It’s Tuesday and Netflix is reportedly mulling over an interesting proposition: expanding its app to include other streaming services.

TWITCH TROUBLE

The court case: After Twitch CPO Mike Minton’s “jaw-dropping” admission that the platform knows “nobody” would opt into content scraping, both Twitch and its parent are facing a class-action suit.

In addition to arguing that the current opt-out system (in which Twitch auto-enrolls streamers into ‘consenting’ to their streams being used for AI training) isn’t good enough, Connecticut-based streamer Warren Pandiscia alleges that Amazon has scraped content as far back as 2024 without seeking permission or informing creators.

A judge will have to decide if Twitch’s opt-out system constitutes actual consent for scraping. But Pandiscia’s claim that Twitch and Amazon have been scraping content for years has merit. Back in 2024, Minton said Amazon was using content from Twitch “in a prototyping, not in any kind of production scale, capacity.”

When streamers raised questions over Amazon’s scraping history during a recent Twitch livestream, Minton gave a vague answer, telling them, “Twitch has not been training models. I can’t speak to what Amazon is training or not training as it relates to any specific usage of content.”

The asks: Pandiscia’s suit acknowledges that creators “will never be able to claw back the intellectual property unlawfully copied and used by defendants to train Amazon’s generative AI”—but he is seeking compensation for himself and fellow streamers.

His lawsuit alleges breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment, breach of express contract, and unfair business practices, and is asking the court to award injunctive relief plus damages, restitution, and disgorgement of profits. If he wins, the case could set a new precedent in the era of gen AI.

GOSPEL STATS 📈

This week’s Gospel Stats Brand Report is something of an anomaly. For the first time, the creators of every single Top 5 clip are newcomers—and with the exception of Crunchyroll, all the sponsors are fresh faces, too.

🥇 #1. ANC3 x Crunchyroll: Too far? #story #Crunchyroll partner #ad #anime (29M views)
Crunchyroll has popped up a few times in our Top 5 rankings, usually in partnership with anime niche content creators. This week’s #1 clip similarly comes from a crew of passionate anime creators, but ANC3 (aka brothers Ojthedj, Osa, and Omohas) stands out from the rest. With just 17.8K subscribers, the sibling trio might have the smallest follower count we’ve seen from a creator in the Top 5.

🥈 #2. Thesisterz x Tru Fru: Math challenge ft our fav summer sweet treat @trufruofficial #trufrupartner #numberchallenge (12.3M views)
ANC3 isn’t the only band of siblings in this week’s Top 5. Sisters Bendy, Needa, and MOONA (aka Thesisterz) snagged a spot at #2 with a promo for fruit snack brand Trü Frü. Like many sponsored Shorts, there’s no official product spot in this chart-topping clip; there’s simply a bag of Trü Frü propped up front-and-center.

That tactic seems to have paid off. The creator siblings’ clip proved to be Trü Frü’s most-viewed sponsored video this week, ahead of #22, #72, #865 (also from Thesisterz), and #2224.

🎰 #3. Roya Destroyaa x Shein: i made a friend today! ? #shorts (11M views)
With its latest creator collabs, Shein is clearly looking to reach a variety of audiences in different niches. Like much of Roya Destroyaa’s content, her recent Shein-sponsored video primarily consists of two grown women crying like toddlers. That Short couldn’t be more different from video #1080, an elegant, Shein-sponsored try-on montage from Clara Afua.

Check out the full branded ranking here and head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

YOUTUBE UPDATES

The expansion: As YouTube continues to hit back at Netflix, the Google-owned video platform is expanding a product that will make it look more like its rival.

YouTube first rolled out its take on TV channels—aka Stations—with the debut of 24/7 music-focused streaming hubs at Coachella. That test appears to have been a success, because Stations are being expanded to a host of new content categories.

Thanks to a recent update, users who enjoy free, ad-supported television (FAST) on platforms like Roku or Samsung TV Plus can now enjoy a similar experience on YouTube. According to a YouTube Help thread, “formats like creator content, media channels, podcasts, and select new music artists” will be covered in the Stations expansion.

The context: It’s not hard to guess at YouTube’s motivations for expanding Stations. FAST and ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) platforms are trending in the right direction, with Tubi emerging as one of the biggest success stories. Creators are already launching FAST channels, so why not give them the tools to do that on YouTube—and give the platform a bigger foothold in the FAST space in the process?

YouTube’s rivalry with Netflix is likely a factor here, too. The streamer is buying up so much creator content that YouTube has resorted to paying its top stars to keep them from doing business with its rival. To give those creators a Netflix-like experience on YouTube, the Google-affiliated platform has experimented with channel redesigns, serialized playlists, and Stations.

For now, Stations are available for a “limited number” of creators, but viewers can watch them in almost any region where YouTube is accessible (with the exception of Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkiye).

WATCH THIS 👀

The marketing strategy: Gaining traction on YouTube Shorts typically requires brands to produce the kind of largely nonsensical skits that appeal to viewers regardless of age or language.

Some brands, however, have found clever ways to connect with Shorts viewers without resorting to exaggerated comedy or AI slop. India’s Titan Watches, for example, has capitalized on YouTube audiences by referencing the family vlogs that perform so well on the South Asian side of Shorts.

A timely campaign based around mothers who don’t get enough sleep (and children who don’t know when or even if their moms sleep) gave the Bengaluru-based watch manufacturer a chance to promote its biometric tracking products.

The results demonstrate how impactful short-form marketing can be when done right. In the last week alone, Titan Watches’ family-friendly Shorts (which also include videos focused on dads) have helped its YouTube hub reach 42nd place in the Global Sub Top 50 with the addition of 224,000 weekly subscribers.

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