming format. If a favorite creator appears on the biggest screen in the house, that may be television enough.
“It’s not a sort of either/or. I think it’s an and,” Adam Shlachter, client president at WPP Media, said in a fireside discussion with moderator Zach Rodgers at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Definition of television is getting fuzzier
Older viewers grew up regarding television as the gold standard for professionally produced video. Younger audiences move comfortably among YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch and connected TV without pausing to classify each experience.
They follow creators for entertainment, information and community. The attachment is often stronger than anything generated by a conventional program guide, which has never inspired much affection beyond reminding viewers that 17 channels are currently showing crime procedurals.
Creator content also is moving onto television screens. Shlachter cited the scale and production quality of MrBeast as an extreme example of how difficult it has become to define TV by its traditional boundaries.
Creator-led programming is “being consumed, built for and consumed on so many different platforms that it’s hard to even say, ‘Well, what is TV to that audience?’” he said.
YouTube’s growing presence on connected television gives creators another outlet for longer-form programming. It also offers advertisers a way to work with personalities who already command loyal audiences instead of trying to manufacture loyalty during a 30-second commercial.
Creators become modern showrunners
Creators increasingly perform several jobs once divided among a small army of television professionals. They develop the concept, produce the content, direct the action and appear on camera.
“They’re both the producer, the director and the talent,” Shlachter said.
Some do all of that live and with a single camera. Somewhere, a television production executive is staring at a budget spreadsheet and wondering why the craft-services bill alone costs more than an entire creator series.
The larger question is whether these personalities can carry their appeal from social platforms into longer programming and bigger screens. Shlachter said the jury is still out, partly because many creators are already highly successful on the platforms where they started.
Television also is adapting to them. Creators are appearing as hosts, commentators and correspondents around live sports, red carpets and alternative broadcasts. Their value comes from an authentic connection with fans who chose to follow them, rather than viewers who merely failed to change the channel quickly enough.
Brands want more than a logo slab
For advertisers, creator partnerships need to offer more than a fleeting appearance beside a recognizable personality. Shlachter said WPP Media wants to develop lasting systems that let brands participate in the relationship between creators and their communities.
“We want to build. We don’t want to buy,” he said. “And if we can build systems and platforms that are long-lasting with these voices who have these really robust communities, we can be a part of that authentic relationship that they have rather than just have another logo slab.”
That approach requires more structure. Brands need assurances about safety, authenticity, exclusivity and competitive separation. A company underwriting a creator’s program generally does not want its largest rival wandering into the same episode like an unexpected dinner guest carrying a larger check.
“There’s got to be some standards,” Shlachter said.
Creators and their representatives are becoming more sophisticated about those expectations. Many now work with talent agents or creator networks that understand the commercial rules established by television. Early partnerships produced some hard lessons on both sides, Shlachter said, but the broader creator business is maturing.
Not every vertical video belongs on a 70-inch screen
Technical formats present another challenge. Social video was often designed for a phone held vertically, while television still favors a horizontal picture.
“I mean, I think the standards are still emerging there,” Shlachter said. “Some stuff just doesn’t look right on, you know, a 42-inch or 70-inch screen.”
Still, the awkwardness can become an advantage. Brands have run commercials during major sports events that resemble TikTok videos or Instagram Reels. Such ads may look slightly out of place on television, but their familiarity to social-media users can help them stand apart from the polished commercials surrounding them.
“It breaks through because it looks and feels different,” Shlachter said. “And it kind of looks and feels a little out of place, but also a little familiar.”
That creative tension may be the most useful part of the convergence. Television offers creators a larger canvas and access to new audiences. Creators give television a format that feels more personal, immediate and connected to culture.
Advertisers, meanwhile, get another chance to secure the resource they have pursued through every technological upheaval since the invention of the remote control.
“Ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Shlachter said, “get people to pay attention.”
You’re watching Beet Talks at Cannes Lions 2026, presented by Basis. For more videos from this series, please visit this page. You can find all of our coverage from Cannes Lions 2026 here.
CANNES, France — Creator-led video and traditional television are starting to resemble relatives at a family reunion. They arrived by different routes, insist they have nothing in common and are now sitting on the same living-room sofa.
For advertisers, that convergence is creating new ways to reach audiences that may not consider television to be a particular device, channel or programming format. If a favorite creator appears on the biggest screen in the house, that may be television enough.
“It’s not a sort of either/or. I think it’s an and,” Adam Shlachter, client president at WPP Media, said in a fireside discussion with moderator Zach Rodgers at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Definition of television is getting fuzzier
Older viewers grew up regarding television as the gold standard for professionally produced video. Younger audiences move comfortably among YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch and connected TV without pausing to classify each experience.
They follow creators for entertainment, information and community. The attachment is often stronger than anything generated by a conventional program guide, which has never inspired much affection beyond reminding viewers that 17 channels are currently showing crime procedurals.
Creator content also is moving onto television screens. Shlachter cited the scale and production quality of MrBeast as an extreme example of how difficult it has become to define TV by its traditional boundaries.
Creator-led programming is “being consumed, built for and consumed on so many different platforms that it’s hard to even say, ‘Well, what is TV to that audience?’” he said.
YouTube’s growing presence on connected television gives creators another outlet for longer-form programming. It also offers advertisers a way to work with personalities who already command loyal audiences instead of trying to manufacture loyalty during a 30-second commercial.
Creators become modern showrunners
Creators increasingly perform several jobs once divided among a small army of television professionals. They develop the concept, produce the content, direct the action and appear on camera.
“They’re both the producer, the director and the talent,” Shlachter said.
Some do all of that live and with a single camera. Somewhere, a television production executive is staring at a budget spreadsheet and wondering why the craft-services bill alone costs more than an entire creator series.
The larger question is whether these personalities can carry their appeal from social platforms into longer programming and bigger screens. Shlachter said the jury is still out, partly because many creators are already highly successful on the platforms where they started.
Television also is adapting to them. Creators are appearing as hosts, commentators and correspondents around live sports, red carpets and alternative broadcasts. Their value comes from an authentic connection with fans who chose to follow them, rather than viewers who merely failed to change the channel quickly enough.
Brands want more than a logo slab
For advertisers, creator partnerships need to offer more than a fleeting appearance beside a recognizable personality. Shlachter said WPP Media wants to develop lasting systems that let brands participate in the relationship between creators and their communities.
“We want to build. We don’t want to buy,” he said. “And if we can build systems and platforms that are long-lasting with these voices who have these really robust communities, we can be a part of that authentic relationship that they have rather than just have another logo slab.”
That approach requires more structure. Brands need assurances about safety, authenticity, exclusivity and competitive separation. A company underwriting a creator’s program generally does not want its largest rival wandering into the same episode like an unexpected dinner guest carrying a larger check.
“There’s got to be some standards,” Shlachter said.
Creators and their representatives are becoming more sophisticated about those expectations. Many now work with talent agents or creator networks that understand the commercial rules established by television. Early partnerships produced some hard lessons on both sides, Shlachter said, but the broader creator business is maturing.
Not every vertical video belongs on a 70-inch screen
Technical formats present another challenge. Social video was often designed for a phone held vertically, while television still favors a horizontal picture.
“I mean, I think the standards are still emerging there,” Shlachter said. “Some stuff just doesn’t look right on, you know, a 42-inch or 70-inch screen.”
Still, the awkwardness can become an advantage. Brands have run commercials during major sports events that resemble TikTok videos or Instagram Reels. Such ads may look slightly out of place on television, but their familiarity to social-media users can help them stand apart from the polished commercials surrounding them.
“It breaks through because it looks and feels different,” Shlachter said. “And it kind of looks and feels a little out of place, but also a little familiar.”
That creative tension may be the most useful part of the convergence. Television offers creators a larger canvas and access to new audiences. Creators give television a format that feels more personal, immediate and connected to culture.
Advertisers, meanwhile, get another chance to secure the resource they have pursued through every technological upheaval since the invention of the remote control.
“Ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Shlachter said, “get people to pay attention.”
You’re watching Beet Talks at Cannes Lions 2026, presented by Basis. For more videos from this series, please visit this page. You can find all of our coverage from Cannes Lions 2026 here.
