What YouTube Missed at Brandcast

💡 TOP STORIES

THE GLARING HOLE IN YOUTUBE’S GLOBAL STRATEGY

YouTube’s Brandcast last week hammered home a clear strategy – long-form video, top creators, and big-budget productions built for the biggest screens (and podcasts). With YouTube beating Netflix in US watch time, although still lagging in revenue, the direction is clear: capture the living room and the ad dollars fleeing traditional TV’s collapse.

But there’s a countertrend playing out globally.  In mobile-first markets globally, micro-dramas are exploding.  In China, for example, they pulled in $5.2 Bn in 2024, surpassing the traditional film box office. That’s a stark contrast to YouTube’s big-screen ambitions, and it highlights a potential blind spot. Vacuuming up TV dollars works in the short-term.  But treating vertical serialized content as just another Shorts format risks missing a massive opportunity in regions like Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (and even here in the US).

I poke subtle fun at Quibi by naming my news section after them, but they weren’t entirely wrong.  The long-term opportunity isn’t glossy, TV-style productions for first-world viewers, but clever, inexpensive and bingeable formats that captivate the global mobile-first market. Just as YouTube built YouTube TV alongside YouTube ON TV, it should consider a dedicated approach for mobile-first episodic storytelling too. Otherwise, it risks being outflanked by platforms already thriving in this space.

THE PITS OF DOOM HIDING UNDER A BEASTLY WEEK OF VICTORIES

Big news from the MrBeast camp.  Beast Games was renewed and the MrBeast Experience is headed to Saudi Arabia as part of the 2025-2026 Riyadh Seasons. Even though “mistakes were made”, both ventures are moving forward.  I suspect Amazon got some serious production, licensing and safety concessions this time around. 

Saudi Arabia presents a unique challenge. As I’ve learned building events in the region, strong, reliable partners are critical, where promises are plentiful, but follow-through can be tricky. Ther are also significant cultural and reputational risks to manage.  The Beast team will need to walk a fine line to avoid alienating their fans and internal teams too. Given their past problems with partners, let’s hope they’ve chosen their partners wisely.  The margin for error is super thin.  

PODCAST WARS HEAT UP

YouTube just released a new weekly top 100 “podcast” leaderboard, designed to blunt, a clear shot at Spotify’s top 100 list.  The differences are stark, as metrics maven @Nick Cicero points out.  While Spotify’s chart leans mainstream with shows from legacy publishers, YouTube features a mix of the familiar and the obscure.  With only 25% overlapping, it’s a reflection of two very different visions. YouTube embraces eyes-optional video formats, while Spotify highlights audio-first shows. Both platforms reject the old-school, RSS-powered podcast model in favor of a more proprietary walled garden – and it’s reshaping the entire medium. Discovery, distribution, and monetization are all in flux as the podcasting landscape gets a full reboot.  Fun aside, OG Shane Dawson’s podcast comes in at 74!

• Related: Podcasting is HUGE.  New study pegs it at $7.3 Bn, with 2/3rds from the US.

• Related: Clarity on Spotify’s new metric, “play count” (It’s just a “Start” rebrand), and “Streams” are back in Spotify for Creators data. Also “play count” will be hidden until an episode reaches 50k and will update in 50k increments.

• Related: YouTube’s Podcasts page is now editorially curated.

SEARCH DISRUPTION IS REAL

The first of my two-part SEO to GEO special report just dropped for Beehiiv subscriber.  It breaks down the shift from traditional search engines to GenAI-powered discovery. It’s all about “Generative Engine Optimization.” Read it here (and subscribe while you’re at it).

The second installment hits inboxes this Thursday, with fresh insights and tactics for video creators looking to top the new AI-driven search results. It’s all about authority, trust, and cutting through the algorithmic noise. Free subscription guarantees you’ll get it first – and it won’t be on LinkedIn.

• Related: It’s more than just SEO and GEO.  @Sara Wilson latest newsletter explores how communities and real connections are also disrupting search.  She calls it CCO –read more about it here.

• Related: New study analyzes 8,000 AI citations for insight into what works (and what doesn’t).

• Related: Should you create an LLMS.TXT file?

😎 SPONSOR

Creator Company Whalar Group has landed a strategic investment from Marc Benioff, Shopify, and Hollywood producer Neal H. Moritz to help scale  its Creator-first ecosystem. The backing signals a bold new chapter for the company, blending tech, commerce, and entertainment to empower Creators as next-gen media moguls. Lear more about the investment in Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-15/marc-benioff-buys-stake-in-influencer-agency-whalar-at-400-million-valuation 

Note from Jim – I love this move.  I’ve been covering Marc Benioff since 1992, and I couldn’t imagine a better strategic partner for Whalar!

💡 PLATFORMS

YOUTUBE

• AI Video Gets a Brain Transplant: Google’s newest models promise a big leap in understanding video.

• Rene’s Big Adventure!  YouTube’s Creator Liaison @Rene Ritchie shares his Brandcast road trip. 

• Shorts = Longs: Big Red CEO says that revenue per hour view on Shorts has caught up to long form.

• Pinterest Killer?:  Looks like Google might launch a Pinterest style service at IO event this week.

META

• Meta’s HUGE AI Claims:  Meta says its AI ad technology impacts 2.5% of US workers and $550 Bn in economic activity.  

• Unsafe At Any Speed:  @Taylor Lorenz reports that Facebook has become a scam cesspool, and Meta’s in no rush to fix it.

• Pot, Kettle: Serial copycat Zuckerberg says Apple hasn’t invented anything great since the iPhone.

• Adam Mosseri’s Big Adventure: If Neal can do it, he can too! Instagram CEO takes a star turn through India.

TIKTOK

• Tariffs Take a Toll: US tariffs hit TikTok Shop sales ($).

• More Dancing Babies: TikTok’s new AI feature turns photos into videos. Very Piertotum Locomotor (obscure Harry Potter reference).

• We Want to Be Meta:  Bytedance plans to match Meta’s global revenue. Within reach, but valuation?  Not so much.

💡 QUIBIS

MEDIA DISRUPTION

• Creator Sports Leagues: New Soccer/Football leagues poppin’ up like daisies in spring.

• Substack the Octopus:  The wannabe “everything” platform adds live audio.  Shades of Clubhouse. Let’s see if this one sticks (I’m skeptical).  

• TV Disrupter Goes AI: Founder of Xumo (who once sponsored VidCon) is back with a new AI studio, Fairground.

CREATOR MONETIZATION

• Stop the Discount Dance  @monica Khan on why brands need to stop pushing discounts and why creators need real business infrastructure.

• More Than Just YouTube: Free TV is on fire.  Smart creators are cashing in.  Are you?

OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY

• Podcasting is HUGE: New study pegs it at $7.3B.

• Dailymotion Expands:  The OG French video network buys AI video app Mojo. 

• Sidemen Launch VC Firm: $25M fund is focused on consumer startups, with 12 bets in the books. Love seeing creator and capital align.

• Pi For Everyone: Linus Tech Tips sets a record for calculating the most digits of Pi.  Useless makes my math mind happy!

• LinkedIn Tech Stack:  @michel Lieben just crossed 40k followers (congrats).  Here’s his playbook.

MARKETING AND BRANDS

• How Duolingo Killed the Owl: Hilarious and insightful case study detailing how @Zaria Parvez and team killed off Duo, and then brought him back. 

• Related: Duolingo’s AI-first pivot isn’t winning over users.

• EGC Arrives: @Melissa Laurie is working on a book about employee generated content.  Here’s a preview.

CREATOR TECH – AI, VR, MORE

• Real Time Video Tutors: Symvol is building real-time AI tools to convert articles lessons and guides into video. Could upend creator courseware.

• Forget Writing: Share your knowledge and AI will write articles for your website for your website.

• Rise of the Clones: AI video and image model and middleware startup Hedra raises 32M from A16Z.

• Don’t Stop Believing: Roblox first in-game shopping attempt with Walmart failed.  A new Shopify integration could turn it around.

• No Stablecoins for You: Amazon, Meta and Amazon may be banned from issuing stablecoins.  That’s a good thing.

Like this free newsletter?  Buy me a coffee and say thanks!  Or let’s do a meetup in your town.

I've built and sold multiple creator economy startups to top media companies - including Discovery and Paramount. Subscribe for free to get this newsletter every Monday.

Let me know what you think – email me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading and see you around the internet.