TOGETHER WITH

It’s Wednesday and the time of Tamagotchis has given way to a new era: one where pocket-sized pals are more likely to be chatbots than digital pets. After all, who doesn’t wear an AI companion around their neck these days?

BY THE NUMBERS

Twitch made a grand total of $667M in ad revenue last year. Should creators be worried?

The documents: Since taking over as CEO, Dan Clancy has been upfront about the fact that Twitch isn’t exactly profitable. Amazon, on the other hand, hasn’t revealed the platform’s revenue in its own earnings calls since acquiring Twitch for nearly $1 billion in 2014.

• As a result, creators and industry professionals have largely been in the dark about Twitch’s finances—until this week. Thanks to internal documents viewed by the Wall Street Journal, we now know that Twitch made just $667 million in ad revenue in 2023. That total adds up to 0.116% of Amazon’s total revenue for the year ($575 billion)—or just over 2% of the $31.51 billion YouTube made on ads in 2023.
  
  

• Internal documents also revealed that users who purchase revenue-boosters like channel subscriptions and Bits are spending less on average. According to third-party data, new user growth and current user engagement are declining, too.

The context: Given those numbers, some employees have voiced concerns about layoffs or even a possible shuttering of Twitch—but it’s worth noting that the platform’s value to Amazon isn’t purely tied to ad revenue. Despite declining user engagement, Twitch’s impact as a cultural nexus has become increasingly prominent over the last few years.

• More and more celebrities have gravitated to Twitch in recent months, with figures like Post Malone and even Donald Trump going live on the platform. Homegrown creators continue to draw impressive audiences, too: Kai Cenat’s recent stream with Kevin Hart and Druski set a new viewership record with 712,600 concurrent viewers.

The bottom line: Twitch (probably) isn’t going anywhere. A spokesperson for Amazon told WSJ that the company has a “long-term view” of the platform and considers it adept at connecting with harder-to-reach audiences—meaning cultural impact and brand awareness are likely more important to the media powerhouse than simple revenue.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Looking to expand your brand? Here’s what you need to know about OTT & FAST channels:

1. What is OTT? 🤔

OTT stands for over-the-top and includes any content viewed with an internet connection—but especially shows watched on streaming platforms like The Roku Channel, Amazon Freevee, and Tubi. Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (aka FAST channels) is one of the most popular forms of OTT. 

2. How does OTT benefit creators? 💸 

• Expanded Reach: FAST channels help creators reach broader audiences without the barrier of subscription fees.
  
  

• Content Utilization: Long-form content thrives on OTT even after it’s peaked on platforms like YouTube.
  
  

• Monetization: Creators can generate revenue through ad placements and licensing deals, allowing them to easily maximize the value of existing content.

3. Where does Viral Nation come in? 🤝

As the only talent agency in the world with 360° creator representation, Viral Nation handles the heavy lifting of bringing your content to streaming services and FAST channels:

Viral Nation has sourced syndication deals for creators like Andrew Shrock & Turbo ToyTime, Legendary Shots, Ant Venom, Tasting History with Max Miller, Zach Choi, and more. Now, it’s your turn:

Take your content to new heights →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Issa Rae’s Ensemble has partnered with Snapchat‘s accelerator 523 to provide 15 creators with mentorship and connections to brand partners like Pepsi, Chili’s, and Popeyes. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• The Senate has passed the Kids Online Safety Act, a bill that would require social media platforms to take “reasonable” measures to protect underage users from threats like cyberbullying. (The Verge)
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• Google took to X earlier this week to refute the claim that it had imposed a ban on Search terms related to Donald Trump. Among those spreading the rumor: X owner Elon Musk. (Engadget)
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• Meta’s latest feat of artificial intelligence is SAM 2, an AI model capable of tracking and following any object shown in a video. (TechRadar)

DATA • GLOBAL TOP 50 📈

This YouTube chef is a champion trend-tracker

The creator: Jakub Koudelka’s kitchen isn’t just a repository of delicious food—it’s also a microcosm of YouTube culture. Over the last three years, the food creator has rapidly increased his viewership by tapping into some of the platform’s timeliest trends.

• The upload dates of Koudelka’s top videos provide a clear timeline for the rise and fall of once-viral sounds, editing styles, and thumbnail formats. As a result, the creator’s channel (aka chefkoudy) is something of a 2020s time capsule—but that doesn’t mean it’s stuck in the past

• Koudelka is just as devoted to following video trends now as he was in 2021. Over the last few months, the creator has pivoted from long-form cooking tutorials to embrace one of the most popular kinds of content on YouTube: seconds-long Shorts featuring limited dialogue, trending sounds, family themes, and plenty of physical comedy.

The stats: That formula has skyrocketed channels like KL BRO Biju Rithvik to the very top of the YouTube charts—and now, Koudelka is getting his own chance to climb the global rankings.

• In the last three months, the creator’s channel attracted roughly 2.5 million subscribers.
  
  

• The resulting traffic has raised Koudelka’s average view count to about 20 million per Short.
  
  

• The result: Koudelka’s channel snagged 273.4 million weekly views and a spot at #32 in our latest Global Top 50 chart.

CAN’T BEAT THE CLASSICS

The PGA Tour is tapping into online audiences with its first-ever Creator Classic

The big event: More and more sports fans are turning to creators for golf content—and the PGA Tour is taking notice.

The golf event organizer has teamed up with Pro Shop to host a Creator Classic featuring Tyler Toney of Dude Perfect, the Bryan Bros, Fat Perez of Bob Does Sports, Good Good‘s Garrett Clark, Brad Dalke and Sean Walsh, and nine other creators.

• That face-off will take place the night before the PGA Tour’s annual Tour Championship. All 16 creators will play nine holes at Atlanta’s newly restored East Lake Golf Club before four top contenders go head-to-head in a final round.
  
  

• The Blackstone-sponsored event will be available to watch on August 28 via Peacock, ESPN+, the PGA Tour’s YouTube channel, and its channel on PlutoTV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi, and XUMO.

The context: This isn’t the first time the 95-year-old PGA Tour has dipped its toes into the creator space. In addition to featuring Dude Perfect member Toney as a character in its official video game, the organizer recently signed a deal with Reddit to cater sports content to its users.

• The reason for that outreach is simple: as Vox Media Studios Chief Creative Officer and Pro Shop Co-Founder Chad Mumm pointed out in a recent statement, “for many young people, some of the biggest stars [in golf] have emerged on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.”
  
  

• It’s not just golf, either. The ability of creators to reach emerging audiences has revolutionized the way sports is consumed. As of 2023, a whopping 70% of Gen Z fans say they prefer to watch sports on social media platforms (per Statista).

WATCH THIS 📺

Mark Zuckerberg is ready for a world where everyone has a personal AI bot

The vision: Meta’s CEO has a vision for the future of technology. During a fireside chat at this year’s Siggraph conference, Mark Zuckerberg revealed his hope that everyone will one day have the power to “basically create agents for themselves."

• That vision of AI doppelgängers is especially relevant to content creators. As Zuckerberg explained to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, the plan is to arm creators on platforms like Facebook and Instagram with AI assistants capable of interacting with fans, negotiating sales, and essentially running “customer support.”
  
  

• Check out the duo’s full chat here.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort