TGIF, party people. Despite the ongoing tension between the US and China for many reasons, there’s one thing that always helps bring a little goodwill between both countries: pandas. Two new giant pandas have made their public debut at the San Diego Zoo for the first time in 21 years, restarting what has historically been known as “panda diplomacy” that began in 1972. Just look at these faces — how could you not forget (momentarily) what you were fighting about?

In other news… streaming services fight for stand-up specials, TikTok liaisons between movie studios and movie fans, and the Olympics are set to go out with an encore.

Want to discover even more newsletters? Here are some of our favorites

• YouTube – Saturday Night

• X (Twitter) – Blake Lively

• Google – Hunter Woodhall & Tara Davis-Woodhall 

• Reddit – Netflix anime leak

• TikTok – “Sunday Kind of Love” - Etta James

• Spotify – “Never Meant” - Iron & Wine

.ENTERTAINMENT.

Streaming platforms battle for stand-up comics

The Future. Although streamers are cutting their content budgets across the board, stand-up specials are maybe the only format where budgets are going up, thanks to the fact that they’re cheap to produce, and they routinely bring in high viewership. As comedians get more options to choose from, watch for some top names to make a movie or TV deal part of the bid.

Laugh lineup
Audiences want to laugh… streamers want audiences… so streamers want comedians, according to THR.

• Netflix has ruled the market for the past decade. It’s the home for most top comedians, it runs the massive Netflix Is A Joke Fest, and it pays big money for specials ($200,000 for newer comics and up to $20 million for the likes of Dave Chappelle).

• Amazon is making a big push to catch up. Projecting a “Main Street America” vibe, it’s paid a lot to land specials from Kevin James, Jim Gaffigan, and Nate Bargatze.

• Hulu is now making a big play for comedy with the launch of its “Hulu’s Laughing Now” brand. It paid $15 million for a special from Bill Burr and won Gaffigan’s next special.

• HBO, once the home for comedy, has taken a less-is-more approach, opting to do only eight specials a year (including John Early and Nikki Glaser) that have a chance of scoring an Emmy nomination.

• Additionally, Paramount+, Peacock, YouTube, and Live Nation’s Veeps are all getting in on the action. There are also whispers that AppleTV+ is on the hunt for its first special.

So, what’s the ultimate benefit of this frothy comedy market (outside of a great payday for comedians)? Exposure that can translate into bigger tours, which is where the real money is made. Ticket sales for live comedy events brought in a whopping $909.6 million last year.

Talk about laughing all the way to the bank.

53.7% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Are you into true crime content?

“Give me the podcasts, the docuseries, the movies — I want it all! 🕵️”

“I work in Criminal and am interested in the workings of the crimes and the resolutions if any.”

“Humanity fascinates me sometimes.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT VINOVEST.

The rising demand for whiskey: a smart investor’s choice

Why are 250,000 Vinovest customers investing in whiskey?

In a word: consumption.

Global alcohol consumption is on the rise, with projections hitting new peaks by 2028. Whiskey, in particular, is experiencing significant growth, with the number of US craft distilleries quadrupling in the past decade. Younger generations are moving from beer to cocktails, boosting whiskey’s popularity.

That’s not all.

Whiskey's tangible nature, market resilience, and Vinovest’s strategic approach make whiskey a smart addition to any diversified portfolio.

Schedule a call with a Vinovest advisor to learn more.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• The closing ceremony of the Olympics is set to have a sci-fi aesthetic, include a whole lot of Greek mythology, and feature performances by enduring French bands Phoenix and Air. [Read More]

• Linear TV meltdown: Warner Bros. Discovery took a $9.1 billion writedown on the value of its networks after losing the NBA rights, while Paramount Global took a $5.3 billion writedown on the value of its cable assets. Ouch. [Read More]

• Endeavor announced that it’s planning on selling its gambling unit, OpenBet, and sports-data provider, IMG Arena, before it goes private again with Silver Lake Partners. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• Amazon has struck a deal with TikTok and Pinterest to make it possible to shop the retail giant’s products from within those respective platforms. [Read More]

• Nike’s go-for-broke strategy at the Olympics is paying off as visits to its ecommerce site peaked at two million when Simone Biles won her seventh Olympic gold medal, with 86,900 immediately converting to customers. [Read More]

• Fresh produce delivered to your door is now a covered medical benefit in Tennessee after FarmboxRx signed a deal with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who are stuck on the ISS after Boeing’s Starliner capsule ran into issues, may need to come back on a SpaceX mission… in February. [Read More]

• The largest 3D-printed neighborhood is currently under construction in Georgetown, Texas, where single-story homes can be erected in just three weeks. [Read More]

• Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures are considering leading a $50 million financing round into Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev’s AI startup, which is focused on building AI that solves complex math problems. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• Instagram will now allow users to include 20 photos and videos in a single post for maximum photo dumping. [Read More]

• Nonprofit coalition the Global Alliance for Responsible Media is disbanding after being sued because it allegedly doesn’t have the funds to continue operating while fighting the company in court. [Read More]

• Twitch celebrated the launch of its new DJ category with a 24-hour livestream featuring a headlining set from Zedd. [Read More]

.SOCIAL MEDIA.

TikTok puts a “Spotlight” on user-generated film marketing

The Future. In an effort to reach young audiences, movie studios want to start collabing with digital creators… so TikTok is launching a new promotional tool, “Spotlight,” to help bridge the gap. As Spotlight helps movie marketers spot growing trends on the platform, it could become a crucial tool in determining when and where marketing dollars need to be distributed for maximum exposure.

Verified fandom
TikTok’s Spotlight feature allows studios, networks, streamers, and production companies to  “piggyback on content in the For You feed that’s related to a specific title or franchise,” per Variety.

• So, if there’s a video, say, from a movie influencer sharing a reaction or a creator doing a viral trend, Spotlight identifies the video and attaches a link to a dedicated landing page for the title mentioned.

• From that page, marketers can link out to a ticketing site, a streaming service, or a digital storefront like Apple Movies or Amazon Prime. It can also host call-to-action prompts for creators to make content around the titles.

• Marketers also have some control over what videos appear in the Spotlight campaigns, amplifying the best clips and excluding those not deemed “brand safe.”

• They also have the ability to identify emerging trends via an analytics dashboard.

Warner Bros. piloted Spotlight earlier this year while marketing Dune 2, and it turned out to be a major asset for the studio — more than 260,000 Dune-related videos were made, and TikTok ended up becoming the top driver to the movie’s ticket hub during the opening weekend.

The TikTok-to-ticketing pipeline is a movie-marketer’s dream.

• Listen: Decoder sits down with Jonathan Kanter, the attorney general of antitrust for the Department of Justice, about the department’s legal victory against Google, deeming the tech giant’s search business a monopoly.

• Watch: Forbes interviews Nextdoor co-founder Sarah Leary about how the platform has evolved into a place to build local communities.

• Read: The Guardian reports back from the Summer of ‘99 weekend cruise and music festival dedicated to the enduring fandom of alt-rock band Creed… which, yes, played on the cruise.

Never not surprising.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

Today, on an extra special bonus episode of Future Forecast, our hosts Boye and Chris sit down with Andrew Kenward, the President and COO of Almost Friday Media. Andrew was an agent at WME in the digital media department at WME before being brought into the Almost Friday universe in 2021. We chat with him about his career, his goals for the brand moving forward, and what it's like working in media today.