It’s Thursday and Spotify now sells actual, physical books. Does this mean it’s time for TikTok to get back into the lit scene?

GOING LIVE

The report: Every streaming platform from Netflix to Peacock has been snapping up live sports broadcasts, and NBCUniversal‘s February 2026 numbers explain why those rights packages are so desirable.

In the latest edition of Nielsen‘s The Gauge report, NBCU enjoyed its best performance ever. Thanks in large part to coverage of Super Bowl LX and the 2026 Winter Olympics, streaming service Peacock drew 3% of all U.S. streaming traffic on TV screens. That represents a 64% increase over the previous Gauge report.

When you add NBCUniversal’s other properties into the mix, those stats look even more impressive. Versant—a three-month-old Comcast spinoff that brings cable and digital properties under one umbrella—combined with Peacock to claim a 13.1% TV viewership share in the latest Gauge report. That’s a higher figure than longtime Gauge leader YouTube, which earned a 12.7% share in February.

The controversy: It’s worth noting here that YouTube still led all streaming services in the February report, since NBCU’s 13.1% figure requires the addition of Versant and its cable lineup. Upcoming editions of The Gauge, however, will probably favor NBCU.

Nielsen’s February update was supposed to include changes to the report’s methodology, but the company’s streaming industry partners have argued that those adjustments would unfairly favor traditional broadcasters. Nielsen responded by delaying The Gauge and has promised to delay the new methodology until the fall—but the shift is coming.

The big picture: Methodology aside, the key takeaway from the February edition of The Gauge centers around live sports. Olympic viewership has always been a reliable asset for NBCU, and that trend accelerated in 2026. NBC’s Super Bowl broadcast, meanwhile, gave it a powerful one-two punch this winter.

As a result, the prices of sports rights packages are soaring—and many streamers are passing those costs onto their subscribers. 

WILD WEST

The U.S. expansion: It’s been over a year since RedNote exploded to the top of the U.S. App Store charts. The Chinese platform (aka Xiaohongshu) was one of the biggest beneficiaries when the proposed U.S. TikTok ban seemed like a foregone conclusion.

Of course, TikTok didn’t end up being exiled from the U.S.—but ever since its viral surge, RedNote has been working to translate its temporary user gains into lasting momentum. Flash forward to 2026, and the platform is advancing its U.S. expansion.

At least ten job listings, all posted to LinkedIn in the past three weeks, mention offices in New York and Palo Alto. The New York-based positions include community-oriented jobs, while Bay Area hires would help RedNote hone technical features like its recommendation algorithm.

The ecommerce effort: RedNote’s biggest breakthrough, however, could come on the product side. Rest of World has reported on the introduction of RedShop, an international ecommerce marketplace that bears a strong resemblance to TikTok Shop.

Through events in China, RedNote is connecting with its base of 300 million monthly active users and sharing best practices for RedShop sellers. Meanwhile, across American college campuses like Northwestern University and the University of California, San Diego, RedNote is recruiting new users and encouraging creators to share content through its app. That strategy sounds a lot like the approach TikTok used to promote Shop in the U.S.

The challenge: If RedNote is going to borrow TikTok’s strategy, it will have to contend with the consequences. Thanks to its Chinese ownership, RedNote could face the same regulatory threats that hampered TikTok’s U.S. operations.

The social media market could also prove too congested for another foreign app to break through—but perhaps RedNote’s rumored IPO will provide enough funding for the platform to stand out from the crowd.

CREATOR CRUISE

The cruise: On April 13, Twitch streamer Northernlion announced plans to hold a six-day “ultimate streamer cruise” that would allow fans to sail with him on Royal Caribbean‘s Jewel of the Seas. With cabin prices ranging from $1,800 to $2,159, the cruise will take participants on a round trip from Tampa to Cozumel and Costa Maya.

Some fans were skeptical about the cruise’s veracity, but as Kotaku reporter Lewis Parker pointed out, Northernlion’s close friend Dan Gheesling also appeared during the announcement stream. The Big Brother winner confirmed that his mother—who’s “owned a travel agency for 50 years”—is one of the cruise’s organizers.

Gheesling will apparently have a guest spot on the ship, alongside streamers Squeex and Lovelymomo. Together with Northernlion (who has 993K Twitch followers and 1.4 million YouTube subs), they’ll interact with fans at a meet-and-greet cocktail party, Q&A sessions, and a “play with the pros” gaming moment for two fans.

The context: Northernlion is far from the first creator to arrange an extended outing with fans. TrovaTrip, which arranges group journeys, raised $15 million in 2022 to court creators during the post-COVID travel boom. It’s since organized over 1,800 trips.

Creators who work with the company can curate entire (and often international) jaunts with small groups of attendees. According to TovaTrip, those journeys usually run ~$2,000-4,000 for attendees, while hosts make around $6,000 on average (on top of getting comped for their own travel costs and a plus one’s).

Northernlion isn’t the first creator to host a fan meetup cruise, either. In 2023, Dude Perfect ran a three-day “Cruise Perfect” from Miami to Nassau on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Pearl. And Snake Discovery, a Minnesota reptile zoo with a sizable YouTube presence, began running fan cruises in 2025. Here’s hoping Northerlion’s excursion involves fewer snakes.

WATCH THIS 👀

The comedy film: If you loved D(e)ad (aka the “self-funded feature-length dark comedy” written by Dropout vet Izzy Roland), we have good news for you. Roland is onto her next indie film—and this time, she’s joining forces with co-writer and fellow Dropout star Siobhan Thompson.

Beyond Roland and Thompson, Dropout fans can expect to see a whole host of familiar faces in The Greatest Treasure In The World. So far, the film’s cast includes Payam Banifaz, Julie Brister, Raphael Chestang, Angela Giarratana, Katie Marovitch, Vic Michaelis, Dhruv Uday Singh, Alex Song-Xia, Paul F. Tompkins, and Corin Wells.

Check out a sizzle trailer for The Greatest Treasure In The World here or skip straight to its crowdfunding page to find out what, exactly, an “improvised comedy” film is all about.

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