Bundle Of Joy
The cable TV bundle is making a minor comeback – with an assist from YouTube TV.
Next year, Google will introduce 10 genre-specific skinny channel bundles that combine broadcast and cable channels into a single YouTube TV package, The Wall Street Journal reports.
For example, YouTube TV’s new skinny sports bundle provides access to FS1, NBC Sports Network and ESPN, plus broadcast channels. Other packages will focus on news and family.
Such cable-esque channel bundles are nothing new for YouTube TV, which became a giant of the streaming era by bundling its service with other TV providers. But these skinny bundles reflect a new trend in paid TV, where platforms let subscribers pay only for the channels they actually want. Think of it as “cable lite.”
YouTube TV says these skinny bundles will cost less than its full suite of 100+ channels, which runs $82.99 a month.
Here’s another sign YouTube TV is leading a cable comeback: In Q3, the number of viewers paying to watch cable channels grew for the first time in eight years, according to research by MofettNathanson. The quarter saw 303,000 net new subscribers to traditional cable and satellite providers. These gains were spurred largely by vMVPD services like YouTube TV and Fubo, as well as traditional cable operators bundling with streamers.
When You’re Out Of Stacks
One of the bastions of ad-free content has folded, with the news that Substack will open a beta program to allow writers who agree to insert paid sponsorships into their newsletters, Adweek reports.
The beta test is limited, and the new product is explicitly “not an ads marketplace,” says Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie. Substack is orchestrating direct deals between creators in its network and certain brands “who respect editorial independence,” he says.
Substack has been proudly ad-free and focused on generating subscription sign-ups. The new beta isn’t a deviation from its economic model, McKenzie says.
“The key principle: Substack makes money only when creators make money,” McKenzie writes in a blog post announcing the new product.
However, it is easy to fit a greater ad business expansion within that same framework. After all, if Substack began selling native ads across newsletters and blogs on its platform, the revenue could certainly be shared with creators, similar to platforms like YouTube.
Summary Execution
Google struck data and content licensing deals with multiple news publishers on Wednesday, including agreements to test out some of the tech giant’s new AI features.
Such deals have pretty much always ended up with publishers holding the short end of the stick. Trusting Google can be hazardous to one’s health, if you’re a publisher.
As part of the deal, publishers will see their articles featured in Google News and include AI-generated article overviews and audio briefings, The Information reports. In return, Google gets expanded access to content, including from The Washington Post, Der Spiegel and The Guardian.
The new deal doesn’t compensate publishers with guaranteed annual sums for using their content in AI features like AI Overviews (AIOs), and it doesn’t seem likely to address traffic falloff either, since AI-generated summaries now appear before a user visits the webpage. Although, as a conciliatory move to publishers in general, Google is increasing the number of links that sometimes appear in AIOs.
But for struggling publishers, every dollar counts right now. Sometimes, that means opting into pilot programs with uncertain long-term benefits – or harm.
But Wait! There’s More
After a wave of user backlash, ChatGPT removes a new “suggestion feature” that looked a whole lot like ads. [Search Engine Land]
Reddit is testing verification badges for a hand-picked pilot group of public figures and journalists. [Engadget]
Amazon is flooded by garbage, AI-generated knockoffs of authors’ books, and seems unable to prevent the practice. [Rolling Stone]
Holiday spending shows the effects of an uneven economy. [NYT]
The Game Awards is reportedly charging game developers $450,000 to air a 60-second trailer during the program and more than $1 million for a three-minute spot. [Kotaku]
You’re Hired!
Adam Solomon joins LiveRamp as VP, Head of Solutions Product Management. [post]
OAREX, which provides working capital to ad tech and digital media companies, names Matt Byrne as CRO. [release]
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