Will 2025 be the year when ad spend on creator platforms outstrips traditional media?

Social media’s conquest of traditional entertainment hubs could be close to completion. WPP Media, a division of ad agency giant WPP, has projected that ad spend on content destinations like YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn will outpace spending on traditional media platforms in 2025.

WPP Media estimated that so-called “creator-driven platforms” — where big-name influencers attract millions of followers and billions of views — will com haul in more than $325 billion of combined ad spend during the 2025 calendar year. That sum would be just big enough to eclipse spending on TV, audio, print, and film, which WPP collectively describes as “professional content” hubs.

There are a lot of caveats that go into a prediction like that, but the projected totals are the latest evidence that the creator economy will soon be a bigger moneymaker than studio-driven fare. Creators stand to rake in $185 billion of ad revenue in 2025, WPP claimed, and that figure could soar as high as $376 billion by 2030. 60% of that revenue will come in the form of brand deals and sponsorships.

A decade ago, a sea change of this magnitude seemed like a far cry. Though platforms like YouTube were growing steadily at the time, traditional sources like TV still gobbled up the majority of viewership and ad spend.

As attention shifted from TV to streaming, so did the fortunes of creator-driven platforms. YouTube’s presence on TV screens has helped it become the single most-watched streaming platform; according to Nielsen, more than 10% of all TV usage

goes to the Google-affiliated hub.

Ad spend is starting to catch up with attention. In April of this year, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) noted that digital media — a definition that encompasses connected TV ads, social video, and online video — captures nearly 60% of TV and video ad spend.

Per the IAB, that figure has doubled since 2020, and WPP Media noted a similar growth trend. The agency said that creator-driven platforms accounted for just 30% of measured ad spend in 2019. Meanwhile, ad spend on TV and print media continues to decline.

The creator economy’s ability to catch up with traditional hubs is an open question. Here’s another brainteaser for you: Does the distinction between TV and digital still matter? The platforms that support the most creators look more like TV than ever before, and big-name influencers like Alan Chikin Chow and Dhar Mann are operating similarly to traditional content studios. I’m not sure if advertisers are reallocating their budgets to platforms like YouTube, or if they merely reshaped those platforms to look more familiar.

No matter what sort of distinction you make between all these platforms, creators are bound to benefit. YouTube recently claimed that its creator community added $55 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2024. With help from advertisers, that number is set to soar even higher in ’26.