It’s Tuesday, and Dictionary.com has announced its 2026 Word of the Year—and it is, in fact, very 2026. The big winner: “maxxing.”

CREATOR COMMOTION

The partnership: Through a pact with MrBeast’s Beast Industries, Mastercard will deliver co-branded programs that will open up new opportunities for digital professionals.

According to a press release, the partnership will combine the resources and expertise of both parties, spanning “card programs, experiences, tools and education.” Mastercard will deliver its payments network to the rapidly growing creator ecosystem, which MrBeast has helped expand with his record-breaking videos.

The two companies will also team up to assist creators with hiring, product development, and audience engagement.

The motivations: Both partners are looking to target the intersection between financial services and the creator economy. Earlier this year, Mastercard followed the lead of competitors like Visa by rolling out a debit card designed to be used by creators.

MrBeast, meanwhile, has established himself as an industry leader across fields like analytics and clipping. Now—with Beast Industries continuing to grow under the leadership of Jeffrey Housenbold—the most-subscribed-to creator on YouTube is turning his attention to the financial world. With a notable “Beast Financial” trademark and an acquisition of Gen Z-facing fintech firm Step, MrBeast has indicated that he wants to help his massive community manage their banking needs.

The partnership with Mastercard will help him achieve that goal by spurring the development of “exclusive benefits and Priceless experiences” tied to MrBeast.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

GOSPEL STATS 📈

Gospel Stats’ latest Weekly Brand Report is all about money, money, money (with a little history thrown in for good measure). At the top of the ranking is a big-cash challenge from MrBeast, followed by a deep dive into the internet’s origins and a pricey Buc-ee’s smorgasbord.

🥇 #1. MrBeast x Good Ranchers, Function Health, Step, iFIT: Lose 150 Lbs Together, Win $250,000 (155.4M views)
This isn’t the first time MrBeast has topped Gospel Stats’ Weekly Brand Report with a digital fatsuit thumbnail—in fact, it’s not even the first time this month. And, just like last time, he’s not actually the one losing weight.

Instead, it’s Tre and Sara, a couple who embark on a cash-fueled fitness journey with the help of equipment, personal trainers, and dietitians from sponsors Good Ranchers, Function Health, Step, and iFIT.

🥈 #2. Veritasium x Saily: The Absurd Engineering Behind the Internet (13.4M views)
Veritasium’s latest viral video offers an in-depth look at the birth of fiber optics. The glass-powered tech allows people all around the world to access the internet—but if for some reason you can’t get a signal, Saily says it can help.

The telecom company promises “affordable eSIM plans for international travel” and paid for nearly 20 YouTube videos this week alone.

🎰 #3,526. Caleb and Abby x Upside: we spent hundreds at Buc-ee’s so you don’t have to (69.3K views)
This week’s wildcard video is a pricey food review with creators Caleb and Abby. In addition to dropping big bills at Buc-ee’s, the duo takes time to promote Upside, an app that says its customers average 8% cash back on groceries and dining. That basically makes eating at Buc-ee’s an investment, right?

Head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

IGTV 2?

The announcement: Heads up, Netflix and Disney—Instagram wants a piece of YouTube’s TV watch time, too.

In a recent announcement video, Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s VP of Product, revealed that the platform has “been working on a TV version of Reels.” To “do that well,” she added, “we need more than just short-form video.”

As a result, Instagram is testing a new feature—conveniently named Features—that will let creators populate its platform with horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Instagram hopes Features will appeal to long-form content creators, podcasters, and comedians. It has already tested the capability among some long-form creators in Brazil and plans to expand to “tens of thousands of creators” in the U.S. over the coming months.

The flywheel: While Instagram obviously aims to capture the living room TV audience currently dominated by YouTube, it’s not abandoning short-form video. In fact, Instagram head Adam Mosseri says the company is aiming for a “symbiotic” relationship between Reels and Features.

Creators who post Features will also get access to Clips as Reels, a clipping tool where they can excerpt short segments from their Features videos and post them as Reels. Instagram plans to promote these Features clips on its Explore page and in other areas across the platform.

“What you’re now going to be able to do is, you see a clip of a podcast that you love, you can just click and continue watching or watch the full video, and you’ll be able to dive in and see the whole thing because creators are going to be able to link these Reels to their overall feature,” Lyons said.

WATCH THIS 👀

The Halloween effect: With the promise of Halloween candy on the horizon, family-friendly YouTube channels are reminding kiddos to be responsible about brushing their teeth.

Tooth-brushing videos are common fare for family channels year-round—but in October, the channels offering those life lessons get an added boost. El Tren Ñam-Ñam, for instance, climbed all the way to #2 in our global ranking of most-viewed YouTube channels during the week leading to Halloween.

By collecting 1.07 billion views in just seven days, the tooth-themed channel nearly doubled its traffic week-over-week—and reminded kids all around the world to take proper care of their dental hygiene in the process.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

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