TOGETHER WITH

It’s Tuesday and a Charizard-shaped Cheeto just sold for $87K. The owner of that cheese puff might want to link up with Logan Paul: if the influencer is willing to drop $5M on a Pokémon card, there’s no telling what he’d spend on an edible Charizard.

Today’s News

CHANNELING YOUTUBE

YouTube wants to use its dominance on TV screens to sell more subscriptions

The product: YouTube is shining a spotlight on its one-stop subscription shop, Primetime Channels.

The platform originally launched Primetime Channels back in 2022 as an answer to Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, a similar hub stocked with a wide range of streaming sign-ups. At the time, YouTube hoped to improve Primetime Channels’ compelling lineup—which includes subscriptions to services like Max and Paramount+—by adding other coveted subs, including some in the FAST lane.

The problem: a compelling product isn’t worth much if users can’t actually find it. A lack of discoverability has been an ongoing issue for Primetime Channels. So, to amp up the hub’s visibility, YouTube is leveraging one of its most effective tools: TV screens.

The plan: According to The Information, a redesigned version of YouTube’s TV app will sort content into shelves like the ones seen on Netflix or Hulu. Those collections of category-based suggestions and curated creator content will live next to a display for Primetime Channels.

Highlighting Primetime Channels on television screens is a smart move on YouTube’s part. The video platform continues to eat up more watch time on TVs each month, delivering strong returns for Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Now, YouTube’s new TV layout will test whether the growing number of living room viewers are interested in using the app to consolidate their other subscriptions.

If so, the payoff could be huge. With more and more viewers bristling at interruptive ads and the rising price of Premium, YouTube’s existing revenue streams only have so much room to grow. Primetime Channels could be the platform’s next big thing—but first, users need to know it exists.

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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian will serve as a financial advisor for The People’s Bid, a consortium organized by billionaire Frank McCourt in order to potentially purchase TikTok. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Google is reportedly finalizing the deprecation of popular ad-blocker uBlock Origin on Chrome, making it harder than ever for YouTube viewers to avoid ads without paying for Premium. (Gizmodo)
  
  

• A recent report from X claims that the number of Gen Z users on the platform has risen by 12% year-over-year. (XBusiness)
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• According to an unsealed lawsuit filed against TikTok, the platform projects that its livestreaming feature, TikTok Live, will generate $77 billion in sales by 2027. (Business Times)

GOSPEL STATS 📈

Top Branded Videos: Tough questions, Joe Rogan, and the weird side of TikTok Live

Social media giants are at the center of this week’s Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report. From a deep-dive into TikTok Live to a physics-powered explanation of Google interviews, Big Tech is wrapped up in the latest YouTube branded rankings. Even Netflix made an appearance—this time, as a Joe Rogan sponsor.

🥇 #1. Rotten Mango x Shopify: Worst TikTok Mom Loves To Date Killers In Prison & Makes Daughters Call Them “Daddy” (8M views)
Rotten Mango’s latest episode is a two-hour breakdown of TikTok Live’s weird side. Throughout the Shopify-sponsored video, the channel’s creator dove into the prominence of sleep deprivation on TikTok Live and the life of Ash Trevino (aka “TikTok’s Messiest Mom”).

🥈 #2. Veritasium x Incogni: The Google Interview Question Everyone Gets Wrong (5.4M views)
If you’d rather melt into the ground than fail a man-on-the-street interview, Veritasium’s got your back. The hub’s latest physics-themed vid tackles a particularly intimidating interview question: how would you survive being shrunk to the size of a nickel and dropped in a blender? Veritasium’s twenty-minute answer is sponsored by digital security company Incogni, which paid for nearly 40 videos this week.

🥉 #3. PowerfulJRE x Netflix: Joe Rogan Experience #2275 - Magnus Carlsen (4.4M views)
If you’ve been in the digital space for, well, any length of time, you’ll know Netflix has beef with YouTube. So, we were pretty surprised when the sponsor of this week’s The Joe Rogan Experience episode turned out to be a Netflix political thriller called Zero Day. The shortest explanation for Netflix’s decision to fund a YouTube video: where Rogan goes, viewers follow.

Check out the full branded ranking here or head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

U.S. TOP 50 📈

The left-wing resistance is staying informed on YouTube

The chart-topper: Fox News’ YouTube hub hit a rapid growth spurt last November, thanks in large part to the return of a Republican-led government in the United States. Three months later, the conservative outlet is still flying high: this week, the Fox News YouTube channel reached 35th place in our ranking of Top 50 U.S. channels.

The newcomer: Of course, right-leaning viewers aren’t alone in seeking political news on YouTube—especially in light of recent events. Before this week, the Forbes Breaking News channel was virtually absent in the U.S. Top 50…and then news broke of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s uncomfortable visit to the Oval Office.

As clips of Zelenskyy’s awkward encounter with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance went viral, Forbes emerged as one of the key sources offering complete footage of the chaotic conversation. On the Forbes Breaking News YouTube account, video coverage of Zelenskyy’s White House visit has now reached nearly nine million views. In total, the aforementioned channel collected 93.9 million weekly views, reaching 41st place in the U.S. Top 50.

The fast riser: Forbes isn’t the only left-leaning news outlet climbing the ranks on YouTube. Thanks in large part to its frequent activity on YouTube Shorts, MSNBC was one of the fastest risers in the U.S. Top 50 during the last days of February, reaching 25th place with 113.9 million weekly views.

The left-wing org may not be quite as big a deal on YouTube as Fox News is, but it is a trusted source for liberals during an era defined by misinformation. Given the rapid-fire changes currently shaking up U.S. politics, that position bodes well for both the channel’s short-term growth and its long-term viability on social media.

WATCH THIS 📺

This TikToker turns zoological knowledge into catchy pop covers

The creator: If you’ve ever wondered about the lifespan of lightning bugs or the definition of “crepuscular,” jingle.jenna has the answers. The musician is the creator behind zoozical, a TikTok channel that has enchanted 115 thousand followers by packing catchy pop songs and showtunes with biological factoids.

Videos on species like the common loon and the mata mata (aka “a turtle with a rough and knobby shell”) have drawn millions of views. Thousands of commenters routinely jump at the chance to suggest species for Jenna’s future videos—and it’s not hard to see why. After all, who doesn’t want to see their favorite animal featured in a cover of “Popular” from Wicked?

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