TOGETHER WITH

It’s Wednesday and if you’re dying to repost an old Instagram video without bringing back last year’s earworms, Meta has the solution. Thanks to a new tool, users can now replace the audio in a post without affecting any other details.

THAT’S SHOW BIZ

The feature: As YouTube pursues more viewership on TV screens, the platform is giving creators in its YouTube Partner Program the ability to reformat playlists as Netflix-style “shows.”

As explained in a Google Support post, those serialized collections can be dressed up with poster art, custom backdrops, and title cards, and work best for videos that have a “consistent story or topic” and strong similarities between their intros and thumbnails.

YouTube is also encouraging creators to bring “high-quality video and sound” to their shows—a suggestion that points to its goal for the new format. Trial users of the feature turned their playlists into serial collections that wouldn’t be out of place on a premium streaming service like Netflix or Prime Video.

The context: All that fits with YouTube’s dogged pursuit of TV dominance. After surpassing one billion hours of daily TV watch time in 2024, YouTube has become the leading platform in the streaming TV landscape.

During the tenure of CEO Neal Mohan, YouTube has made creators part of its TV screen revolution. In addition to adding interactive features and a Netflix-inspired look to its TV app, YouTube has backed top creators as they build serial programs. Some of those YouTube-set programs, including Kareem Rahma’s Subway Takes, have even scored Emmy Award nominations.

Now, YouTube’s latest feature will help a new generation of creators give their work the Netflix treatment.

VidSummit is the premier industry conference focused exclusively on video creators and digital entrepreneurs—and it’s just over two months away. 

From September 29 to October 1, VidSummit will unite thousands of creators, brands, managers, and producers in Dallas for three days of exclusive sessions and networking. 

Discover actionable insights from the top 1% of creators and marketers.

VidSummit 2026 will feature 70+ expert speakers, including…

80% of VidSummit attendees are creators or brand managers with purchasing power. Ready to connect with those decision makers?

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

GOSPEL STATS 📈

The World Cup still has a place in Gospel Stats’s latest ranking of most-viewed branded YouTube videos—but for the most part, we’re back to the platform’s regular programming. That means a cash-fueled MrBeast challenge is on top of the charts, with a little #BookTube content tossed in further down.

🥇 #1. MrBeast x Feastables: Survive 30 Days Chained To A Stranger, Win $250,000 (76.7M views)
MrBeast continues to invent novel ways to torment people for the promise of money. In this case, if contestants can stay chained together for a full month, they’ll walk away with $250,000. It’s a tried-and-true MrBeast video format presented by a tried-and true sponsor (the creator’s own chocolate brand, Feastables).

🥈 #2. ur mom ashley x FIFA and YouTube: I woke up to a surprise package #FIFAWorldCup #ad (64M views)
As part of YouTube’s cadre of World Cup creators, ur mom ashley posted multiple videos documenting her FIFA adventures throughout the tournament. Several of those brought in more than a million views, while a couple of especially viral hits—like this week’s #2 video—climbed above 20 million.

🎰 #1,668. elle literacy x CleanMyMac: The quirk-ification of terminal illness in YA. (128.3K views)
Further down the rankings, this week’s wildcard video hails from one of YouTube’s biggest niches. BookTube creators often comment on themes in the YA romance genre, and this particular video from elle literacy dissects A Fault In Our Stars, a 2012 bestseller from OG YouTuber/VidCon founder John Green. Her take is brought to the internet by CleanMyMac, a software cleanup program for Apple computers.

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

GAME ON

The soccer mania: In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA announced for the first time that it had designated select hubs as its “preferred platforms.” That distinction—which was awarded to platforms like YouTube and TikTok—gave creators increased access to the world’s largest soccer competition.

Now that the World Cup is a wrap, it’s clear that strategy has paid off in a big way.

The most-discussed success story on YouTube is that of CazéTV, a Brazilian creator who snagged the broadcast rights for the entire tournament and now claims all ten of the most-watched live streams in YouTube history.

For the platform itself, however, World Cup wins went far beyond a single channel. In total, 1.7 billion unique viewers watched World Cup content on YouTube during the tournament, 550 million of whom tuned in on TVs. According to YouTube, its own creator correspondents earned 2.5 billion views with World Cup-related videos and reached over 350 million subscribers in all.

Overall, World Cup content now has more than 200 billion lifetime views on YouTube.

The TikTok effect: Fans flocked to TikTok for World Cup content, too. According to a post published before the July 19 final, TikTok’s World Cup hub attracted 24.1 billion views during the tournament. Nearly 20 million videos were counted across World Cup-related hashtags, and FIFA broadcaster live streams registered 465 million unique views.

That traffic isn’t just a staggering win for YouTube and TikTok; it’s also a major victory for FIFA itself. By showing that social media discourse will dominate future World Cups, the org has set itself up for a massive expansion of its rights package in 2030 and beyond.

WATCH THIS 👀

The book promo: Come September 1, MrBeast mega-fans will finally be able to get their hands on a copy of The Most Dangerous Games.

Surprising no one, the book—which was cowritten by MrBeast and bestselling author James Patterson—centers on “a ruthless, high‑stakes competition.” It’s only fitting, then, that Patterson and MrBeast are promoting their collaboration with a cash-fueled contest. The duo announced in a recent Short that fans who preorder or buy the book will be entered to win $1,000,000.

The stakes here are a little lower than those in The Most Dangerous Games (where contestants fight for “the chance to save humanity—and one billion dollars”), but a cool million dollars is still nothing to sneeze at.

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