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TOGETHER WITH |
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It's Friday and Reddit is (mostly) putting r/all out to pasture. RIP to the feed of our youth. |
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Today's News |
🎤 YouTube covers Coachella 🎙️ beehiiv moves into podcast hosting 🤝 OpenAI acquires TBPN 💸 An animator raises $400K 🌮 1 creator has 3 words for Taco Bell
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FESTIVAL CIRCUIT |
 | TV channels are a thing again. |
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YouTube's 2026 Coachella coverage includes its answer to FAST platforms |
The Stations: YouTube is continuing its 16-year tenure as the primary web video partner of Coachella. This year, however, that coverage will give many users their first look at a new YouTube feature called Stations. |
Stations are essentially the platform's take on the kind of always-on channels that populate free, ad-supported TV (FAST) platforms. For Coachella, YouTube's live streaming technology is powering a 24/7 broadcast filled with features, videos, and performances related to the Indio, California festival. |
The Verge noted that YouTube has been quietly testing Stations alongside a group of music industry partners that includes pop star Bruno Mars. While it was already possible to launch always-on channels on YouTube, the new feature makes that process more intuitive: |
"A creator can come onto YouTube, go into our studio product, set up a playlist of videos. They click 'Start Station,' and we'll do all the work to start the livestream for them." | | | | - Kurt Wilms, YouTube Senior Product Management Director (via The Verge) |
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The details: Over the past few years, a number of top creators—including Dhar Mann and Unspeakable—have looked to expand their reach by launching dedicated channels on FAST hubs. Now, by making it easier to launch those channels on YouTube, the Google-owned entity hopes to bring more traffic in-house. |
To demonstrate how that technology works, the platform is using Coachella as its guinea pig—and not for the first time. Through its annual coverage of the festival, YouTube has tested product innovations like 360-degree video, original programming, and short-form content. |
This year's Coachella Station is currently limited to behind-the-scenes features, but coverage will ramp up once the festival begins. According to a blog post, YouTube's Coachella streams will be spread across seven stages. |
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The Creator Lab is returning to NAB Show. Will you be there to see innovation in action? |
In 2023, NAB Show partnered with the Virtual Events Group to build the Creator Lab: a center of innovation devoted to conversations covering platforms, monetization, metrics, gear, and creator tips and tricks. |
This year, the Creator Lab will return to media and entertainment's flagship event with a bold new design and an expanded focus. |
Claim your spot at NAB Show to gain exclusive access to… |
A 14,000 sq. ft Creator Lab main stage dedicated to lively discourse on the future of the creator economy
A classroom area stocked with experts ready to deliver hands-on tips about products and techniques
An exclusive Creator Lab Community Mixer sponsored by Tubefilter, Adobe, and Blackmagic Design
Exhibits featuring everything from a podcast station to an Adobe classroom
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Discover the go-to destination for the creator economy. |
The 2026 Creator Lab will unite the industry's leading experts, including Tubefilter CEO Drew Baldwin, The Influencer Marketing Factory CEO Alessandro Bogliari, and Traackr CEO Pierre-Loïc Assayag for forward-facing sessions like "State of the Creator Economy." |
Creator Economy registrations for NAB Show are up 105% from last year. Claim your spot now before tickets run out: |
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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰 |
 | Beehiiv wants to be the home for your newsletter AND your podcast. |
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SHOW TIME |
 | In less than two years, TBPN had accumulated an incredibly coveted audience and reportedly $30 million in projected annual revenues. |
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OpenAI just acquired Silicon Valley podcast TBPN |
The acquisition: After closing one of the biggest funding rounds in tech history, OpenAI is jumping straight into podcasting. The ChatGPT developer has acquired TBPN, a podcast that treats Silicon Valley like a sports league. |
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but the TBPN team announced on Substack that they will continue operating independently, with full editorial control over their show. An "Editorial Independence Covenant" will limit OpenAI's ability to influence coverage, although the tech giant will help TBPN (aka Technology Business Programming Network) scale up and expand its reach. |
"While we've been critical of the industry at times, after getting to know [OpenAI CEO Sam Altman] and the OpenAI team, what stood out most was their openness to feedback and commitment to getting this right." | | | | - Jordi Hays, TBPN Co-Founder and Co-Host |
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The context: Treating Silicon Valley like SportsCenter may seem a bit unorthodox, but TBPN's unique approach has proven wildly successful. In 2025, the podcast landed a partnership with the New York Stock Exchange while interviewing high-profile guests like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The results included $5 million in annual revenue. |
TBPN's rise has continued well into 2026. It aired a regional Super Bowl ad earlier this year, and its annual revenue was on track to hit $30 million (per the Wall Street Journal). Now, the show will also have the might of OpenAI's significant resources behind it. |
As for OpenAI, TBPN could serve as a useful loudspeaker for its public presence (kind of like the Microsoft-backed firm's version of Twitch's Patch Notes or YouTube's Creator Insider). The show could also be leveraged to balance out recent criticisms of OpenAI's operations. Its Defense Department contract and the shutdown of video generator Sora have received intense scrutiny. Now, the ChatGPT developer is better able to set the record straight. |
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GAME ON |
 | A D&D subscription service helped summon this tabletop RPG into existence. |
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YouTube animator Luke Humphris raised $400K in 2 days for his TTRPG Dam Nation |
The Kickstarter campaign: YouTube animator Luke Humphris has raised nearly $400,000 on Kickstarter in just two days thanks to 2,200+ fans gathering to support his first TTRPG. |
Called When Society Collapsed: Dam Nation, Humphris' homebrewed world is a cozy post-apocalyptic journey that's light on rules and heavy on team exploration. Folks who join in the Kickstarter get a 150+ page book explaining the world's lore, class system, and guidelines. Also included on higher tiers ($99+) are props like regional and encounter maps, wooden minifigures, and a pop-up "battle van" that serves as players' mobile hub. |
The details: To put all that together, Humphris—who has 557K YouTube subscribers and is known for his animated shorts and series like When Society Collapsed—partied up with Dungeon in a Box, a subscription company that sends out new Dungeons & Dragons oneshots every month. |
Prior to partnering with Humphris, DIAB ran five successful Kickstarter campaigns, including one for its "Skinny Minis" figures that raised over $1 million. |
Dam Nation, however, marked new ground for DIAB. While its oneshots typically run on D&D's 5e system, the company decided to give Humphris free rein to build an entire TTRPG from scratch. That meant the creator would have to design the world and the gameplay system, along with drawing all the supporting material. The tradeoff: DIAB agreed to handle everything else. |
DIAB Head of Marketing Hunter Ausfahl says this is just the beginning of the company doing longer projects with creators like Humphris. The company partnered with YouTuber Roll for Sandwich on a oneshot last year, and has several upcoming 5e oneshots that were co-developed with other creators. |
Dam Nation is scheduled to ship out to backers around May 2027. Humphris says now that the writing and artwork is done, he's "just excited for everyone to see it." |
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WATCH THIS 👀 |
 | John Jurasek gives another biting and dapper food review. |
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TheReportOfTheWeek has three words for Taco Bell |
The Taco Bell review: It's not that John Jurasek (aka the creator behind TheReportOfTheWeek) doesn't like Taco Bell. It's just that every time he's had an item featuring their crispy chicken, it's tasted like "an egregious error." |
The creator—who's assembled a devoted fanbase of nearly 3 million YouTube subscribers thanks to his deadpan food reviews and dressy attire—took on Taco Bell's new Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider in his latest video. The title: "I Hate This." |
As Jurasek noted, that cheerful description "says it all." But if a little cutting humor and vicarious disgust sounds like your kind of thing, we'd still recommend giving the full review a watch. |
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. |
