Social Commerce Network: Sammi Cohen Launches Live Business News for the Mobile Generation

Sammi Cohen has built an audience of more than half a million followers exploring the intersection of business, technology, and culture. Now she is stepping into a bigger stage: launching Social Commerce Network (SCN), a new digital-first livestreamed news platform designed to be what she describes as “CNBC for the generation that gets their news on their phone.” Broadcasting three days a week across YouTube, X, TikTok, and Instagram, SCN represents both a new voice in business journalism and a fundamental shift in how and for whom it is delivered.

The Format and Vision

SCN debuts on October 6, broadcasting live from a studio in Los Angeles’ Sawtelle neighbourhood every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pacific. Each show is split into two halves: the first covering breaking news across consumer business, tech, fintech, retail, CPG, beauty, and the creator economy; the second featuring short-form interviews with the CEOs, founders, and decision-makers shaping those industries. Cohen will be joined as co-host by Alaina Hartley, formerly a principal at venture capital firm Greycroft and a consultant at Bain & Co., who now runs her own consumer brand consultancy, Dream Hunter.

Cohen frames the project as building on the success of TBPN, the Technology Business Programming Network a model she admires for knowing its audience deeply and serving them directly. But SCN will differ in key ways: its distribution is entirely social-first, its tone is designed to feel accessible rather than intimidating, and its audience is expected to be distinctively diverse. “My followers are roughly 70% women,” Cohen noted. “We are going to be talking about the companies driving massive shifts across the landscape of consumer businesses, and interviewing the leaders of those companies,” with particular attention to women-led enterprises that are often overlooked in traditional business coverage.

From Podcast to Live Network

The leap to livestreaming builds on strong foundations. Cohen’s weekly podcast Social Currency has established her as a trusted interviewer, drawing 250,000 followers on Instagram and 107,000 subscribers on YouTube. She will continue producing the podcast alongside the new thrice-weekly live shows a schedule she acknowledges is ambitious: “It’s gonna be a lot!”

The choice of live format is deliberate. “As all forms of communication become automated, people are yearning for a human touch in media,” she explained. “There’s nothing more human than live.” Producers will integrate viewer questions and feedback in real time, turning the broadcast into a conversation rather than a monologue. This interactivity, combined with distribution across short-form and social platforms, meets audiences where they already are rather than expecting them to tune in at a specific time on a traditional channel.

Building with Partners

Several sponsors across technology, fintech, hospitality, creator media, and marketing have signed on to support the launch, though Cohen has not yet named them. “They are truly partners in building the show with us,” she said, emphasising a collaborative approach to development. In the early months, the team will be “hyper-focused” on understanding audience preferences which topics resonate, which guests draw attention, and what format adjustments will best serve viewers.

The timing reflects a broader moment in media: creators are increasingly building their own platforms rather than waiting for traditional gatekeepers to invite them. With TBPN acquired by OpenAI and the future of business news evolving rapidly, SCN enters the space as an independent, audience-rooted alternative one that speaks to founders, investors, and professionals who have never seen themselves reflected in mainstream financial news.

SCN is more than a new show; it is a test of what business news can look like when it is built for social, live, and inclusive audiences. By combining rigorous coverage with approachable presentation, diverse representation, and real-time engagement, Cohen and Hartley aim to make business news feel less like a lecture and more like a conversation. Whether it becomes a lasting institution or a fresh voice in the landscape, the message is clear: the next generation of business leaders does not just want to watch they want to be seen, heard, and part of the discussion.