Weekend Waves 23/26
📺 The TV-ification of Social Media
Happy Friday, Wavemakers!
I’ve arrived in Germany, but heading to Croatia next week to speak at NEM Dubrovnik about:
Mega-mergers are reshaping the media landscape, as companies scale up to compete globally, control content pipelines, and reduce costs. This panel explores how consolidation is changing competition, content strategies, and what it means for consumers, regulators, and the future of the industry. If you’re attending NEM Dubrovnik, too, say hi!
While companies scale globally, the real shift is happening elsewhere, though - inside formats, platforms, and audience behaviour.
Here are the top 3 stories making waves this week:
1️⃣ From Clips to Series
2️⃣ Platforms Share IP
3️⃣ Micro Series Gets Formal
Let’s dive in!
🌊 News that Made Waves
Meta Tests “Series” for Episodic Reels on Instagram and Facebook.
Meta is testing a new “Series” feature for Reels that’s designed to make it easier to keep up with serialised content on Instagram and Facebook. Select creators will now be able to create a series using their Reels, both new and old. Each Reel will become an episode in a bigger story with a dedicated hub on their profile, mirroring an experience that’s already available on TikTok. The launch of the new feature indicates that Meta is embracing longer-term viewing, rather than quick scrolling sessions, as is normally the case with short-form videos. With organised series, the social media giant is looking to bring audiences back repeatedly and build stronger viewing habits. As for creators, the new feature offers a more organised way to release episodic videos, like tutorials and challenges. (TechCrunch)
💡Meta is effectively reshaping Reels from a stream of isolated clips into structured, repeatable series, signalling a clear shift from short-term scroll behaviour toward long-term viewing habits designed to bring audiences back.
Sidemen Serve Up Cooking Series on YouTube, Prime Video in Staggered Release Deal.
Amazon’s Prime Video has teamed up with Sidemen Productions, the prodco of YouTube collective The Sidemen, on a cooking series that will premiere on both YouTube and Prime Video as part of a staggered release. The first episode of the four-part series, Sidemen Present: SideMenu, will drop on the MoreSidemen YouTube channel on June 18, with Prime Video exclusively launching episode two the next day. The first show will also be available on Prime Video on June 19. Episode three will launch on Prime Video on June 26, followed by the finale on July 3. Episodes two, three and four will then be available to stream on MoreSidemen two weeks after their Prime Video debuts. Sidemen Present: SideMenu sees The Sidemen and guest contestants take on a series of themed cooking challenges, with rotating teams, surprise twists and judging from professional chefs and food experts. (C21 Media)
💡Creator IP is increasingly being treated like multi-window TV content, where platforms collaborate rather than compete - using staggered releases to stretch attention, deepen engagement, and monetise audiences across different viewing environments.
TikTok and Sundance Collab Launch Micro Series Storytelling Programme.
TikTok and Sundance Institute have launched a new Micro Series storytelling programme via Sundance Collab, aimed at training creators in writing serialised short-form content for digital audiences. The four-week live online course focuses on scriptwriting frameworks for micro series and is designed to equip participants with the tools to develop structured, story-driven formats.
The initiative builds on an earlier partnership at the Sundance Film Festival and reflects TikTok’s growing investment in episodic storytelling as audiences increasingly engage with series-based content. It also signals a broader push to formalise micro series as a distinct creative discipline within the creator economy.
On June 3 at the Vertical Media Summit, TikTok’s Head of Entertainment Partnerships, Dawn Yang, spoke about the partnership and the growing momentum behind micro series as audiences increasingly embrace the format.
“TikTok has become a home for serialised storytelling, where original micro series find audiences faster and more authentically than ever before,” said Dawn Yang, Head of Entertainment Partnerships at TikTok. “Following the success of Screen Time, produced by HOORAE Digital, we’ve seen how powerful community-driven discovery can be in helping stories break through, and we’re excited to partner with Sundance Collab in continuing to champion original voices.” (Sundance)
💡Sundance’s partnership with TikTok marks the formalisation of Micro Series as a legitimate storytelling format, moving episodic short-form content from platform-native experimentation into structured creative education.
“Minecraft” Expands Creator Marketing Ambitions with Affiliate Programme.
“Minecraft” launched its first creator affiliate programme on June 1, with plans to scale it globally, according to a press release. Utilising tools from impact.com, the Microsoft-owned sandbox game will be able to partner with and compensate creators who create content surrounding the game. Participating creators will be rewarded when users purchase select in-game items via a special link. The platform will also support affiliates beyond creators, including partners of Minecraft Marketplace, a player-created content library. The partnership with impact.com will allow “Minecraft” to formalise and scale its creator content efforts. (Marketing Dive)
💡Minecraft is shifting creator monetisation from attention-based rewards to transaction-based incentives, embedding commerce directly into gameplay and turning creators into distribution channels for in-game sales.
BuzzFeed Will Take on YouTube with a Free Streaming Service.
Media entrepreneur Byron Allen will become the CEO and majority owner of BuzzFeed, with plans to turn the digital media company into the foundation for a free streaming service competing with YouTube. Allen, who bought about 51% of BuzzFeed’s outstanding shares in a deal worth $120 million, wants to “build on the iconic foundation of BuzzFeed and HuffPost by expanding into free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content.” The new CEO and chairman wants to put BuzzFeed in close competition with YouTube. AI will play a significant role in achieving this goal; BuzzFeed said that the tool “will accelerate content creation, distribution, and discovery” across BuzzFeed properties.
BuzzFeed Studios and Tasty will be spun into separate entities while remaining fully owned subsidiaries of BuzzFeed. (EMARKETER)
💡BuzzFeed’s pivot reflects how legacy digital media is increasingly trying to reposition itself as a platform, betting on creator content, UGC, and AI-driven production to compete directly with YouTube’s ecosystem rather than traditional media networks.
Netflix Launches Hub Featuring “Bridgerton”, More Book-to-Screen Adaptations Targeting Nine Reader Types.
Netflix aims to turn readers’ “To Be Read” lists into subscribers’ “To Be Watched” queues this summer with the launch of its new book-lovers-themed hub Tuesday.
Debuting this week, the streamer’s “Watch Your Favorite Books” page is described as a “dedicated destination that brings together the best of Netflix’s book-inspired storytelling in one space,” including “Bridgerton,” “The Gray Man,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” and more of Netflix’s book-to-screen adaptations. Netflix is breaking the hub into nine sections dedicated to different reader types, including: You Crave Amazing Characters, You’re into Immersive World-Building, You Love a Great Plot Twist, You Savor Swoonworthy Romances, You’re a Nonfiction Fanatic, You’re a History and Period Piece Buff, You Adore All-Ages Adventures, You Collect Manga and Comics, You’re Wild About Web Stories.
For example, “All-Ages Adventures” will include the Neil Patrick Harris-led “A Series of Unfortunate Events” show, while the newly released “Remarkably Bright Creatures” film adaptation, starring Sally Field and Lewis Pullman, will be found under “Amazing Characters.” (Variety)
💡Netflix is deepening its shift from passive catalogue to identity-driven discovery by organising content around reader archetypes, turning IP into personalised entry points designed to convert literary taste into viewing habits.
🧠 Strategy Spotlight: The TV-ification of Social Media (and the Social-ification of TV)
We’re watching media platforms quietly abandon virality. What they’re building instead looks a lot more like television.
At first glance, this week’s stories look unrelated:
Meta testing episodic Reels, TikTok investing in Micro Series with Sundance, Sidemen partnering with Prime Video, Netflix reorganising around fandoms, Minecraft building creator affiliate systems, BuzzFeed chasing a YouTube-like future.
But together, they point to a single shift: We are moving from a culture of reach to a culture of ritual.
Social Platforms Starting to Look like TV
Meta is testing “Series” for Reels, turning short-form video into structured episodic storytelling. Instead of isolated content, creators are encouraged to build continuity - episodes, arcs, and return points.
TikTok is doing something similar through its Micro Series initiative with Sundance, formalising serialised storytelling as a creative discipline rather than just a content trend.
Even gaming ecosystems are shifting in this direction. Minecraft is introducing creator affiliate mechanics that reward sustained engagement and ongoing audience participation, not just one-off viral moments.
The logic is becoming familiar: episodes over posts, series over feeds.
Traditional Media is Becoming More Social
On the other side, streaming and legacy media are moving toward creator-era behaviour.
Netflix is reorganising its content discovery around identity and fandom. Instead of genres, it’s building emotional entry points based on how people feel about stories.
Meanwhile, creator-led IP is increasingly being folded into premium distribution models. The Sidemen’s partnership with Amazon Prime Video is a clear example: YouTube-native audiences are being carried into streaming ecosystems through staggered, cross-platform releases.
Even digital-native publishers like BuzzFeed are repositioning themselves toward creator-driven video platforms and UGC ecosystems.
Different Companies. Same Direction.
What’s striking is not innovation in isolation, but alignment across the entire system:
👉 Social platforms are adopting the structure of TV.
👉 TV and streaming platforms are adopting the behaviour of social media.
👉 And creators sit in the middle, fluent in both worlds.
From Reach to Ritual
For years, media success was defined by reach: how many people you could get to watch something once.
That logic is being replaced.
Now the goal is return frequency - which means getting audiences to come back, expect, and repeat.
👉 Episodes instead of uploads.
👉 Seasons instead of clips.
👉 Story arcs instead of moments.
When Content Becomes Habit
Once you shift from reach to return, you are no longer just designing content. You are designing habits.
Platforms are increasingly optimising for repetition: predictable viewing patterns, emotional continuity, and structured anticipation. The aim is no longer just discovery, it’s dependency on rhythm.
This is where the convergence becomes clear. TV is borrowing the fluidity of social media. Social media is borrowing the structure of television. And in between, a hybrid system is emerging - built less around channels or platforms, and more around audience rituals.
🔥 NEM DUBROVNIK: Burning Question
Speaking of habits, NEM asked me: “What is something about the TV and streaming industry that is often overlooked, but shouldn’t be?”
My answer was daily habits!
We still underestimate how much habit drives viewing. It’s not just about what people want to watch - it’s about what fits into their daily routines, which is why formats, release strategies, and even length matter more than we admit.
I don’t think it’s true that Gen Z doesn’t watch long-form content - they absolutely do, but it depends on context, mood, and where they are in their day. Viewers move between short-form and long-form throughout the day. That’s why platforms like Netflix are experimenting with more mobile-first, discovery-led ways of bringing people back across different moments.
And in a subscription world, the real challenge is churn - so the goal is to turn viewing into habit, either a daily ritual or a weekly appointment, like we see with shows such as The White Lotus, where weekly release builds anticipation and conversation.
Because habit is what turns attention into retention.
🎬 Inside Branded Entertainment: VICE’s Branded Entertainment Playbook
VICE is quietly reshaping how Branded Entertainment works - not as isolated campaigns, but as systems designed to behave like scalable IP. In my latest MIPBlog piece, the focus is on how the company is moving beyond traditional brand integrations and instead building frameworks where creators, platforms, and brands are structurally embedded from the start.
The key idea is simple but powerful: creators are no longer just talent in a format, they are increasingly the idea, the distribution engine, and the cultural access point all at once.
What makes this shift interesting is how it reframes value creation. Instead of thinking in terms of one-off branded content or short-term campaigns, VICE is leaning into repeatable entertainment ecosystems - where IP can expand, travel, and evolve across platforms.
From YouTube-native formats built with creators to brand-funded storytelling that behaves more like entertainment franchises, the underlying logic is the same: structure first, execution second, and brand integration as part of culture rather than interruption.
The result is a broader industry signal that goes beyond VICE itself. Branded Entertainment is no longer just about visibility, it’s about building content models that can scale like media companies, with creators sitting at the centre of both narrative and distribution.
The full article breaks down how this framework works in practice, and why it could redefine how IP is developed across the creator economy.
👉 Read the whole article HERE.
☀️ Weekend Vibes
If something sparked a thought, or you think a friend would enjoy this, hit reply or forward it along. Sandra x
Please feel free to reach out to me if you would like to discuss this further or if you have any questions: sandra@tvfuturist.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.