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It’s Wednesday and TikTok is—ironically—feeding into the dead internet theory with “AI Alive,” a new tool that lets users turn photos into AI-powered videos.

Today’s News

BEAST MODE

Amazon is giving MrBeast two more Beast Games seasons

The renewal: Amazon is extending “the largest reality competition series ever.” During its upfront presentation, the tech giant confirmed that Beast Games has been renewed for two additional seasons. The first season of the Prime Video original series, which premiered during last year’s holiday season, offered a souped-up version of the blockbuster competition videos beloved by MrBeast’s nearly 400 million YouTube subscribers.

That format proved to be a big hit for Amazon, which heralded Beast Games as its most-watched unscripted series of all time. The show pulled in 50 million viewers during the first 25 days after its premiere—and attracted a slew of new subscribers at the same time. Among Amazon originals released in 2024, the tech giant reported that only the video game adaptation Fallout brought in more new Prime customers.

The second season: The next season of Beast Games is already shaping up to be bigger (and pricier) than the last. Amazon’s first take on the MrBeast format featured 1,000 players and a top prize of $10 million; for the second go-around, MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) has already revealed his plan to increase the prize pool to $15 million. The YouTuber has also tied his candy business, Feastables, into the show by giving away 50 spots in the competition to lucky peanut butter cup buyers.

That kind of cross-vertical promotion fits nicely into Donaldson’s sprawling empire. With former SoftBank Vision Fund managing parnter Jeffrey Housenbold leading the company now known as Beast Industries, the world’s top YouTuber is looking for funding at a $5 billion valuation. Two more successful seasons of Beast Games would help Beast Industries make its case to potential investors—as long as the show can avoid another slew of controversies during production.

🔆 PRESENTED BY MIDIA RESEARCH 🔆

Fellow creators need your input—and you could make up to $250 just by offering your POV

The creator economy is worth $250B—but there’s still no industry standard to keep creators informed about the basics, like how much they should earn from brand deals or which tools work best. For creators with established communities, the solution is as simple as consulting their peers. But many newer creators don’t have that kind of resource.

So, MIDiA Research is building them one—and to make that lifeline a reality, the analytics company needs your input.

By completing this 10-minute survey, you’ll contribute to a report on the tools creators are using today—one that will be a resource for all creators. (Plus, you’ll be entered to win $250 from a $1K prize pool.)

We at Tubefilter see this as an opportunity for creators to come together and establish an industry-standard guide on video production tools. If you’ve ever been jazzed to discover a certain camera or editing software, this is your chance to help fellow creators level up, too.

_{The details: The survey is open through May 22, after which two randomly-selected winners will receive $250 apiece and four will win $50 each (with prizes distributed via bank transfer using PayPal). Participants must be 16+ years old and should submit only one entry per person.} 

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• YouTube has snagged streaming rights to a September 5th NFL game—and the platform plans to make the action available to watch for free worldwide. (The Verge)
  
  

• Are AI therapists the next big thing? While spitballing about the future of tech, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that “for people who don’t have a person who’s a therapist, I think everyone will have an AI.” (The Verge)
  

  
  

• A bill proposed by a Republican-led House Committee would block states from enforcing “any law or regulation” related to AI-powered tools (including chatbots and search engines) for the next 10 years. (The Verge)
  

  
  

• Disney plans to launch its next standalone streaming service, ESPN, in fall 2025. The “unlimited” plan price tag: $29.99/month. (The Verge)

MOVIE MAGIC

CoComelon snags DreamWorks and Universal for its first full-length film

The film: After collecting nearly 200 million YouTube subscribers and generating 2 billion views a month, CoComelon has partnered with DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures to bring its first full-length film to theaters in 2027.

Parent Moonbug Entertainment—which was acquired by former Disney exec Kevin Mayer‘s Candle Media for a reported $3 billion in cash and stock in 2021—says the movie will be CG animated and “inspired by the blockbuster children’s show.” Moonbug will produce alongside Flywheel Media, Prime Focus Studios, and DreamWorks Animation, with animation by DNEG Group and distribution by Universal.

The context: This may be CoComelon’s first theatrical feature, but the brand is no stranger to off-YouTube productions. Moonbug’s ongoing licensing deal with Netflix has resulted in spinoffs like CoComelon Lane, Cody Time, Nina’s Familia, and JJ’s Animal Time, while the original show racks up billions of hours of annual watch time from young Netflix viewers.

Of course, that digital success doesn’t necessarily guarantee a theatrical blockbuster—especially considering the performance of the last YouTube kids’ obsession to hit big screens. Ryan’s World The Movie: Titan Universe Adventure (which featured Ryan’s World star Ryan Kaji and was produced by the Kaji family’s longtime partner pocket.watch) proved to not be a smash hit at the box office, grossing just over $600,000 against a “less than $10 million budget”.

A few things give CoComelon a better shot at charming theater audiences, including the involvement of staple Hollywood giants as production partners and the innate advantages of animation.

Whereas the Ryan’s World movie was live-acted (with starring roles going to Ryan and his sisters), CoComelon’s animated videos are already voiced by professional actors/singers. Even if the film adaptation involves a new cast of voice actors, it can likely hire industry pros without worrying too much about viewers wondering why their favorite characters seem different on the big screen.

YOUTUBE TOP 50 📈

YouTube Shorts viewers are crazy about AI Jesus (and AI dogs)

The context: God is doing big numbers on YouTube Shorts. Since the start of 2025, Christianity has been one of the hottest topics on the platform, with debates between heaven and hell rising to become a common challenge topic. Men of the cloth like Bispo Bruno Leonardo have also ranked among the biggest stars in our Top 50 charts—but Shorts viewers aren’t just interested in the human and divine aspects of religion. AI is apparently welcome among YouTube’s religious communities, too.

The channels: While Bispo Bruno Leonardo is still hanging around in 47th place, two other channels in this week’s Global Subs Top 50 chart mention God in their names—and we can’t imagine either getting a shoutout during next Sunday’s sermon.

Take God Loves Dogs, for example: the 21st-ranked channel in our latest Global Subs Top 50 added 540,000 new subscribers last week by showing an AI-generated version of the Judeo-Christian god hanging out with (you guessed it) AI-generated dogs.

Bispo Bruno Leonardo’s other godly companion in this week’s Top 50 chart is The Hand of God, a channel that soared all the way into the top ten (and added 760,000 new subs) by begging viewers to hit “like” and restore Jesus’ power.

Hand of God also made sure to pump up its weekly viewership by tapping into Shorts’ other oddball, top-performing categories. For YouTube’s superhero-loving Christian viewers, there are plenty of videos on the channel starring Jesus alongside pop culture darlings like Harley Quinn. Whatever works, right?

WATCH THIS 📺

The Vlogbrothers are celebrating a major public health win

The initiative: Six years ago, Vlogbrothers Hank and John Green donated $6 million to help build a hospital for mothers and infants in Sierra Leon—but that wasn’t quite enough, so they raised an additional $20 million from fans. Some of that money came from direct donations, but a lot of it came from two of the brothers’ product lines: The Awesome Socks Club and Sun Basin Soap.

The milestone: Now, John Green is celebrating the fruits of their labor (and that of the policymakers and activists who have worked to improve living conditions in Sierra Leone). Since the Vlogbrother’s first donation of $6 million, Green says deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth in Sierra Leone have dropped from 1 in 17 women to 1 in 74. Find out more here.

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Today's newsletter is from: James Hale, Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.