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TOGETHER WITH |
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It's Wednesday and a new engagement metric just dropped. Will streaming services soon be judged by "in-universe ratings"? |
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TODAY'S NEWS | 📈 Roblox's TikTok competitor crosses a million views 🎨 Early education videos bring millions of Shorts viewers back to school 📖 Twitch redefines "Sensitive Social Issues" 💰 TikTok earnings grow in the West 🍕 V Spehar eases voter anxiety with an Election Night Pizza Party
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HEALTHY COMPETITION |
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Roblox's TikTok competitor just crossed 1 billion views (and it has ads now) |
The context: Between 2017 and 2023, Roblox's DevEx program generated over $1.2 billion worth of economic value in the United States. Now, it could turn the platform into TikTok's next big rival. |
Back in March, DevEx participant Neura Studios released Clip It: a TikTok and YouTube Shorts lookalike that operates exclusively within Roblox. The game offers most of TikTok's main features—including a swipe-to-the-next-video UI, likes, and comments—while also providing editing tools that let creators post clips from the game or create their own short-form videos by selecting poses and backgrounds for their avatars. |
The stats: According to Neura Studios, Clip It generated 100 million views within 6 weeks of going live. Now, it's at over 1 billion views with 8 million monthly active users, and has leveraged Roblox's programmatic ad sales system to run marketing alongside its stream of user-generated content. |
The strategy: So far, Neura Studios has monetized Clip It through Roblox's ad revenue share program and the sale of in-game "content packs" (in addition to receiving a chunk of Roblox's $35 million Creator Fund). But the developer has big plans for its own advertising products, too. It reportedly aims to incorporate things like full-screen video ads and custom branded integrations into Clip It, all of which can be done without Roblox taking a cut of revenue. Ben Saraille (aka the co-founder of Makeshift, an agency Neura Studios tapped to help with things like ad sales) told Digiday that some brands have already signed on for upcoming ad products, while others are still in negotiations: |
"2025 is set to be our busiest year by far, and we've got several items on our product roadmap…if there's a feature you're used to using in advertisements on TikTok, Snap, Instagram or YouTube Shorts, it's either there or will be soon." | | | | Ben Saraille, Makeshift Co-Founder |
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🔆 SPONSORED 🔆 |
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Didn't make it to MIPCOM? Here are the takeaways that could define the creator economy in 2025: |
This 2024 edition of MIPCOM Cannes—aka "the mother of all entertainment markets"—is officially a wrap. From exploring opportunities for producers and streamers to announcing the launch of Full Tilt Network, Viral Nation's team had a blast behind the scenes. |
Here are their takeaways from the big event: |
1. Shift to streaming: Audiences are moving to streaming services—and ad budgets are going with them. Over the next year, expect to see marketing money shift from traditional TV to digital channels. |
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3. Hybrid monetization: The future of streaming will likely involve hybrid models combining subscription and ad-supported elements. (But for now, audiences still prefer free, ad-supported content!) |
Get in touch with Viral Nation to find out how their syndication, OTT, and original programming experts can help you stand out in the rapidly-evolving world of entertainment. |
Build your media empire → |
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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰 |
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PUT A LABEL ON IT |
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Twitch is dealing with the fallout of another complicated policy update |
The initial update: Twitch is once again facing backlash over a contentious policy update. |
On November 1, the platform added a section on "Politics and Sensitive Social Issues" to its CCL guide, a resource that specifies which streams require Content Classification Labels. Historically, that guide has included streams featuring M-rated games, sexual themes, and/or graphic violence—but now, creators are also required to label content centered around policy discussions with elected officials, commentary on elections or global conflicts, and footage from civil rights rallies. |
The list goes on: in a particularly controversial decision, Twitch indicated that labels should also be applied to streams that discuss "gender, race, sexuality, or religion in a polarizing or inflammatory manner." |
The revision: The addition of gender and sexuality-based streams to Twitch's CCL guide immediately drew criticism from the platform's LGBTQ+ community. After three days of negative feedback, Twitch updated its rules to clarify that discussion of one's own "lived experiences" will not require content labels. Political streamers can also forego disclaimers if they discuss current events in a "neutral, fact-based manner." |
The context: This isn't the first time Twitch has confounded creators with sudden policy changes and ambiguous rules—and it probably won't be the last. As the platform looks to make itself more appealing to brands, it's starting to enforce ad-friendly guidelines more stringently (including by demonetizing content that isn't properly labeled). Those efforts haven't always gone as planned—as we learned from the chaos surrounding Twitch's attempt to address its "nudity meta"—but with Amazon growing increasingly concerned about its lack of profit, the platform has good reason to keep trying. |
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WILD WEST |
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Asia is ByteDance's bread and butter, but TikTok earnings are growing in the West |
The stats: As a privately-owned company, ByteDance isn't required to release quarterly earnings reports the way Alphabet or Meta are—but thanks to two sources who spoke to The Information, we still know a fair amount about the TikTok owner's first-half results. |
Between January and June 2024, Bytedance reportedly took in 23% of its overall revenue from international markets (a 4% increase compared to the first half of 2023). The lion's share of the company's revenue came from domestic Chinese apps like Douyin and Toutiao, both of which are major players in ecommerce and social shopping. Overall, the company's ability to turn users into buyers (especially in East Asian markets) helped it turn a $25 billion profit in 2022. |
Despite that success, an overall economic downturn in China has left a dent in ByteDance's domestic business. Its first-half revenue jumped 35% to reach $73 billion, but its rate of revenue growth was 5% slower than it was during the same period a year ago. |
The context: That downward trend makes the sustainability of Bytedance's international revenue more crucial than ever before—at a time when its position in the U.S. is shaky at best. TikTok Shop in particular could be both a valuable source of Western revenue and a talisman for future growth. The importance of its survival explains why TikTok is training U.S. sellers on Asian ecommerce tactics—and why it's fighting tooth and nail to stave off a nationwide ban. |
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WATCH THIS 📺 |
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Influencers like V Spehar did their best to make Election Day less painful |
The influencer election: November 5 brought plenty of sensationalized content to TikTok, but a few creators devoted their time to keeping users calm and in-the-know. Under the Desk News pundit V Spehar, for instance, hosted a cross-platform live special called Election Night Pizza Party as an "alternative to legacy media." |
The special: Spehar's show focused on state-by-state updates and interviews with influencers, newscasters, and politicians like Senator Edward Markey (D-MA)—but it also offered tension-relieving segments like this classic volcano experiment. Along the way, the creator calmed viewers' nerves with frequent reassurance and reminders that it's the small acts of civic involvement (including voting, researching, and volunteering) that make the most difference. |
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort. |
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