TOGETHER WITH

It’s Wednesday and Netflix has a treat for fans of the Mystery Incorporated gang. The streaming service has dropped a first look at the real-life pup who will embody Scooby Doo in its new live-action series.

THE BIZ

The acquisition: After reporting $18 billion of quarterly revenue during Q2 2026, global consulting firm Accenture has acquired the creator and social agency Whalar.

Accenture’s entry into the creator economy will allow it to unite its tech and measurement solutions with an expert firm that has executed thousands of multiplatform influencer campaigns. The deal is for the eponymous agency under the umbrella of Whalar Group, the creator company that reached a $400 million valuation after securing a strategic investment last year.

Whalar co-CEOs Emma Harman and Jo Cronk will retain their roles post-acquisition, while Whalar’s 170+ person team will be incorporated into the Accenture Song marketing division.

Whalar Group, the previous parent company of Whalar, will continue to work with its former subsidiary thanks to a three-year strategic partnership with Accenture Song. It will continue to operate other businesses as well, including, presumably, its Lighthouse brand and the management firm Sixteenth.

The context: Accenture paid an undisclosed—but apparently hefty—sum to acquire Whalar. Whalar Group Co-Founder Neil Waller told Adweek that the deal is the “largest creator economy transaction” to date. It’s worth noting Publicis Groupe sparked a feeding frenzy with its $500 million acquisition of influencer agency Influential in 2024.

As legacy brands sought pieces of an industry that attracted $37 billion of annual ad spend in 2025, buyers like Skybound and gen.video paid millions for digital-native firms. In total, that M&A spree encompassed over 50 deals.

Now, the agency that once served as the Whalar Group flagship is set up for a new era of innovation. In a joint statement, Harman and Cronk alluded to “the next chapter in the creator revolution,” which they plan to author as part of the Accenture Song team.

On Wednesday June 24, the industry’s most influential creators and brands will gather on a rooftop in Cannes.

That exclusive meeting place will serve as the setting for The Great Unlearn, a curated rooftop session presented by Billion Dollar Boy in partnership with Cannes Lions. 

Since 2014, Billion Dollar Boy has been the global creator marketing agency behind the world’s most iconic social-first advertising, including award-winning campaigns for leading brands like Heineken, Nike, Unilever, PepsiCo, and L’Oréal. 

Now—after gaining recognition by Cannes Lions, Adweek, Ad Age, The Drum, Webby Awards, Shorty Awards, and more—BDB is hosting The Great Unlearn to unite the creator economy’s leading talent and brands at Cannes Lions.

At The Great Unlearn, creators and brands will discover how to…

Then comes the Patreon x FiveTwoNine Happy Hour.

Following The Great Unlearn, attendees will indulge in drinks, canapés, and rooftop conversations with brand leaders, global platforms, and top creators—including the 20 winners of BDB and FiveTwoNine’s 2026 Creator Fund.

Reserve your spot on the rooftop:

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

BACK TO SCHOOL

The triumphant return: For eight months, Kai Cenat’s 20 million Twitch followers have been waiting with bated breath for the streamer’s next move. Now, for the first time since his month-long Mafiathon 3 event last October, Cenat is stepping back into the spotlight.

The creator is returning to Twitch for a second edition of one of his most ambitious projects. Streamer University 2—the sequel to a 2025 event featuring over 150 digital luminaries—is on the horizon.

As with the first edition of the event, Cenat dropped the news of Streamer University 2 by starring in a teaser video with serious Hogwarts vibes. This time, however, the castle has been overrun with owls.

A streamer school filled with strigine students would be a hoot, but Cenat invited human creators to apply instead. The Streamer University trailer also notes that “selected alumni will return” for the 2026 school year.

The future: The wide breadth of talent featured during the inaugural Streamer University semester helped turn the event into an unqualified success. With Cenat starring as headmaster and his AMP brethren like Duke Dennis and Agent 00 serving as professors, Streamer University’s star-studded sessions at the University of Akron pulled in 27 million hours of watch time.

Will the event’s second season score equally high marks? Cenat’s long break from Twitch has certainly lowered his profile, but the massive viewership on the Streamer U 2026 trailer—which scored 2.5 million Instagram likes in less than two days—shows that Cenat still has a certain je ne sais quoi. 

BACK IN TOWN

The neighborhood hub: It’s a beautiful day on YouTube, because Mister Rogers has taken up residence on the platform. A mix of full episodes and clips from the original 33-year run of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood can now be accessed through an official channel.

Run by Fred Rogers Productions and Little Dot Studios, the YouTube channel’s initial offerings include several classic episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, including its debut and the groundbreaking 1969 installment “A Visit with Officer Clemmons.” There are also short-form clips that impart Rogers’ wisdom and grace, as well as compilations depicting the show’s evolution across its decades-long run.

Select Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood episodes are available on local PBS stations and the PBS Kids app. According to Fred Rogers Productions Co-Executive Producer Kristin DiQuollo, however, the new YouTube channel will allow Fred Rogers Productions to reach deeper into its 900-episode archive.

By offering a rotating ten-episode selection of full episodes, the YouTube channel will broadcast installments that are “rarely seen or not seen in a long time,” DiQuollo said. Additional compilations on the channel will be limited to 30 minutes, encouraging kids to put down their screens and explore the outside world.

The context: Rising trends have demonstrated a widespread demand for children’s programming that is empathetic, slower-paced, and developmentally beneficial. Ms. Rachel, for example, has leveraged her knowledge of early childhood educational philosophies to become one of the biggest family-friendly creators in the world. Some of the biggest producers of kids’ YouTube content, including CoComelon parent Moonbug, have inked partnerships that bring clearer developmental goals into videos.

Similar initiatives have paired iconic kids’ shows with TikTokers (Reading Rainbow) and kidfluencers (Sesame Street). Now, the eventual arrival of original content on the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood YouTube channel will give the hub’s producers more chances to cut through the clutter.

WATCH THIS 👀

The celeb collab: Boy Throb is bringing back the boy band bops of the early ‘00s—and, hopefully, bringing the fourth member of their band, Darshan, to the U.S.

As longtime fans know, that quest hasn’t been an easy one. Most recently, Darshan’s O1 visa application was rejected on the basis that he hadn’t provided enough evidence of his extraordinary ability.

That’s where Kesha comes in. After all, is there any stronger evidence of Boy Throb’s visa-worthy talents than a collab with a pop icon?

Having listened to the band’s new song, which was released by Kesha Records, we’re not surprised that Boy Throb is feeling more confident about Darshan’s resubmitted application. You can listen to “DJ Turn it Down” here.

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