TOGETHER WITH

It’s Monday and 2025 is proving to be the year of AI blasts from the past. You’ve heard the Beatles’ AI-powered hit song. Now, prepare yourself for an AI-remastered version of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.

Today’s News

FYP FRENZY

TikTok’s new For You Page is on your desktop

The update: TikTok is bringing an intuitive new design to its desktop hub. According to the platform, the updated TikTok.com will feature a “modular design” that repositions the navigation bar for a distraction-free experience. The video player at the center of that layout will be “floating” (allowing viewers to watch their FYPs and visit other websites at the same time), while a new Instagram-style Collections feature will let users compile their favorite TikToks in a single location.

The potential motivations: With more and more employees returning to the office (and, therefore, their office computers), it makes sense for TikTok to roll out a more intuitive desktop experience. But that’s probably not the only reason the app is taking action. These motivations may also have played a role in TikTok’s latest update:

1. The platform might be hungry for its own big-screen blowup.
   The changes coming to TikTok.com resemble updates YouTube made to its TV app in November 2022. The Google-owned hub rolled out a new design that refitted Shorts for viewership on bigger screens—a change that has helped YouTube increase its traffic on TVs.
   
   

2. TikTok could be gearing up to compete with Twitch. 
   To bolster its growing TikTok Live community, TikTok has progressively increased the max length of its uploads, doled out rewards to long-form creators, and implemented the kind of products that are integral to monetization on streaming platforms like Twitch. Improvements to TikTok’s browser-based experience will make it an even more attractive option for video game streamers—especially since it’s adding an option to stream in a landscape orientation.
   
   

3. TikTok might be hedging its bets in case of a U.S. ban. 
   In a post-ban world, users would probably find it more intuitive to install a virtual private network (VPN) on their desktop device rather than their phone. Better safe than sorry, right?

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

From sleek editing facilities to 24/7 concierge service, Creators HQ offers an unprecedented creator experience

Nothing like this has hit the creator industry before.

The organizers behind the 1 Billion Followers Summit have unveiled Creators HQ, a creative and business development workspace in Dubai where creators will gain access to 300+ biz dev events, priority connections to major marketing campaigns, and more.

From lifetime resources to top-of-the-line editing facilities, Creators HQ is dedicated to providing unprecedented support to filmmakers, photographers, musicians, designers, journalists, entrepreneurs, investors, government experts, and community leaders.

An exclusive group of founding members will gain access to all these perks (and more):

• Lifetime access to Creators HQ facilities

• Guaranteed speaking slots at the 1 Billion Followers Summit 

• Priority access to government creator campaigns

• Introductions to major companies and partners

• 24/7 concierge services, including Golden Visa relocation support

• Invitations to exclusive events

• Eligibility for a special affiliate program

Visit the website to learn more about Creators HQ’s Founding Members Program:

Explore Creators HQ → 

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Just days after news dropped of a potential Reels app, people familiar with the matter say a standalone Meta AI app is also in the works. (CNBC)
  
  

• The U.K.’s Information Commissioner's Office has reportedly launched an investigation into the processes used by TikTok, Reddit, and Imgur to recommend content to underage users. (Reuters) 
  
  

• OpenAI has revealed plans to integrate its video generation model, Sora, directly into the ChatGPT app. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Sports streaming service Fubo TV lost roughly $41 million in the fourth quarter of 2024—but it did manage to increase its subscriber count by around 4%. (Engadget)

NETFLIX BY THE NUMBERS

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson got 49M Netflix views in 2024—but it was still no match for CoComelon

The takeaway: After years of secrecy regarding its traffic, Netflix has started sharing precise viewership data through biannual reports. The included statistics might be somewhat inflated because of how the streamer counts views—but overall, Netflix’s What We Watched reports offer a broad look at the programs and trends that have won over subscribers.

The key takeaway from Netflix’s latest data dump: influencer boxing specials and South Korean dystopian thrillers might trigger huge surges of viewership, but even a bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson can’t top kids’ favorite cast of 3D characters.

The data: During the second half of 2024, many Netflix viewers had their eyes trained on the Paul vs. Tyson tilt. Beyond its concurrent live audience—which peaked at 65 million—the broadcast has also attracted 49 million views on-demand. That made it Netflix’s most-watched special of the last six months of ‘24 and the seventh-most-watched show over that period. Squid Game came in at #1 in the latter ranking with 87 million half-year views, but that still wasn’t enough to keep up with the most popular 3D universe in children’s entertainment.

Moonbug reported that CoComelon and its spin-off, CoComelon Lane, pulled in a combined 148 million Netflix views over the second half of the year. Both shows are evergreen choices among the streamer’s youngest viewers and their parents—and that’s only part of CoComelon’s media empire. The fan-favorite franchise is also one of the largest channels on YouTube, a platform that has increasingly captured the attention of young viewers even as Netflix’s own viewership share among children continues to decline.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

This week on the podcast…

Podcasts and profits: Creator Upload hosts Lauren Schnipper and Joshua Cohen are finally back in the studio together—just in time for MrBeast to claim that his biz is worth a whopping $5 billion.

Elsewhere in the creatorverse, Hot Mess podcaster Alix Earle has departed Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network, YouTube is zeroing in on video podcasts, and Crime Junkies co-host Ashley Flowers just snagged a $40 million investment for her media company.

Find out more on the latest episode of Creator Upload. It’s all right here on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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