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It's Tuesday and Twitch is taking notes (literally). Will those new policy clarifications be enough to convince creators to stream by the book?

Today’s News

TALK TUAH

The Hawk Tuah girl’s fame is lasting longer than 15 minutes. How is she doing it?

The phenomenon: Four months ago, Hailey Welch uttered a life-changing catchphrase during an on-the-street interview in Nashville: “hawk tuah.” The viral star’s ensuing fame could have come and gone within the usual fifteen minutes—but it didn’t. Instead, both Welch and the Hawk Tuah meme have demonstrated an unexpected level of staying power.

The creator’s catchphrase is now showing up in ads, generating one thinkpiece after another, and bringing joy to election season. At the same time, Welch has brought her own podcast (aka Talk Tuah) to #11 on the Spotify charts, made her streaming debut on Kick, teamed up with Killer Merch to release apparel at 670 Spencer’s stores, generated direct revenue through Fanfix, and signed off on an official costume sold via Spirit Halloween.

The factors: The internet is filled with creators who have experienced 15 minutes of fame—and then faded into obscurity. So, what makes Welch different? There are dozens of possible explanations, but Welch’s upward trajectory has been boosted by at least two significant factors: 1) the creator’s own social media savvy and 2) her relatable small town background (which sets her apart from podcasters like Alix Earle and Alex Cooper).

Welch also recently signed a representation deal with management firm The Penthouse, built a personal brand and company called 16 Minutes (which is an incredible name), and attached her name to an organization called Paws Across America. The latter advocates for animal charities across the U.S. She’s made herself visible across multiple platforms and content formats, too. Welch was Kick’s guest of honor at the Dreamhack Atlanta convention, where she officially launched her streaming career.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Brainstorming video thumbnails just got a whole lot easier

A good thumbnail can make or break a viral video—but brainstorming the right concept isn’t always easy. For creators who have already released dozens (or even hundreds!) of videos, inventing new and fresh thumbnails can be a frustrating and time-consuming task. 

That’s why Spotter Studio is expanding a tool designed by and for YouTube creators: Thumbnail Styles.

With Thumbnail Styles, YouTube creators can generate thumbnail concepts in three different styles to help kickstart the brainstorming process:

• Concept Art: Keep it clean with a cartoon-esque style that translates concepts quickly
  
  

• Sketch: This black-and-white option offers accessibility to color-blind creators and a clear look at composition
  
  

• Realistic: Easily translate ideas to designers by generating realistic renderings of your thumbnail concepts

From real-time data insights to cutting-edge AI models and personalized video concepts, 

Spotter Studio’s software makes it easy to brainstorm all aspects of your next viral video. (Just remember to use Thumbnail Styles as inspiration—not as YouTube-ready thumbnails!)

Create Winning Videos Now (It’s Free for 30 Days!) →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Indian record label T-Series started October the same way it ended September: at the top of our global weekly ranking of most-viewed YouTube channels. (Tubefilter)
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• TikTok has officially launched Smart+, an automated advertising solution described by Digiday as a suite of “AI-powered ad-buying tools that promise to make campaign management effortless.” (Digiday)

• Ironmouse’s record-breaking Twitch subathon has been met with a wave of backlash. Now, fellow streamer Kai Cenat is reminding fans that the VTuber has always been the one to beat. (Gamer Rant)
  
  

• Instagram head Adam Mosseri has responded to complaints regarding the amount of “engagement-bait” on Threads by assuring users that the platform is “working to get it under control.” (Engadget)

DATA • GOSPEL STATS 📈

Top 3 Branded Videos of the Week: Lunchly, luxury cars, and creator-made controversy

MrBeast is at the top of the branded charts for the second week running. After earning 115M views last week thanks to a collab with Lunchly co-founders KSI and Logan Paul, the beast man brought the trio’s lunch kit back into the spotlight to sponsor his latest challenge.

🥇 MrBeast x Feastables, Lunchly: 100 Identical Twins Fight For $250,000 (82.1M views)
Lunchly already has its fair share of critics, but that hasn’t stopped its founders from throwing their marketing weight behind some of YouTube’s biggest videos. The latest is a quintessential Beast challenge with a gimmicky theme, a massive payout, and a sponsored nod to MrBeast’s other consumables brand: Feastables.

🥈 Ben Azelart x GoGo squeeZ: Star Rail: I Built a SECRET Zoo In My House! (16M views)
While most second-place videos score between 5 and 10 million views, kids’ entertanier Ben Azelart garnered more than 16 million by channeling his signature super power: secret-room-building. From hidden soccer fields to secret zoos, Azelart’s unusual niche regularly brings in roughly 250 million views a month—an attractive total for new-to-the-scene sponsors like GoGo squeeZ.

🥉 Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell x Brilliant: This Video Might Save 58 Lives Next Week (4.3M views)
Kurzgesagt isn’t willing to lose a single viewer—especially to something like wingsuit flying. Since most of its viewers are 15-35 years old and live in western countries, the edutainment channel’s latest lecture examines different ways people of those demographics have died. That might seem like a morbid lesson, but it’s a win-win for everyone involved—after all, viewers can’t sign up for Brilliant’s online courses if they’ve already kicked the bucket.

Check out our full article here or head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

WILD WEST

Kick made a name for itself by courting edgy creators—but can it handle the fallout?

The platform: After framing itself as a no-holds-barred alternative to Twitch—one with more free speech, more gambling, and fewer rules—Kick is feeling the consequences of catering to controversial creators.

The platform first launched in October 2022 after Twitch banned some forms of gambling content. Since then, it’s repeatedly taken advantage of Twitch’s fumbles: when the Amazon-owned platform implemented new rules about branded streams, Kick offered to pay creators’ contract cancellation fees. When Twitch waffled on revenue splits, Kick tweeted its own streamer-to-platform ratio: “95/5.” Most recently, Kick appeared to offer a licensing deal to the owner of Twitch’s soon-to-be-retired BibleThump emote.

The question: Those efforts have helped Kick snag a growing share of the streaming market. But now it’s facing another challenge: how can it maintain a lawless reputation while keeping its community from breaking the law?

During the most recent TwitchCon, there were multiple reports of Kick streamers harassing attendees, starting physical altercations, and shouting inappropriate comments. Kick CEO Ed Craven responded by saying the platform had suspended “multiple accounts” for “violating our IRL streaming policies.”

Kick isn’t just handing out suspensions, either: the platform quickly permabanned 20-year-old Jack Doherty after he crashed his car live on stream because he was reading chat while driving. That kind of immediate response is vital for platforms looking to avoid legal trouble; YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch all have rules banning dangerous stunts.

And Kick does seem eager to avoid legal trouble. The platform recently changed the name of its “Other, TV Shows & Movies” category to “Other, Watch Party” after game developer Pirate Software suggested it was incentivizing creators to stream copyrighted content. Whether that means Kick will actually stop people from streaming TV shows and movies remains to be seen—but the platform’s latest wave of bans and suspensions does suggest a shift in strategy.

WATCH THIS 📺

The 2.0 version of Dude Perfect Headquarters is gone—but DPHQ3 is “coming soon”

RIP DPHQ2: After seven years, Dude Perfect is saying goodbye to DPHQ2. The trickshot group paid homage to their iconic studio in a recent video, which included clips of their top ten moments at HQ2 (plus footage of a few unfortunate floods and fires). But despite the nostalgia tied to those memories, it’s clear that the dudes are fired up about their next move—and fans have a lot to look forward to as well.

What’s next: In addition to the upcoming reveal of DPHQ3 (a roughly $100M studio that will double as an “entertainment destination” with shops, restaurants, and mini-golf), Dude Perfect is gearing up for its next romp around the globe. The crew’s 2025 Hero World Tour will kick off next July, with stops scheduled in the U.S. and the U.K.

Check out Dude Perfect’s latest video here to see a full list of tour dates and bid a DPHQ2 a fond farewell.

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