TOGETHER WITH

It’s Thursday and Meta’s Bangkok office faced an unlikely intruder when a squirrel escaped from a delivered package to wreak havoc on unsuspecting staff members.

Today’s News

🏆 Subway Takes gets an Emmy nom
🤝 Zigazoo and Wheelhouse join forces
💪 Netflix bulks up its video catalog
👀 YouTube vies for World Cup rights
⚽ Erling Haaland takes Texas

THAT’S SHOW BIZ

The show that uses MetroCards as mics has earned an Emmy nomination.

Subway Takes just earned an Emmy nom. Is YouTube’s push finally paying off?

The nomination: Subway Takes, the YouTube-hosted series led by Kareem Rahma, has earned a nomination at the 2026 Emmy Awards in the category of Best Short Form Comedy, Drama, or Variety Series.

The three-year-old interview series—which follows Rahma as he invites guests to unleash their hottest takes from a New York City subway car—was one of several creator-led shows that sought Emmy consideration this year. Those efforts came amid a fervent push from YouTube itself, which threw its support behind some of its top stars.

Other YouTube hits, like Dropout, also launched their own FYC campaigns.

Ultimately, all that hullabaloo resulted in a single (richly deserved) Emmy nod. YouTube favorite Hot Ones fell short in the Outstanding Variety Series category, and neither Dropout’s Game Changer nor host Sam Reich claimed spots among the nominees.

The takeaway: Despite YouTube’s best efforts and this year’s Subway Takes nomination, the TV Academy’s bias is still showing.

FYC campaigns for creator-led shows date back a decade, when MCNs like Maker Studios pushed for recognition. YouTube revived that strategy in the 2020s, but year after year, the Television Academy has made it clear that it doesn’t see creator content as anything more than a curious afterthought. Even in the Short Form Variety Series category, where Subway Takes is recognized, other nominees include the usual assortment of unassuming late-night companions.

The TV Academy may finally be giving a YouTube-based show a seat at that table—but first, Rahma had to attract 750 million YouTube views with Subway Takes, throw legendary parties, score massive brand deals, and literally influence U.S. politics.

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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Zigazoo and Wheelhouse are building a “launchpad for ambitious young talent”

Zizagoo is joining forces with Wheelhouse to launch Zigazoo Studios, a new entertainment venture that “will identify, nurture, and scale the next generation of creator talent.” (Tubefilter)
According to Elon Musk, a new X feature will notify users via DMs if “a post you interacted with is corrected.” (Engadget)
Google has announced the rollout of Video Remix in Google Photos, an AI-powered tool that will allow users to turn their existing videos into “stylized, imaginative memories.” (Ars Technica)
France has given Meta fifteen days to finalize a plan for compensating news organizations that produced content distributed across its platforms. (The Next Web)

MONEY MOVES

Netflix is bringing in even more content it doesn’t have to produce.

Netflix is bulking its library with content from BuzzFeed, Tastemade, Condé Nast, and more

The program: In recent months, Netflix has sealed deals with content creators, podcasters, and for live sports licensing. Most of those agreements have revolved around syndication—meaning Netflix will get the benefit of expanding its programming library without actually having to make anything itself.

Now, Netflix is continuing that streak by adding video content to its platform through partnerships with digital publishers like Penske Media, BuzzFeed, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, People Inc., and Tastemade.

According to The Hollywood Reporter (which is owned by Penske Media alongside Billboard, Eater, IndieWire, Rolling Stone, and Variety), Netflix will get video content that ranges from three-minute shorts to 20-minute episodes.

All of that content will be “discoverable directly from the Netflix homepage” starting August 3, with the “first wave” of videos covering topics like travel, cooking, fashion, celebrity profiles, home and gardening, and viral moments (per Netflix). The platform added that more publisher partnerships will be announced at later dates.

Some of the shows arriving in August are archival IPs, while others are ongoing. Past and new installments will be available to Netflix subscribers in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. (Check out our full article here for more details on the included content and verticals.)

The context: Along with its recent creator signings, podcast push, and emphasis on live sports, Netflix’s new partnerships are all about bulking up its content library to better compete with YouTube. Google’s UGC juggernaut now has a commanding share of connected TV watch time worldwide, and Netflix has not been shy about viewing it as a competitor.

With this latest spate of deals, the streamer likely hopes to improve its position in the market by hiking its own watch time without committing production resources.

GAME ON

YouTube wants in on the World Cup hype.

Can creators like iShowSpeed help YouTube win World Cup broadcast rights?

The bidding war: The fight for World Cup broadcast rights is in full swing, and YouTube is in the mix. According to CNBC, the suitors for World Cup broadcast rights in 2030 and 2034 include Netflix, Disney, and YouTube, with Amazon and Apple rumored to be considering bids as well.

The exact size of those bids is up in the air. While FOX paid $485 million for the rights to this year’s Cup, the next two editions could come at a higher cost since FIFA plans to bundle English- and Spanish-language rights in the U.S.

The leverage: A hefty price tag is unlikely to dissuade YouTube. The platform is eager to land high-profile live sports packages it can pair with related creator content—and when it comes soccer, YouTube’s creator community could serve as serious leverage in a World Cup bidding war.

Soccer-loving creators have already cultivated credibility with global audiences, and fans have embraced creator-led streams throughout this year’s World Cup. Brazil’s CazéTV, who got World Cup distribution rights in his home country, currently holds the top 15 spots on the list of the most-watched YouTube streams of all time. Belgium’s Celine Dept, meanwhile, has cultivated an international fanbase.

When discussing the global appeal of YouTube’s soccer creators, iShowSpeed is the epitome. His world tours have been blockbuster affairs, and soccer is often at the center of them. To emphasize how ubiquitous Speed is, YouTube has made him the poster child for the YouTube FIFA Creator Cup, an upcoming soccer competition featuring some of the internet’s biggest names.

A successful Creator Cup could show FIFA the benefits of selling broadcast rights to YouTube. But regardless of the outcome of the current bidding war, the 2026 World Cup has shown us that creators are at the forefront of soccer discourse.

WATCH THIS 👀

Erling Haaland is giving fans a close-up look at his World Cup adventures.

Fans are loving Erling Haaland’s quirky YouTube vlogs

The vlogs: Digital-native creators aren’t the only ones making waves on YouTube during the World Cup. Players themselves are using the platform to keep fans in the loop as they trek across North America.

Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland is a key example. As World Cup content takes over the YouTube charts, we’re not surprised to see that Haaland’s already lively channel has picked up more than 19 million views since the beginning of July.

After all, who doesn’t want to follow along as their favorite player goes shopping for cowboy hats in Dallas or celebrates a historic win against Brazil?