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It's Friday, and the voice cast has been revealed for CoComelon: The Movie. Can you guess which roles SZA and Nicholas Hoult will play? |
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Today’s News |
📚 YouTube and BBC train creators ⚽ TikTok unites creators for the World Cup 📈 This week on the branded charts… 🤝 Roblox hires its first CGO 🍬 Tom Scott eats rocks (sort of)
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CREATOR COMMOTION |
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YouTube is crossing the pond to train creators. (Photo via Getty Images.) |
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YouTube and the BBC are launching a U.K. creator economy training program |
The response: Last year, a survey conducted by Public First revealed widespread discontent among British creators. 56% of survey respondents claimed they’re unable to impact government decisions that affect their livelihood, while 43% said they felt unrecognized within the broader creative industry. Only 17% said they have enough access to skills and training, and a mere 7% said they have proper access to capital and loans. |
In response, YouTube pledged to provide more professional services for creators in the U.K. Now, the platform is living up to that promise. |
YouTube has teamed up with the BBC and the National Film and Television School (NFTS) to launch a multi-city training program catered to creators and other digital media professionals. Through a nationwide slate of workshops and events, YouTube and the Beeb aim to incubate a new generation of digital-savvy creatives. |
“By launching this nationwide partnership, we are aiming to bridge that gap—providing the digital strategies and practical expertise needed to empower extraordinary talent in every corner of the U.K.” |
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| - Alison Lomax, YouTube’s Managing Director for UK and Ireland |
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The program: The program, which kicked off in Birmingham on May 14, will begin with a cohort of 150 pupils. Those participants include not only digital-native creators, but also TV producers and journalists. |
Workshops will take place at BBC hubs in all four U.K. countries, where participants will benefit from both NFTS’ “world-class technical mastery” and YouTube’s prominent position in the creator world. ScreenSkills, a professional organization for jobseekers in the digital arts, is also supporting the initiative. |
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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰 |
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TikTok is sending 30 creators to the World Cup. |
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GOSPEL STATS 📈 |
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Surprisingly, this isn’t an unusual question for Facebook Marketplace buyers. |
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Top Branded Videos: Family, anime, and Facebook Marketplace food |
Gospel Stats’ latest ranking of most-viewed branded YouTube videos offers a microcosmic view of the platform, with family skits, questionable food, and fan content all well-represented. First up… |
🥇 #1. theplumpcover x C4 Energy: 1. ACT A DAMN FOOL. @c4energy @c4partner #meme #family #dad #mom #skit #funny (21.8M views)
In case you missed the @s, theplumpcover’s latest meme-filled Short was sponsored by C4 Energy—and it wasn’t alone. In total, C4 paid for four videos during the week that was. We see a lot of energy brands advertising with creators, and it makes sense. YouTubers need fuel to power their projects, and energy brands are hoping viewers will want the same jolt as their favorite creator.
🥈 #2. Mangaka Brandon Chen x Crunchyroll: The Creator of Full Metal Alchemist has a new Anime on @crunchyroll! #ad #Crunchyrollpartner (15.4M views)
Fullmetal Alchemist is widely considered one of the manga series of all time, but its creator, Hiromu Arakawa, has seen a quieter reception for her post-FMA works. Crunchyroll aims to fix that through partnerships with YouTubers like Mangaka Brandon Chen, whose latest video highlights Arakawa’s Yomi no Tsugai series. The manga’s anime adaptation just came out, and Crunchyroll wants people to tune in on its platform. |
🎰 #662. Edvasian x Zocdoc: The Insane World of Facebook Marketplace Food (266.3K views)
There’s a reason people who sell food have to be licensed, and that reason starts with E and ends with coli. But despite the risk of potential lawsuits, it’s clear from Edvasian’s new video that questionable Facebook Marketplace meals abound. Luckily, buyers of those delicacies can find in-network healthcare through Edvasian’s sponsor, Zocdoc. |
Check out the full branded ranking here and head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights. |
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THE BIZ |
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A new exec has entered the sandbox. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images.) |
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Roblox just hired its first Chief Growth Officer |
The new hire: Roblox may have a reputation as a haven for Gen A, but 26% of its U.S.-based players are now legal adults. In fact, the sandbox’s 18+ user base has grown 50% year-over-year. That’s a big deal for Roblox’s bottom line, since 18+ players spend 50% more money in-game than their younger counterparts. |
To chase that disposable income and engagement, Roblox recently launched a major initiative where it’ll pay developers more if they make “novel games” targeted at adults. Now, the platform has also hired John Ciancutti as its first Chief Growth Officer. |
Ciancutti comes to Roblox from Amazon, where he served as General Manager for the company’s live radio app Amp and VP of Consumer and Technology for Amazon Music. Before his tenure at Amazon, the exec founded audio news service 60dB. That company sold to Google in 2017, where Ciancutti himself ended up working in senior product and strategy roles in Search. He was also Director of Engineering at Facebook and spent 13 years at Netflix in various roles, including VP of Product Engineering. |
The context: As he moves on to spearhead Roblox’s discovery team, Ciancutti told BI that targeting older players will be a focus of his. He also aims to push Roblox internationally and incorporate “a more diverse set of experiences on the platform,” BI reports. |
Those ambitions don’t come without challenges. Roblox recently lowered its 2026 revenue forecast as it invests in child safety improvements, including age verification for chats. Those improvements are a vital addition to the platform; as of now, Roblox is facing over 140 federal lawsuits following numerous incidents of adult users preying on children. |
Anecdotal reports, however, suggest that age verification has had some impact on social traffic. Roblox’s own numbers show DAUs dropped from 144 million in Q4 2025 to 132 million in Q1 2026. |
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WATCH THIS 👀 |
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It’s time to eat some rocks. |
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Tom Scott’s U.K. tour included a stop at a candy factory |
The tour: U.S. consumers might associate rock candy with sugary, artificially-colored crystals—but that’s not what Tom Scott’s latest video is about. During his tour of England, the un-retired YouTuber made a stop at the John Bull Rock Factory. As Scott explained, the “rock” created at John Bull is “like a candy cane but a bit more brittle…with letters all the way through it.” |
Those letters usually spell out the name of some idyllic seaside town, but thanks to Scott’s tour, some lucky candy shoppers are likely to break open their rock haul to find the name “Tom Scott.” |
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen. |
