It’s Tuesday and you’re not the only one getting sucked into the FYP. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he deleted TikTok after “enjoying” the app “like a drug.”

STREAMING BIG

The bundle: YouTube’s position as the U.S.’s biggest streaming platform has made it a top target for rivals like Netflix. But while other streaming services search for ways to beat Google’s video platform, Peacock is taking a different approach.

Thanks to a deal between YouTube and Peacock parent NBCUniversal, U.S.-based YouTube Premium subscribers will gain access to Peacock beginning in early 2027—not for an additional charge, but as a free perk with zero ads. If viewers subscribed to Peacock separately, that kind of access would cost $16.99/month.

The YouTube Premium x Peacock bundle will include content from the NFL, Olympics, NBA, MLB, Big Ten and Notre Dame Football, Big 12, Big East and Big Ten College Basketball, Premier League, WNBA, and Kentucky Derby. NBC Sports will also become the official production partner for “select premier live sporting events on YouTube,” with some sports content streaming for free on its YouTube channel (per NBCUniversal).

The agreement expands on an earlier deal between YouTube and NBCUniversal, which allowed YouTube to sell Peacock as one of its “Primetime Channels” (aka paid add-ons for Premium subscribers). An additional deal allows for NBCUniversal content to be distributed on YouTube TV.

The context: According to NBCUniversal, this latest deal represents “Peacock’s largest wholesale distribution partnership to date.” It’s also a first-of-its-kind streaming bundle deal for YouTube—and the first tangible financial perk Premium subscribers have gotten since the platform stopped producing Originals.

The paid tier’s main draw has historically been ad-free viewing, with YouTube increasing the price of Premium from $9.99/month to $15.99/month over the last couple of years without adding any major extras.

Now, however, the the Peacock bundle offers subscribers a significant new perk with a set price advantage.

AD WORLD

The campaign: Haute couture icon Jean Paul Gaultier has given us Madonna’s cone bra, the costumes from The Fifth Element, and several other out-there designs. Now, to promote a perfume called Le Male Elixir, the French designer is bringing his signature flair to Twitch.

The center of Gaultier’s Twitch-set activation is Le Male Island, a custom-built location within the upcoming game Let’s Build A Dungeon. In tandem with the game’s developer, Springloaded Games, Gaultier and the Twitch Brand Partnership Studio built a seafaring world inspired by Le Male Elixir’s nautical notes.

To target Gen Z men in the Middle East, Saudi streamers swimy and 3Gaming were tapped to explore Le Male Island and promote the associated perfume through product unboxings and sniff tests.

The context: Social media has revitalized the realm of male fragrance, bringing more young men—especially young men in the Middle East—into the world of high-end scents. The results of the Le Male Island campaign underscore the popularity of perfume.

According to Amazon, the campaign delivered 27,000 total video views and 16,594 chat messages. The average concurrent viewership was 1,694 viewers, and at the peak of swimy’s stream, he achieved an average engagement rate of 68.4%.

Those stats aren’t just a win for Gaultier—they’re a case study for Twitch’s ability to build custom worlds for brands. Those experiences have become commonplace on Roblox and Fortnite, where brands are activating through gamified spaces. Now, with the launch of Le Male Island, Twitch Brand Partnership Studio seems to be dipping its toes into the same kind of projects.

BRING THE DRAMA

The microdrama programming: When MIPCOM CANNES rolls around this fall, microseries will have a major presence at the event.

In a statement, MIPCOM acknowledged the format’s “rapid global growth,” noting that “vertical storytelling and microdrama have evolved from emerging formats into one of the entertainment industry’s fastest-growing business sectors.”

To reflect that shift, MIPCOM is bringing a number of vertical entertainment execs to participate in panels at its October 12-15 Cannes event, including…

Two additional vertical storytelling-focused headliners will take the Grand Auditorium stage. The first, Anthony E. Zuiker, is creator of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV franchise and “Chief Crime Officer” of Cinemalistics, a platform that produces AI-made vertical true crime content. Zuiker is also writing a microseries for vertical platform GammaTime.

Anatolii Kasianov, meanwhile, is co-founder and co-CEO of Holywater, the Ukranian firm that owns vertical app My Drama. Last October, Holywater snagged an investment from Fox Entertainment that stipulated production of over 200 new microseries, including 40 shows from Dhar Mann.

The special episode: MIPCOM CANNES is also partnering with podcast The Media Odyssey for a “special recording examining the era of premium vertical television.” The episode will be hosted by Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet, and will feature RoseBerry Media co-founders Guy Hamieri (who’s also CEO) and Lior Friedman (Head of Business Development).

MIPCOM CANNES attendees will find in-person social spaces dedicated to microseries, and the trade show says it’s updating its official networking/matchmaking platform to include a vertical content category. MIPCOM plans to run an invite-only Global Microdrama & Vertical Leaders’ Summit as well.

WATCH THIS 👀

The big event: On July 25, Spanish streamer Ibai hosted the sixth edition of his iconic influencer boxing event. This time around, La Velada del Año took place at Seville’s La Cartuja soccer stadium and was streamed across multiple platforms.

La Velada VI was another big win for its organizers—but unlike previous installments of the event series, it was not a record-breaking affair. According to Streams Charts, La Velada VI’s Twitch stream peaked at 7.67 million concurrent viewers, roughly 2.3 million fewer than the previous year’s event.

That drop isn’t necessarily a sign that Ibai himself is losing momentum. Instead, the creator’s Twitch activity may have declined because of how big his presence on a different platform is getting. Per Stream Charts, La Velada VI peaked at six million concurrents on YouTube—a new personal record for Ibai’s YouTube channel.

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