TOGETHER WITH

It’s Tuesday and the week is off to a great start for Hulu, Netflix, and Max. All three streaming giants cleaned up at the 2024 Global Globes. The event’s host…not so much.

FIT AND READY 🚴‍♀️

Peloton is already reaping the benefits of its open fitness hub on TikTok

Viewers won’t have to drop $3,000 on a bike to enjoy Peloton’s new TikTok fitness hub—and that pivot towards open access seems to be working out for Peloton. The fitness company’s stock jumped 15% shortly after the big announcement hit the presses.

Major gains: On January 4, the exercise company announced the upcoming launch of #TikTokFitness Powered By Peloton. The digital destination is stocked with exercise class clips, full-length workouts, celebrity collabs, creator partnerships, “bespoke social content,” and more.

Peloton’s strategy: Most of those videos will be openly accessible—meaning viewers won’t have to own their own Peloton hardware to take part in the brand’s TikTok community.

• Peloton has had success in the past by building an open online community around its influential instructors. The fitness brand previously produced personality-driven originals on YouTube, which featured Peloton instructors alongside pop culture icons like Joe Jonas and Usain Bolt.

The industry response: The stock market might be pleased with Peloton’s short-form pivot, but not everyone is feeling confident about #TikTokFitness’ ability to last in the platform’s crowded fitness category.

Why it matters: Peloton is the latest in a long line of brands seeking to reach non-traditional consumers through creator and platform partnerships. Playboy’s influencer-centric Centerfold is another key example of a closed platform opening up to wider audiences—and a sign that Peloton might be onto something.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

2024 is only one month away. Take the new year by storm with a lucrative funding deal from Spotter.

Since 2019, Spotter has been on a mission to empower creators with millions in funding, exclusive YouTube data insights, and full creative freedom. In fact, Spotter has now invested more than $850 million in 1,100 channel partners—including top creators like MrBeast, MissDarcei, Deestroying, and Airrack. 

2024 marks Spotter’s fifth year as a leading creator company.

That big anniversary means big things are happening at Spotter. Last year, their funding experts teamed up with YouTube icons Colin and Samir to discover where creators need the most support. The answer: video production, studio purchases, brand-building, and team expansion. 

Spotter plans to meet those needs in 2024 by providing flexible funding deals ranging from $100,000 to $50 million—with the ultimate goal of investing $1 billion in creator careers. 

What could you do with Spotter funding?

The possibilities are limitless. When you team up with Spotter, you’ll have 100% control over your new capital—meaning you can spend your Spotter funds to reinvest in yourself. Plus, you’ll always stay in total control of your channel and receive all earnings from future uploads.

Ready to discover what you could do with Spotter funding?

Fund your future with Spotter →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• An investigation launched by Bloomberg identified 83 Twitch Clips depicting sexualized content involving minors, a troubling indication of the prevalence of sexual predation on Twitch. (Tubefilter)
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• The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (aka the SEC) has launched an “active and ongoing investigation” into Rumble. (Wired)
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• Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has invested millions an AI-powered Google alternative called Perplexity AI. (Gizmodo)
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• YouTube will begin issuing strikes against content that “realistically simulates deceased minors or victims of deadly or well-documented major violent events” on January 16. (TechCrunch)

DATA • GLOBAL TOP 50 📈

From giant hot dogs to soda-covered cars, this creator brings video props to the next level

Lucan Pevidor is taking short-form shenanigans to the next level. Here’s how he climbed the ranks to become the only Brazil-based creator in this week’s Global Top 50:

The strategy: Pranks, challenges, and family-friendly content aren’t exactly a rarity in the Global Top 50. All three categories tend to dominate YouTube’s upper ranks—and Pevidor’s channel is no exception.

• Since 2021, the creator has combined Shorts’ most popular genres with an increasingly ridiculous selection of props—a tactic that’s allowed him to stand out from within YouTube’s most congested categories.
  
  

• The result: Pevidor has earned more than 4 billion lifetime views by brandishing enormous sausages, sitting on family-size balloons, and coating his hair in 600 pieces of gum.

The stats: Pevidor’s signature mix of pranks and props brought his channel to new heights in the first week of January. The creator scored a whopping 255 million views in just seven days, bringing his YouTube hub to #34 in the Global Top 50.

GOOD MYTHICAL TOUR 🌎

Suit up, Mythical fans: Rhett & Link are going on tour

Rhett and Link are (probably) coming to a city near you. The creators behind Good Mythical Morning have announced their first-ever live tour, which will kick off in Los Angeles on May 28.

The details: The Good Mythical Tour will hit nine U.S. cities between May and June 2024. Each stop will feature crew members like Good Mythical Morning exec producer Stevie Wynne Levine and Mythical Kitchen chef Josh Scherer, who will join Rhett and Link on-stage for “fan-favorite segments, classic games, music, and mayhem.”

The official statement:

The tickets: Members of the Mythical Society (aka Mythical’s subscription fan club) will have first dibs on tour tickets. According to the Good Mythical Tour webpage, general sales will begin two days later, on Friday, January 12th at 10 AM local time.

• Interested in snagging a ticket to your local show? Check out the full tour schedule here.

WATCH THIS 📺

Steamboat Willie’s public domain debut has already given rise to a horror movie

YouTubers aren’t the only creatives capitalizing on Steamboat Willie’s recent entrance into the public domain.

Disney after dark: A trailer for Mickey’s Mouse Trap—a horror film depicting the 1928 version of Mickey Mouse—dropped earlier this week, just days after the reveal of a terrifying Mickey-centric video game titled Infestation: Origins.

• Disney isn’t involved in either production (and neither trailer is suitable for Mickey-loving kiddos), so enjoy the gore at your own risk.

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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.