The media shake-up is happening now, and traditional outlets are struggling to survive. Legacy media is clinging to outdated business models like a boomer still trying to print out MapQuest directions.
Meanwhile, digital-first creators are raking in views, influence and cash at a pace that makes traditional networks look like retirement homes for irrelevance. Let’s look at the numbers that matter:
- Traditional TV ratings are in free fall, but YouTubers like MrBeast regularly earn over 100 million views per video.
- 50% of adults under 30 get their news from social media, not the 6 o’clock news or whatever’s left of newspapers.
- The average U.S. household pays for 4-5 streaming services, shelling out more than they ever did for cable — so much for “cutting the cord.”
- Top Substack writers are making millions, while newspapers are gasping for air.
Death of the gatekeepers
Legacy media built its empire on control. They decided what you watched, when you watched it and how much you paid. That power is gone. The gatekeepers weren’t just disrupted; they were steam rolled.
Want proof? Look at Netflix. Once the streamer was revolutionary, now it’s just another ad-supported network. In Q1 2024, 22% of U.S. subscribers watched ads — a 65% jump in a quarter. By 2027, 60% of Netflix subscribers will be watching commercials again.
The cycle has come full circle. Netflix was supposed to kill TV, but instead, it became TV.
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The new media kingmakers
The industry’s transformation is written in the career moves of its fallen stars.
Chris Cuomo: From CNN prime time to multi-platform domination
Cuomo had a prime-time slot on CNN, pulling in millions of viewers. He lost his job after violating journalistic standards and allegations of sexual abuse by several co-workers. Cuomo joined NewsNation, a smaller cable network, but that’s just his side hustle. His real power move? Going digital-first.
- YouTube and TikTok clips: Short, highly shareable clips optimized for engagement.
- Podcast and streaming focus: Long-form discussions with no corporate filters.
- Audience control: Direct engagement with fans on social media.
Cable viewers might catch him on NewsNation, but his real empire is digital. Cuomo cracked the code: platforms > networks.
Don Lemon: Total reinvention as an independent brand
Lemon spent 17 years at CNN, hosting CNN Tonight and Don Lemon Tonight. CNN fired him after a big lapse in journalistic ethics, some sexist on-air remarks, and years of co-workers’ complaints about his misogyny. Lemon went fully independent. His new YouTube-first show, “The Don Lemon Show,” is direct-to-audience, giving him:
- Full creative control: No CNN producers dictating the conversation
- No corporate risk: He owns his platform, so he can say what he wants
- Streaming flexibility: Whether he’s live from an event, his home or anywhere in the world, he controls the delivery
Lemon flipped the script: Why beg for a corporate job when you can own your platform?
Aaron Parnas: Political influence without a network
Before, if you wanted to be a political commentator, you had to:
- Get hired by CNN, MSNBC or Fox.
- Climb the ranks by playing the media game.
- Hope a network exec liked you.
Parnas built a TikTok-based political empire that puts some news networks to shame.
- Ultra-fast news reaction: While legacy media is still drafting scripts, he’s uploading takes breaking news within minutes
- Platform-native storytelling: He doesn’t just “report” he explains, reacts and engages
- No filter, no corporate angle: He’s talking directly to people in a way that feels real, not scripted
Parnas proved you don’t need a newsroom to influence political conversations. You just need an internet connection and a strong voice.
The Tubi effect: Winning by doing nothing
While every streaming service is playing a high-stakes game of content wars, subscription fees and ad-tier experiments, Tubi quietly pulled off a massive win by literally doing the opposite.
- No subscriptions. No paywalls. No annoying tiers. Just free content.
- No expensive exclusives. No billion-dollar franchise deals. Just an absurdly deep library of content people want to watch.
- No gatekeeping. No corporate ego. Just an algorithm that gives people what they want.
The result? 64 million monthly active users.
Tubi understands something the rest of the industry forgot: people don’t want to work to watch TV.
Meanwhile, look at the other streaming giants:
- Netflix is fighting an identity crisis, oscillating between premium prestige content and ad-supported garbage. It’s morphing into what it set out to destroy — linear TV but with more expensive subscriptions.
- Disney+ started as the home for family-friendly blockbusters. Now, it’s a chaotic mix of IP management struggling to find its niche outside of Star Wars and Marvel.
- HBO Max (or just “Max” now, because branding confusion is the future) keeps stripping away what made HBO unique to chase a broader audience.
- Peacock, Paramount+, Discovery+ — just repackaged cable TV with different logos and more monthly fees.
Tubi’s bet is refreshingly simple: remove the friction and people will watch. And it’s working.
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The algorithm-driven future: How YouTube, TikTok and Substack interconnect
Think of the digital media landscape as a living, breathing machine where creators aren’t just making content. They’re engineering visibility by feeding the algorithm precisely what it wants. Here’s how the three dominant platforms interact.
YouTube: The king of retention and click-through
- YouTube rewards videos that keep people watching. Creators analyze watch time, audience retention graphs and click-through rates (CTR) like Wall Street traders watch stock trends.
- Thumbnails and titles are engineered for maximum clickability, balancing curiosity and clarity.
- A video that hooks viewers in the first 10 seconds and maintains a high retention rate is more likely to be pushed by YouTube’s algorithm.
- Many creators test short-form TikTok snippets before expanding on YouTube. A viral TikTok can signal to YouTube that a topic has audience demand.
TikTok: The viral factory
- TikTok’s algorithm is brutally efficient at identifying engaging content in seconds.
- Every swipe, comment and like influences what gets promoted. If a video gets strong engagement in the first hour, TikTok will push it to wider audiences.
- Creators iterate quickly, analyzing performance data and adjusting real-time content to fit trends.
- TikTok creators direct their followers to longer-form content on YouTube or deeper engagement on Substack. A viral TikTok can drive traffic to a YouTube deep dive or a paid newsletter.
Substack: The long-term loyalty builder
- Unlike the hyper-fast algorithms of YouTube and TikTok, Substack is about owning your audience.
- While social platforms control reach, email newsletters give direct access to subscribers, making it a hedge against algorithm shifts.
- Writers convert TikTok or YouTube fans into loyal readers by offering exclusive insights, paid content or community discussions.
- Viral creators monetize their reach on Substack, offering premium content and direct audience relationships no algorithm can throttle.
How they work together
- TikTok builds instant attention and virality — the first touchpoint.
- YouTube capitalizes on that attention with long-form engagement.
- Substack converts fans into long-term subscribers — providing a stable, monetizable audience.
Dig deeper: What makes content go viral, backed by research
This system eliminates dependence on any one platform and turns fleeting attention into a sustainable media empire.
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