James Hale

• Roblox cozies up to creators with promises that it’ll recommend their games
• More than half of brands will pay YouTubers to market their products this year

  eMarketer expects that in 2025, brands will spend the most on YouTube: $3.45 billion. In second place is Instagram with $3.17 billion in spend, and in third place is TikTok, with $1.19 billion.

  
• There’s a lot of slop on the internet. YouTube, Moonbug, The Wiggles, and more say they’ll stop kids from watching it.

  With YouTube as the single largest content destination for kids, it's making moves that could set a standard…if it can make good on the initiative's intentions.

  
• Top 5 Branded Videos of the Week: The universe sure does keep spinning

  Our latest Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report is staffed by the old guard: MrBeast, Veritasium, and Danny Gonzalez, accompanied by an interesting mix of sponsors. But we also have Druski back for a third straight week with his MTV-esque bachelor show Coulda Been Love, plus a new co-op game that puts a spin on sci-fi and fantasy.

  
• Formula 1’s fastest-growing fan demographic is Gen Z girls. Female content creators are helping drive their interest.
• Turns out Gen Z doesn’t like video podcasts. Now what?
• Twitch is getting backlash for its bans (and unbans). CEO Dan Clancy stepped in to explain why things are “tricky.”
• Reddit is the internet’s fastest-growing social media site. Why?
• As a ban still looms, TikTok talks up its economic impact: 7.5 million businesses, 28 million jobs
• YouTube thinks a more human touch will cut down on demonetization mistakes
• Top 5 Branded Videos of the Week: MrBeast, Elon Musk, alien bugs
• Game studios have helped make Roblox a multibillion-dollar business. Are they getting squeezed out?