Welcome to this week’s edition of The Digest.

I hope you’re enjoying the holidays. Except for a few coffee meetings, it felt like the business year ended weeks ago. It’s taken me until now to reflect and catch up.

This morning, I finished a self-assessment of my activities in 2025. Earlier this year, I was fortunately able to leave V10 Entertainment with a roster of consulting and advisory clients. Looking back at the last five months, I’m happy with my progress, but have to be more intentional next year.

One of my reflections was to make fewer, bigger strategic bets and follow through with strategies that convert new ideas into business growth. There will be more content, more meaningful events, and more focus on bigger priorities.

So, instead of our regular newsletter content, I wanted to share a quick preview of my three big bets for 2026. These aren't predictions. Looking back on my work this year with brands, creators, and platforms, three patterns keep showing up. Here's what I'm betting on for 2026.

Three Bets I'm Making on 2026

1. Podcasts Become the New TV Shows

Launching a podcast is easier and cheaper than ever. But the real shift? Sponsors and platforms are starting to treat them like proven TV formats—recurring audiences, multi-platform distribution, and communities that actually engage. The infrastructure is catching up to the opportunity. This isn’t just theory. I’m developing a new show with my podcast client, Trivia For Kids, that has a greenlight from a streaming platform. The appetite is there for easily repeatable formats that extend proven IP to new platforms.

2. Microdramas Introduce a New Business Model

While advertisers are focused on creator partnerships and influencer deals, microdramas quietly built an $8B global market in 2025 based on transactional content sales. The unlock isn't the format—it's the economics. Pay-per-episode monetization changes everything. Content that makes money 1:1 with views, not ads. P&G and Maybelline branded microdramas are just the beginning. Brands that fund serialized vertical storytelling will own a massive first-mover advantage.

3. Brands Programming YouTube Like Media Companies

Every brand I talk to is convinced YouTube works. You can’t argue with Nielsen TV share data and YouTube’s place at the center of a $37B creator economy. One brand I work with is a category leader planning to increase its spending on YouTube ads from six figures annually to eight figures next year. But almost no one is programming their channel with an intentional strategy. It's still a repository for commercials or a shared space with no clear owner.

In 2026, the smartest brands will stop treating YouTube like a marketing channel and start treating it like what it is: their own media distribution network. YouTube will shift from a marketing expense to become an investment in programming that drives business results, builds long-term assets, and generates earned media value.

What’s Next?

Next year will be all about creating content that drives commerce. Every brand now has the tools to become a media company. This newsletter is a quick look at my immediate priorities. I could spend hours talking about each idea. If you're thinking about any of this for your company, let's talk.

[email protected] 

Happy New Year!

Best,

Shawn