TOGETHER WITH

It’s Wednesday and TikTok could soon give services like Yelp and Google Maps a run for their money. The app’s latest test feature: a Reviews tab filled with commenters’ experiences at tagged locations.

Today’s News

MONTHLY MILESTONES

Kick just set a new high-water mark with 317 million hours of watch time in March 2025

The milestone: Fresh off its best month ever, Kick is increasing its investments in fields like monetization and moderation.

In addition to scoring 317 million watch hours in March, a spokesperson for the platform told Digiday that Kick beat its average watch time record with 443,559 monthly concurrent viewers and now has a total of 57 million total users. (For comparison, StreamElements found that Twitch earned more than 1.5 billion hours of watch time in February 2025.)

To keep the good times rolling, Kick CEO Ed Craven says the platform “has invested at least tenfold, compared to what we used to, in moderation.” The exec—who co-founded Kick backer Stake.com alongside Bijan Tehrani—has also invested heavily in streamer infrastructure to make the budding hub a legitimate rival to Twitch.

The strategy: Part of that mission has involved efforts to support Kick’s middle class of streamers. Although the platform initially prioritized splashy signings, it has since turned its attention to initiatives like the Kick Road campaign, which offers a $50,000 prize pool to creators with low viewership rates.

Kick has made a similar pivot when it comes to moderation. Although the Stake.com venture earned a reputation early on as a haven for controversial figures like Adin Ross, Craven says moderation has now “become one of our frontrunners, in terms of where we put resourcing. Trust and Safety, especially, has become one of our larger departments internally. So it’s continuously growing.”

If Kick can find the right balance between amping up its moderation system and growing its viewership, it might just have a shot at competing with giants like Twitch.

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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• A new site called BlockBase aims to provide Roblox fans with a “pro” wiki composed by a unified editorial team of content creators who are active players on the platform. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• The FTC’s anti-trust trial against Meta has unearthed yet another off-the-wall email from Mark Zuckerberg: a 2022 thread in which he suggests “wiping” the friends lists of all Facebook users. (The Verge)
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• As fears mount regarding tariffs, counterfeit manufacturers have reportedly flooded TikTok with videos encouraging U.S. viewers to buy products directly from Chinese factories. (The Independent)
  
  

• Google is giving Gemini Advanced subscribers the opportunity to test out its new text-to-video generator, Veo 2. (The Verge)

MONEY MOVES

77% of companies have increased their influencer marketing spend this year

The report: Influencer marketing has blown up. Brands are projected to spend $10.52 billion on creator partnerships in 2025—and according to new data, 77% of companies have increased their influencer marketing spend this year.

That latter figure comes from a report published by eMarketer and Spotter, who teamed up to uncover advertisers’ influencer marketing priorities. The firms presented their findings days after Spotter put on a star-studded upfront presentation featuring pitches from prominent creators.

The stats: The main takeaway of Spotter’s upfront was simple: creators are looking for long-term partnerships with compatible brands. As it turns out, that mission fits neatly with companies’ own evolving priorities.

Among the 139 marketers surveyed for Spotter and eMarketer’s report, 43.9% said that “finding the right creators” is the biggest challenge they face amidst their influencer campaigns and 37.4% said “finding long-term creator partnerships” is the “emerging creator marketing tactic” that will bring them the most value.

Nearly a third (31.7%) of eMarketer and Spotter’s cohort also cited more effective ROI management tools among the “priorities for your creator marketing program this year.” Instead of adhering to “vanity metrics,” advertisers are keeping up with recent findings by prioritizing creators who are adept at fan engagement. 27.1% of eMarketer and Spotter’s respondents described the number of conversions that can be directly attributed to campaigns as the “most valuable” influencer marketing metric, with no other stat earning even half as high of a percentage.

The bottom line: engagement is everything—and advertisers are keen to established long-term, fine-tuned partnerships with creators who can provide it.

LASTING LEGACY

A Minecraft Movie made Technoblade a posthumous chart-topper

The homage: Nearly three years after Technoblade's passing, A Minecraft Movie has given fans another chance to reminisce about the departed creator. One scene in the blockbuster film showed a blocky pig wearing a crown—a clear homage to Technoblade’s signature Minecraft avatar.

The response: Moviegoers have applauded the allusion, which has served to bring Technoblade—and his YouTube channel—back into the spotlight. The creator gained 600,000 new subscribers during the second week of April, even though his channel has remained relatively untouched since he passed away due to cancer in 2022. As new viewers discover Techoblade’s existing videos and long-time fans revisit old favorites, the creator’s library of Minecraft gameplay is drawing fresh sets of eyes.

Technoblade’s posthumous success is more than a stirring tribute to a creator who touched the lives of his 19.1 million fans. It’s also a refreshing reminder that narrative content can capture viewers’ attention amidst a rising sea of brainrot.

WATCH THIS 📺

Millions of viewers are tuning in for The Great Moose Migration

The phenomenon: If you’re not familiar with The Great Moose Migration (aka Den stora älgvandringen), then you’ve been missing out on an epic trek that has entranced millions of viewers for over five years.

According to AP News, the 20-day, 24/7 livestream—which follows the annual migration of moose across Northern Sweden—drew 9 million viewers last year, with some stocking up on meals and hunkering down at home in the hopes of glimpsing an elusive moose.

So far, it looks like this year’s migration has summoned a similarly devoted crowd (and an enthusiastic chat thread). You can check it out on Sweden’s SVT broadcaster here, but be warned: given that there are only about a hundred moose on the move, spotting one of the migrating mammals requires patience.

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