|
TOGETHER WITH |
|
|
It's Wednesday and Alphabet is looking far into the future with the sale of 100-year bonds. Would you bet on Google to be around in 2126? |
|
Today's News |
📺 YouTube TV bundles up 🔀 YouTube Premium gets AI playlists 🧑⚖️ Law&Crime buys Court TV 👶 Platforms agree to safety ratings 🕺 Boy Throb goes viral
|
|
|
|
STREAMING BIG |
 | Would you pay $65/month for live sports? (Photo credit: Ekin Kizilkaya via Getty Images) |
|
YouTube TV "skinny bundles" are on the way |
The skinny bundles: YouTube TV has at last unveiled its long-rumored "skinny bundles." The category-specific channel lineups are expected to launch "over the next several weeks" and will focus on offerings like news, movies, family content, and (most importantly) sports. |
Rumors first swirled about the new skinny bundles late last year, shortly after YouTube resolved a contentious carriage dispute with Disney. Those negotiations, like so many matters related to digital TV, centered around sports distribution rights. |
The details: Now, YouTube TV's new sports-themed bundle offers fans a "more flexible" way to access live content. For $65 per month ($55/month for new subscribers), viewers can access most major sports hubs, including national broadcast networks, ESPN and Fox Sports channels, regional college football carriers, March Madness broadcasters like TBS and TNT, and specific channels for sports like golf, basketball, and pickleball. All of that will come cheaper than the standard YouTube TV package, which costs $83/month. |
A few key channels are missing from the sports bundle. The MLB Network and Tennis Channel aren't part of it yet, Netflix and Prime Video will maintain exclusivity on marquee sports events, and ESPN Unlimited won't be included until the fall. Overall, however, the package is pretty comprehensive. |
And YouTube isn't just creating new options for sports fans. An "Entertainment Plan" based around movies, for example, will cost $55/month, and individual skinny bundles can also be combined into broader packages. All in all, YouTube plans to offer at least 10 different bundles with prices lower than its standard YouTube TV offering. |
|
|
|
There are four days left in the Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi. Here are the events you won't want to miss: |
The Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi are in full swing, with 25,000 athletes from around the world uniting to participate in the Middle East's biggest multi-sport competition in history. |
The Games wrap up on February 15. Here are 3 must-see events you won't want to miss: |
1. SheRises – Women's Educational and Empowerment Workshops (February 9-13 @ Fatima Bint Mubarak Academy)
Hosted at a dedicated women-only venue, SheRises is a week-long program bringing together inspiring workshops and shared learning to celebrate, educate, and empower women and girls. |
2. Open Masters Games Falconry (February 14 @ Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center)
In collaboration with the International Federation for Falconry Sports and Racing Cup, the OMGAD falconry championship will welcome 27 teams representing 25 countries. |
3. The Open Masters Games Road Race (February 15 @ Hudyariyat, Marsana)
For the largest participatory event of the Games, join in or cheer on 10,000+ runners as they race in celebration of closing day. |
OMGAD 2026 is expected to attract 500,000+ in-person spectators—and Tubefilter will be there, too. As part of the Tubefilter creator program, stars Stephanie Pena, Dalton Chandler, Jenna Sinatra, Peter Hollens, and Evynne Hollens will travel to the UAE to see the Games. |
Visit the website for more details: |
|
|
HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰 |
 | It's kinda like the algorithm, but with a prompt and many videos in succession. |
|
|
|
INDUSTRY BUZZ |
 | Law&Crime just got itself a television channel. |
|
A true crime YouTube hub just bought a legacy broadcast channel |
The acquisition: Law&Crime Network—a YouTube channel with 7.4 million subscribers and ~80 million monthly views—has acquired legacy broadcast channel Court TV. The deal reportedly transferred ownership of the latter channel (which it valued at less than $125 million) from the E.W. Scripps Company to Law&Crime's parent, Jellysmack. Ironically, Jellysmack reportedly paid $125 million to acquire Law&Crime just three years ago. |
The history: Law&Crime founder Dan Abrams started his career in television at Court TV in the late 90s. He went on to become a legal correspondent and analyst at NBC and ABC before launching Law&Crime in 2015. |
Six years later, Law&Crime sued Court TV for advertising itself as the only media outlet that offers live court coverage, when Law&Crime offered the same thing. Court TV issued an apology and the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed. |
The plan: Now, Abrams will control the network that gave him his first platform. According to The New York Times, Court TV has a three-year distribution deal with Scripps and will continue airing its usual programming on basic cable. Law&Crime, however, plans to develop additional Court TV content for YouTube and/or other digital platforms. The ultimate goal, Abrams told NYT, is to "try to transform what is a legacy media company into a YouTube and digital-media-first business." |
"Fifteen, 20 years ago, it was legacy media companies that would acquire a digital first. And here we are as a YouTube-first and digital-first true-crime company acquiring a legacy media." | | | | - Dan Abrams, Law&Crime Founder |
|
|
Law&Crime is bringing on about a dozen of Court TV's 50+ employees (per sources familiar with the matter). Abrams said the two channels will differ in their primary focuses, with the former focusing on true crime and the latter continuing to cover trials in real time. |
|
SAFETY FIRST |
 | Will ratings stave off social media bans? (Photo illustration by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) |
|
Meta, TikTok, and Snap have agreed to be rated for teen safety |
The global backlash: Social media has become a dangerous space for many kids—and governments around the world are taking steps to intervene. The European Union recently announced that it could force TikTok to rewrite its algorithm, while a landmark jury trial in California will interrogate supposed links between social feeds and mental health struggles. In some countries, regulators are going one step further by resorting to social media bans that prohibit kids and teens from using major platforms altogether |
The alternative: The Mental Health Coalition has a different solution in mind. The advocacy group—which was founded by fashion designer Kenneth Cole—has proposed new safety ratings that would reassure regulators while offering a softer solution for Big Tech firms that have criticized the severity of nationwide bans. |
Meta, TikTok, and Snap have already agreed to have their social media platforms independently rated to determine how safe their platforms are for users under the age of 18. Among other criteria, evaluators will gauge how easy it is for teens to take breaks from their feeds and determine how often those users encounter inappropriate posts. The highest-rated platforms will be able to display a shield-safe emblem that certifies the safety of their feeds. The worst offenders, meanwhile, will be called out for their inability to root out harmful content. |
This isn't the first time Meta, TikTok, and Snap have participated in a project spearheaded by the MHC. All three firms previously signed on as founding members of Thrive, an MHC-led program that uses hashes to track problematic content as it moves between platforms. Now, with regulators cracking down worldwide, those and other social media companies have good reason to accept the advocacy group's proposed ratings. |
|
WATCH THIS 👀 |
 | Boy Throb is all set to #slay (once Darshan lands in the USA) |
|
Boy Throb is ready for their close-up (and a U.S. visa) |
The boy band: If you don't know Boy Throb, you might be on the wrong side of TikTok. The boy band has attracted 1.3 million followers on the short-form video platform, plus another 768,000 on Instagram. Their first music video is sitting pretty at half a million views on YouTube, too—but Boy Throb isn't just in it for boppy hits and online fame. |
They're in hot pursuit of an O-1 visa for their fourth member, Darshan. |
Applying for (let alone obtaining) a U.S. visa for individuals with extraordinary ability is no easy feat, but the boys behind Boy Throb have proven that their band is capable of attracting a devoted audience. As they inch closer to securing Darshan's future in the states, the creators have already snagged an invite to The Grammys, performed the national anthem at an LA Kings game, and teamed up with brands like Redken. |
|
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here. |
Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter's audience? Sponsor the newsletter. |
|
Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. |
