Together with
What’s your S*bst*ck? It’s no secret that Twitter — errr, X — has a not-so-great relationship with other social sites. These tend to be competing sites that X captain Elon Musk has personal grievances with (think Threads, Substack, Bluesky, and more). Well, the feuds reached the point where X was slowing down loading speed to these sites. Perhaps only the Musk-Zuckerberg cage fight will decide what comes next…
In other news… watch out for streamflation, the Women’s World Cup-fueled retail economy, and the EU wants to take the Tok down a few notches.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Button budget // Illustration by Kate Walker
Streamflation hits American wallets
The Future. After years of offering subscriptions at a discount, streamers are out of the growth game and into the play for profitability — that means cutting costs and raising prices. But it’ll be a tricky balancing act, since raising prices can lead to churn (which audiences have no problem with these days). To combat the lack of loyalty, studios may need to bundle their disparate services at a discount — making it harder for people to hit that cancel button.
Profit platforms
Audiences are getting a taste for how much streaming services should really cost.
Every major streamer is raising the prices of their ad-free tiers by about 25% over the next year, with Disney already doubling the cost of Disney+ from its initial $6.99 price in 2019.
That’s because filling these platforms with content is expensive (like billions in losses expensive), and the streaming economy isn’t as lucrative as Hollywood thought it would be as they tried to chase Netflix.
So, the added costs are partly being pushed onto subscribers, and partly being subsidized by newly rolled-out ad tiers.
Those ad tiers have helped fuel new signups, considering they cost about half of the ad-free ones.
While increased churn is a real possibility due to the price hikes, streaming, as an industry, is here to stay. According to Nielsen, streaming now represents 38.7% of Americans’ viewing time, and it’s the first time traditional TV viewership has dropped below 50%. That’s a paradigm shift.
The only question streamers really need to worry about is whether they’ll be one of the four services that the average American subscribes to.
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SPORTS
Soccer sales // Illustration by Kate Walker
Nike and adidas race to move stock during the Women’s World Cup
The Future. The FIFA Women’s World Cup has been a rollercoaster for apparel sponsors, with sports fashion stalwarts Nike and adidas feeling the highs and lows of sales as teams get eliminated. Still, both brands (and retailers) see rising demand for the sport as an overall win, with FIFA expecting the World Cup to hit a record viewership of two billion people. That may be because one in three women’s soccer fans are actually new fans of the game. In other words, ladies’ footy may be a fast-growing sport.
Kicked into high gear
Apparel sales tied to the Women’s World Cup have been just as unpredictable as the games themselves.
Nike nearly sold out of its premium clothing collaboration with USWNT designer Martine Rose, which included pieces like a suit jacket and slip-on shoes that resembled cleats.
But Nike (a sponsor of the US and England), has only sold out of 8% of its overall women’s soccer-centric stock — down from 13% during the 2019 games.
Meanwhile, adidas (a sponsor of Germany, Sweden, and Spain) has sold out of 21% of its sponsored products — up from 8% in 2019.
And showing winning isn’t everything, adidas will likely sell out of its Germany jerseys even after the team was eliminated from the tournament.
But back to the US team. Despite the ups and downs, total sponsorship value for the games hit a record high of $349 million, with brands focused on women’s empowerment (the theme of the summer, really).
According to Fanatics, the number of sponsored products for sale on its platform nearly tripled, and the company still saw sales skyrocket 80% compared to 2019. That’s a booming market.
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Why not invest in a real estate portfolio where everyone wins?
Roots is the real estate fund challenging real estate investing stereotypes. And you know we’re all about innovative companies disrupting industries.
So, we checked out Roots — specifically, how it’s creating a win-win ecosystem for landlords and residents.
Here’s the model:
You invest in the fund (get started with as little as $100!)
Roots buys properties, fixes them up, and rents them out
Renters get invested in the fund for paying on time, taking care of the property, and being good neighbors
And it works. The fund is up 36% since July 2021.
Roots is the only REIT that understands residents, pays their bills, lets them know when a leaky faucet could turn into future mold, and impacts the rentability of properties.
It also offers liquidity every quarter. And did we mention? You can get started for $100.
The best part? It only takes five minutes.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Not For You
TikTok deprograms its addiction in the EU
The Future. To comply with the EU’s recently passed Digital Services Act, TikTok is giving users in the region the ability to control their personalization algorithm. The hope is the choice empowers users to make TikTok less addictive and protects them from unwanted data collection. But if a majority of EU users decide not to opt out of the algorithm, it may mean the app’s ability to know its users is what’s attractive about the platform in the first place.
Unplugged
The overhaul of TikTok’s For You Page may open the door to a less addictive scroll.
TikTok is letting EU users opt out of its personalization algorithm, with their FYP featuring popular videos in the area and from people they follow instead.
This has led users in other regions, like the UK, to ask the company for similar features.
But the company has no plans to expand the feature (unless compelled by law), citing users can filter their algorithms with keywords and the “not interested” button.
However, some organizations believe, since TikTok already has the capability, it doesn’t make sense to not just offer it to everybody. The Center for Countering Digital Hate found teenagers are often fed content about self-harm and eating disorders on their FYP.
TikTok has tried to escape criticism by showing users why things show up on their FYP. But it’s possible a simple explanation won’t be enough for people when control is finally possible… that is, if users are concerned about “cognitive liberty” to begin with.
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No more bad days
Sometimes just a couple of beers or glasses of wine will wreak havoc on the day after. Not anymore. Meet ZBiotics — the world’s first genetically engineered probiotic designed to tackle the rough morning after a night of drinking.
Engineered by a team of PhD microbiologists, ZBiotics breaks down the byproduct of alcohol that leaves you feeling bad. Woo!
All you have to do is make ZBiotics your first drink of the night, pace yourself, hydrate, and get a good night’s sleep. Then, BAM — you’ll wake up feeling fresh.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
SAG-AFTRA has issued interim agreements for a few completed films — like Michael Mann’s Ferrari and Luc Besson’s DogMan — that’ll allow their stars to promote the movies during the fall festivals. Read more → deadline
Speaking of fall festivals, if distributors want to acquire an available title that had previously signed SAG-AFTRA’s interim agreement, they’ll need to honor it. Read more → variety
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour caused as much as an 847% surge in traffic in several cities… but was much lighter in Atlanta, GA, and East Rutherford, NJ, due to solid public transit. Read more → fastcompany
Fashion & E-Commerce
Nike is launching a Kobe Bryant-inspired NCAA “Mamba Program,” starting at the University of Kentucky, where basketball players will wear exclusive Kobe sneakers and apparel. Read more → complex
DTC brands are slashing digital ad budgets to cut costs, but it raises the question, “How are people supposed to find them now?” Read more → bof
Amazon is using AI to summarize product reviews. Read more → techcrunch
Tech, Web3, & AI
Sony’s future AR/VR remote may be a glove with hand and finger detection and a classic controller on the forearm. Read more → hypebeast
San Francisco is expanding the use of driverless taxis, but startups still need to win residents’ trust. Read more → theverge
Stablecoin TrueUSD’s value has tripled to $3 billion this year, but no one’s sure who the owner (Asia-based consortium Trechteryx) really is. Read more → wsj
Creator Economy
FilmRise is striking a deal with digital creators to repackage their content as TV shows that can be sold to streamers and pay-TV channels. Read more → tubefilter
YouTube Music is launching a tab of music videos, dubbed “Samples,” to help users discover new music. Read more → theverge
FreshCut is building a short-form video platform based on video game communities… and luring creators from Twitch, thanks to generous revenue-sharing deals. Read more → tubefilter
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Melody Song. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.