TOGETHER WITH

It’s Monday, and the first-ever World Humanoid Robot Games have come to an end. At least human Olympians can still outrun a robot, right?

Today’s News

THE BIZ

YouTube’s new Shorts ads give creators equal billing

The problem: What happens when creators work on branded content that doesn’t end up on their own channels?

Take sponsored Shorts, for instance. Wshen content is posted somewhere other than a creator’s own channel (for example, as an ad on YouTube), their personal branding can easily get lost. UI is particularly limited for short-form content, so when space is available for video descriptions and URLs, brands usually direct viewers to their own products and links—not to creators.’

The (potential) solution: YouTube’s latest ad product is designed to solve that problem. The platform has introduced Partnership Ads, a Shorts-only format that co-brands vertical video ads with both creator and brand links.

On the sponsor side, YouTube offers tappable cards that direct viewers to the Apple Store (and thus encourages app downloads). A similar card dedicated to the brand’s creator partner includes their name, their own short video tagline/description, and a subscribe button. Partnership Ads are currently available on iOS and are slated for future release on Android.

The context: YouTube says Partnership Ads were designed to give creators “better visibility,” and it hopes that they’ll become “another vector for organic growth.” We can already see how the product could prove to be a boon for creators—especially for smaller creators working on their first big brand partnerships, or microinfluencers with niche audiences.

Those creators might already be well-known among their own audiences, but entirely unrecognizable to other sectors of YouTube. Now, when brands use their videos for paid media, Partnership Ads will help ensure their content is discoverable no matter who’s watching.

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

What happens when you join Creators HQ?

From expert mentorship to global brand connections, Creators HQ goes far beyond what you’d expect from even the most cutting-edge creator community. 

Creators and other digital pioneers can join from anywhere in the world for access to cutting-edge digital toolkits—or visit Dubai to level up with slick editing studios, Golden Visa assistance, and workshops led by experts from Meta, TikTok, and more. 

So, what happens when you join Creators HQ? You’ll be able to…

• Analyze 50M YouTube videos in seconds, calculate potential video performance, and formulate titles, thumbnails, and more with Spotter Studio.
  
  

• Maximize your commercial potential with Komi, an all-in-one platform used by stars like Usher, Matthew McConaughey, and Jessica Alba.
  
  

• Unlock opportunities with top brands and creators.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Netflix is partnering with chains like Cinemark and Regal to bring KPop Demon Hunters to movie theaters for a limited-time sing-along event. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• Senator Josh Hawley has announced that the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism will investigate “whether Meta misled the public or regulators” about AI “safeguards.” (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Louisiana’s Attorney General has filed a “Child Protection” lawsuit against Roblox that accuses the platform of failing to "implement basic safety controls." (Engadget)
  
  

• The community guidelines for TikTok Live have been updated to clarify that TikTok may lower the visibility of content that encourages viewers to buy products “off-platform in markets where TikTok Shop is available.” (TechCrunch)

KEEP IT SHORT

MicroCo wants to be Hollywood’s minidrama king

The context: Quibi had all the components to make short-form vertical content the next big thing in premium entertainment—but it didn’t last. As TikTok rose to the forefront, Quibi wrestled with the financial burden of paying $100,000/minute to produce its shows and was soon doomed by a lack of audience preferences.

Now, MicroCo wants to succeed where Quibi failed—by adding AI to the mix. A venture co-launched by Terrifier distributor Cineverse and former ABC, Yahoo, and WME exec Lloyd Braun‘s venture firm Banyan, MicroCo is going all-in on vertical short-form while using AI to keep production costs low.

The venture: Braun told The New York Times he and his MicroCo partners see minidramas as “an emerging global format”—one with “no clear leader here in the U.S.”

That last part might not be entirely accurate. ReelShort (which is operated by Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Crazy Maple Studios) has successfully amassed an audience of over 10 million viewers with premium short-form content inspired by Asian minidramas, which themselves have become multibillion-dollar businesses by appealing to viewers of long-form C-dramas and K-dramas. My Drama similarly distributes minidramas from U.S.-based studios like Second Rodeo Productions.

So, what sets MicroCo apart from those U.S. rivals?

Cineverse President and Chief Strategy Officer, Erick Opeka told the Times that the venture expects its minidramas to be “more refined” than other companies’ and aims to build a viewer experience that is “more consistent with the entertainment experiences Americans are accustomed to.” While MicroCo hasn’t yet specified how it plans to use AI in its production process, CEO Jana Winograde says viewers can expect cliffhanger-heavy episodes, each of which will establish plot tension within 3 seconds and a dramatic hook within 23 seconds.

PLATFORM HEADLINES

Sorry, competitors: YouTube is still getting bigger

The survey: YouTube has more challengers than ever before—but that hasn’t stopped it from growing. According to a survey of U.K. social media users conducted by YouGov, the Alphabet-owned video hub is drawing more increased usage than any of its tech industry rivals:

• 28% of YouGov’s respondents said they use YouTube more than they did a year ago. That percentage compares favorably to the equivalent figures for Instagram (25%), TikTok (21%), X (15%), and Snapchat (8%).
  
  

• Gen Z is responsible for much of YouTube’s gains. 38% of that cohort said they are now using YouTube more than they did a year ago.
  
  

• Seniors are also embracing the platform (especially on TVs). According to YouGov, 53% of Baby Boomers said they have used YouTube in the past month.

The value proposition: Add in a recent study from Ofcom (which found that one-fifth of Gen A heads straight to YouTube after turning on the TV), and the video platform’s cross-generation dominance becomes clear. That kind of ubiquity is astounding—especially when the fractured state of modern media comes into consideration. So, how does YouTube do it?

The platform’s innovations in gen AI, creator monetization, and TV viewership are all notable, but another component may be even more significant: no matter how hi-tech YouTube gets, it’s still a one-stop shop for on-demand video.

That value proposition may seem overly simplistic, but it’s nevertheless increasingly relevant in an era when many platforms alienate users by attempting to reinvent the wheel. As TikTok goes all in on shopping and Instagram goes all in on being TikTok, YouTube is staying refreshingly close to its original vision. And so far, that approach seems to be paying off.

LISTEN UP

This week on the podcast…

The new installment: On the latest episode of Creator Upload, hosts Lauren Schnipper and Josh Cohen dove into some internet-breaking news from another podcast—aka Taylor Swift's appearance on New Heights—before greeting some special guests.

First up: Famous Birthdays founder Evan Britton joined the show to explain how the platform’s data on rising creators can lead to more effective advertising campaigns, citing a 58% increase in engagement and a 31% rise in conversions for campaigns using their velocity data. Then, woodworking YouTube creator Jonathan Katz-Moses took the mic to discuss the $2 million investment he received from Slow Ventures.

Check out the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for more details.

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