It’s Wednesday, and Netflix is getting in on the FIFA World Cup. The hype over this year’s tourney may have died down, but the streamer has already snagged exclusive rights to show all 104 matches of 2030 to viewers in Spain and Andorra.

TUBE TALK

The data: For the second year in a row, YouTube has brought its Economic Impact Report across the pond. The report claims that YouTube’s creator economy added €8.4 billion to the European gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025. According to the platform, that ecosystem supported more than 220,000 “full-time equivalent” (FTE) jobs.

Compared to 2024, both of those numbers are up. The previous European edition of YouTube’s Economic Impact Report claimed a €7 billion GDP contribution and support for 200,000 FTE jobs. YouTube seems to be more lucrative in Europe than its ByteDance-owned rival, too, with TikTok’s latest European report showing a €2.6 billion economic contribution and support for 52,000 FTE jobs.

The context: YouTube isn’t just bragging for the sake of it. In the UK, a protracted dispute has pitted YouTube against media companies like the BBC, who want preferential treatment from algorithms at the expense of independent creators.

YouTube’s European Economic Impact Report, released during the MIPCOM conference in France, seems like a pointed reply to those British institutions. Instead of agreeing that public broadcasters need the scales tipped in their favor, the report claims that 63% of creators receive little to no support when engaging with government bodies.

YouTube also found that 83% of creators rely on recommendation algorithms to achieve growth and earn revenue. 71% of that cohort said that reduced visibility would harm their ability to make a living from their content, while 64% of the creators said more support from traditional entities would help them succeed.

Ultimately, that’s the message YouTube is bringing to broadcasters at MIPCOM—cooperate with us, and we can start making some US-sized GDP contributions together.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

AI WAVE

The chatbot: Facebook is the latest platform to introduce a recommendation-altering chatbot. YouTube did it, X did it, Instagram did it, and now Meta’s flagship platform has joined the ranks. Its new “Your Algorithm” system asks users to tweak what they see on Facebook by telling an LLM which topics they’re interested in, and by giving posts on their feeds a thumbs up or down.

An example shows Facebook’s chatbot telling a user, “Lately you’re all about good tunes, staying strong, salty ocean mornings, chasing great eats, and capturing every moment” before recommending topics like music festivals, fitness, ocean kayaking, foodie adventures, and videography.

An “+ Add” button at the end of the list gives users the opportunity to name more topics they want to see, while a separate section is devoted to topics they don’t want to see.

As for the “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” options on viewers’ feeds, Facebook says tapping on an “Are you interested in this post?” button will let users explain why they are or aren’t interested.

The motivation: There’s a reason more and more platforms are introducing algorithm-tweaking AIs. Those chatbots put the responsibility on users to fix their own recommendation algorithms, freeing big tech companies from the burden of having to pick up the bill (and maybe even accept culpability) for code cleanup.

If someone is regularly recommended harmful videos, for instance, a platform with a chatbot could point to the users’ ability to talk to AI and block the content themselves rather than taking the initiative to prevent harmful material from potentially reaching users to begin with.

MONEY MOVES

The chart-toppers: It’s been four years since YouTube announced that ads would be coming to Shorts. Since then, Shorts ads have matured into a full-fledged ecosystem—but we haven’t seen many brands reach our ranking of YouTube’s top 50 most-viewed channels on the strength of their short-form spots.

That is, until recently.

Seasoning brand Maggi had a moment in our charts during August, while Bengaluru-based ecommerce brand Flipkart has climbed the ranks over the last two months.

During the first full week of October, Flipkart’s official YouTube channel collected 400.9 million weekly views to reach 36th place in the Global Top 50. The Indian online shopping company’s viewership rose 20% week-over-week, in large part thanks to short-form advertising. The most-watched Flipkart video, for instance, is a spot for its “Sneaker Project” that is rapidly approaching 200 million lifetime views.

The strategy: Flipkart deserves credit for its success, but the glut of Indian creators in the Global Top 50 is equally responsible for its uptick. The ecommerce brand’s ads target domestic consumers, so when there are 24 Indian channels in the Global Top 50, Flipkart has a lot of chances to reach the right viewers.

That brings us to the most important takeaway from the company’s time in the Top 50. For Shorts advertisers, the nature of the inventory only matters if you’re partnering with the right channels.

That’s why, when YouTube decided to bring mindfulness into the Shorts feed through its Hit Pause campaign, it teamed up with kid-friendly creators who—like Ryan and Meekah—regularly show up in our charts. As a result, Hit Pause has hovered above 300 million weekly views since the start of 2026.

This strategy may not be the right fit for every advertiser, but if a brand can find a trustworthy partner that appeals to its target audiences, that link is worth pursuing.

WATCH THIS 👀

The press junket: It’s been one month since M. Night Shyamalan made his first YouTube video, and the iconic filmmaker is already tackling some major philosophical questions about the use of AI and the opportunities that come with exercising human creativity.

One of Shyamalan’s new YouTube series, for instance, follows him as he conducts “a traditional movie press junket but with students.” In the latest episode, the writer-slash-director dives into his opinions on AI in film and the questions he’s pondered while writing his latest script—namely, “are we the answers or are we the search for the answers?”

Check out the full video here to find out more.

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