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INDUSTRY BUZZ

The collabs: Moose Toys is chasing Netflix‘s heels with its latest round of creator collabs.

The company behind MrBeast’s toy line has announced new partnerships with two top YouTubers, both of whom have development deals with Netflix. The first, former NASA engineer Mark Rober, dominates YouTube’s STEM genre, while Salish Matter focuses on challenge and teen lifestyle content.

Sealed in August 2025, Rober’s Netflix deal brings some of his previous YouTube content to Netflix and will also see him develop a new “kids and family competition series” with Jimmy Kimmel.

Matter, meanwhile, joined Netflix this month. According to the streaming service, she and father Jordan Matter will “continue to develop their fan-favorite franchises alongside new projects exclusive to Netflix across scripted, unscripted, and animated series,” and will also work with the streamer on “consumer products and experiential offerings.”

The products: Moose Toys announced its own deals with Rober and Salish on February 10 and 11, respectively. The company is working with Rober and his subscription box company CrunchLabs to develop a line of STEM-oriented products for kids. One of them is an “Elephant Toothpaste Blast,” which promises an eruption up to 15 feet tall. Another, the “Egg Drop Challenge,” encourages kids to drop an egg cradled in plastic struts and supported by a little parachute.

Rober’s line will come out on brick-and-mortar and ecommerce shelves this summer.

Moose describes Salish’s deal as “a long-term brand and licensing partnership.” The company didn’t specify what products will be released, but promised they’ll involve “trend-forward design, lifestyle personality and collectability for kids and tweens” and will be “inspired by Salish’s interests, aesthetic, and emotional connection with her audience.”

The creator (who previously worked with Moose Toys on a four-product collection of slimes) will serve as a co-creative director. Her first Moose toys are expected to launch into retail at the end of 2026.

STREAMING BIG

The ad test: Twitch is testing a new ad format that will straddle the line between interruptive and inbound marketing by popping up when streams stop running.

Pause ads have become a familiar format on streaming platforms like Netflix and Peacock, but Twitch’s take on the popular ad product is comparatively inoffensive. In a post on X, the platform’s support team explained that the new spots will only show up on the sides and bottom of the screen, and will immediately disappear when a viewer presses play.

The context: Twitch isn’t alone in its decision to experiment with pause ads, and data shared by eMarketer shows why hubs like YouTube are so interested in the format. A Magna and DirecTV survey revealed that 67% of Gen Z and Millennials, 63% of Gen X, and 60% of Baby Boomers prefer pause ads to a blank screen. The Video Advertising Bureau also found that 51% of viewers take action after viewing pause ads.

Despite those promising stats, critics have argued that pause ads will end up being inconsequential on Twitch, since viewers rarely utilize the platform’s pause button (and certainly don’t hit it as often as YouTube viewers do).

Skepticism aside, however, Twitch must explore its options if it hopes to someday turn a profit. The Amazon-owned hub has experimented with a number of different monetization options, ranging from live shopping ads to ad sales deals based around streamers. It seems determined to find an unobtrusive format that sticks.

KEITH LEE EFFECT

The big event: In three months, Keith Lee will test how far his namesake “effect” can take him. The TikTok-famous food reviewer—who is known for boosting restaurant traffic whenever he visits a new city—has sparked a phenomenon dubbed “the Keith Lee effect.” Simply put, when Lee gives a positive review to a family-owned restaurant, business booms.

Come spring, the 29-year-old former MMA fighter will bring that culinary influence to New Orleans for the first edition of a new live event series titled Keith Lee’s Familee Day. The all-ages affair will take place on May 16 at the Uno Lakefront Festival Grounds in the Big Easy. There will be carnival rides, obstacle courses, and live music, with KevOnStage hosting.

Lee is set to appear alongside his family. The dad of three has always presented his restaurant reviews in a clean, family-friendly tone, and Familee Day will showcase some of his favorite New Orleans eateries.

The background: In a TikTok video, Lee explained that he plans to turn Familee Day into a series that will travel across the U.S. One of the goals of that project, the creator said, is to ensure that “small businesses and these underdogs and these places that are not represented can have something to look forward to” every year.

Familee Day is not just a boost for small businesses, but also a notable expansion of Lee’s personal brand. The creator has already shown that he can be a reliable partner for companies in the food and small business sectors. Now, a little over a year after signing with UTA, Lee is trying to launch a bold venture that capitalizes on the power of his endorsements.

If you’re interested in seeing that venture play out up-close and in-person, you can grab tickets to the New Orleans event here.

WATCH THIS 👀

The gaming update: Yesterday, PlayStation spotlighted some of the most anticipated games coming to its platform in 2026. At the top of the list is a new Silent Hill title set in a spooky Scottish town, a 2-D Castlevania game developed in partnership with the creators of Dead Cells, and a remastered collection of the Metal Gear Solid series.

Check out the full “State of Play” stream here to check out more game trailers and announcements.

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