TOGETHER WITH

It’s Thursday and Max is officially un-rebranding. So if you never stopped calling the streaming service “HBO Max” in the first place, congrats: now you won’t have to.

Today’s News

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

YouTube’s 2025 Brandcast highlighted big stats and big stars

The stats: YouTube’s 2025 Brandcast—which took place during the TV-focused Upfronts for the fourth year running—treated advertisers to a presentation filled with big stars and big stats.

According to Nielsen data presented by YouTube, the video platform is both the #1 streaming service in the U.S. by watch time and the #1 most-watched distributor of content across broadcast, cable, and streaming in the U.S. YouTube tapped creators like MrBeast, Brittany Broski, Hot Ones co-creator/host Sean Evans, and IShowSpeed to illustrate the creator influence driving that industry domination. Speed, for instance, used his time onstage to showcase the massive audiences he’s able to pull in his worldwide livestream and announce Speed Goes Pro, a new show that will follow him as he trains with elite athletes.

The stats: With YouTube dominating TV viewership and top creators planning more content, there’s a lot of potential airtime for connected TV-specific ad formats like ‘pause-vertising’ and unskippable ads.

YouTube noted that CTV campaigns now drive over 50 million conversions per month on average—a 4.5x higher return on ad spend than ads placed on streaming TV. It also pointed to a recent Kantar study, which showed that 82-83% of U.S. viewers think YouTube has the most trustworthy creators (as compared to creators on linear TV, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat). The same report identified YouTube as the #1 platform consumers use when researching products and brands.

The offerings: To help advertisers leverage that viewer trust, YouTube announced multiple new ad formats:

• Peak Points will “identify and match ads with culturally relevant ‘peak moments’ in popular YouTube content.”
  
  

• For Cultural Moment Sponsorships, YouTube will work with brands to place ads around major holidays and events.
  
  

• In terms of shoppable CTV ads, an interactive product feed powered by the “Google Merchant Center” will let TV viewers scroll through and buy products directly on their lean-back devices.

🔆 PRESENTED BY OPUSCLIP 🔆

This is the story of how one creator grabbed YouTube’s algorithm by the horns—with help from OpusSearch:

Gone are the days when broad appeal equaled YouTube virality. Instead, today’s algorithms reward niche content for specific audiences. 

For one veteran YouTuber, that new reality meant a total overhaul—one made possible by OpusSearch.

This creator (who requested to remain anonymous) had built up 500K subscribers and a library of 800 livestreamed episodes on everything from news to sports. The problem: that variety format was actually working against YouTube's updated algorithm. 

So, how did they turn things around to snag thousands in fresh ad revenue?

Well, they decided to launch a new channel focused on just one theme. Their strategy:

1. Search: The creator used OpusClip’s AI video search tool, OpusSearch, to scan their entire library for content fitting specific themes. Then, they used the same tool to create new clips from that content and post them at scale to test various themes. The winning niche: "sportscasting.”
   
   

2. Create: Next, the creator refocused their new channel entirely on sportscasting by using OpusClip to cut mid-form clips with seamlessly integrated ad reads.
   
   

3. Grow: Within 90 days, their new channel was raking in 400K monthly views and earning thousands in ad revenue.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Netflix’s 2025 upfronts pitch delved into new ad types, measurement updates for brands and agencies, and previews of upcoming shows, movies, and live events. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• Tribeca X has announced a year-round expansion and a summit speaker line-up featuring “marketing and entertainment leaders” like Bryan Cranston, Kenneth Cole, and Paris Hilton. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• MrBeast’s primary YouTube hub collected more subscribers than any other channel in April 2025 with the addition of nine million new subs. (Tubefilter)
  ​

• Congress has reintroduced The Kids Online Safety Act, a U.S. bill that seeks to hold social media platforms more broadly accountable for the safety of underage users. (TechCrunch)

GAME ON

We have 5 questions about YouTube’s exclusive NFL deal:

The NFL deal: YouTube has snagged exclusive broadcast rights to an NFL game. The platform will offer a free broadcast of the Brazil-based matchup set to take place between the Los Angeles Charges and the Kansas City Chiefs on September 5—and we have some questions about that strategy.

1. Will this be the first of many free NFL broadcasts?
Viewers can technically watch local NFL games for free using an over-the-air receiver, but YouTube is offering far easier access to a regular season game with no paywall. At the very least, that tactic could help the platform endear itself to football fans and give a truly global audience very easy access to American football.

2. Will this broadcast move the needle for NFL Sunday Ticket?
YouTube is reportedly paying $2 billion/year to distribute Sunday Ticket and has already experimented with discounts to bolster its subscriber numbers. An uninterrupted NFL broadcast could be its latest way of showing viewers that it can be trusted to deliver cant-miss moments.

3. What role will creators play?
NBC is set to produce the game on YouTube’s behalf, so we’ll likely see Peacock’s usual stable of announcers. Even so, creator-led sideline segments would be a smooth way to integrate YouTube’s community.

4. Is the game’s location significant?
YouTube has already turned to its prominent Brazilian market to test new features. Now, the platform may be looking to market its sports offerings there, too. While Sunday Ticket is currently limited to U.S. users, YouTube’s decision to snag rights to a Brazil-based NFL game could fit into CEO Neal Mohan’s vision for international expansion.

5. Will YouTube make similar deals in other sports?
YouTube sought out exclusive NFL broadcast rights when stars like Deestroying began rubbing shoulders with pros, and has also become the exclusive home of several golf competitions. Basketball could be next, but negotiating NBA rights can be tricky. An exclusive college basketball broadcast populated by NIL stars, on the other hand, could be a solid jumping-off point.

THE BIZ

Walking Dead producer Skybound has its eye on creators with Nine Four acquisition

The acquisition: After incubating franchises like The Walking Dead and Invincible, entertainment company Skybound is linking up with YouTube notables through the acquisition of creator management firm Nine Four Entertainment.

Nine Four—which reps social media standouts like Jacksfilms (pictured above), I’m Dontai, and Jennelle Eliana—will be incorporated into Skybound as its digital creator and influencer representation arm, with President Parker Oks continuing to lead its team.

Nine Four also has a business development arm, through which it has worked with its creators to launch spin-off brands and products like Eamon & Bec’s mindful tea company Habit and Markiplier’s clothing line Cloak.

Skybound hopes to keep that creator product pipeline flowing by building brands using a system it calls the Wheel of Awesome. Through that model, the entertainment company has turned its intellectual property into multiplatform empires spanning comics, TV, video games, and other media. Now, it will apply its signature process to creator-led brands through an incubator launched in tandem with its new subsidiary.

The context: As creators find success on streaming platforms and in the film world, Hollywood firms are racing to snap up as much creator-related IP as they can. Chopped producer Propagate Content, for instance, recently acquired a majority stake in influencer management company Parker, while talent agency CAA is working with creator Dhar Mann to amass a portfolio of YouTube channels (per Bloomberg). With the acquisition of Nine Four, Skybound is forming a direct link to that world.

WATCH THIS 📺

20 Years of YouTube: In 2008, we did it live

In February 2025, YouTube turned 20. The video site has gone through a lot over the past two decades, including an acquisition, an earnings glow-up, and multiple generations of star creators. In our 20 Years of YouTube series, we’ll examine the uploads, trends, and influencers that have defined the world’s favorite video site—one year at a time.

The video: In 2008, the YouTube community awakened its collective political consciousness—but the most notable political video of the year was actually recorded over a decade earlier.

The outtake in question features a faulty teleprompter, a red-faced Bill O’Reilly, and a several lines that beget a whole slew of hilarious memes. At the time, O’Reilly’s off-air meltdown encapsulated everything YouTube was becoming: a political force, a haven for viral videos, and a driver of internet culture. Check out the clip here for a hefty nostalgia hit.

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