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Wednesday is upon us, people. For the first time ever, global ad sales will hit an eye-watering $1 trillion this year, according to ad buyer GroupM. But here’s the kicker: Google, Meta, and Amazon hoover up 41% of that. It just goes to show where most people spend their time — all you need to do is follow the money.
DAILY TOP TRENDS
YouTube – 28 Years Later
X
(Twitter)– The Good PlaceGoogle – Jamie Foxx
Reddit – Jeremy Renner
TikTok – “Lights”
Spotify – “Night Or Day”
Juan Soto Is A Major Mets Investment
Nice catch // Illustration by Kait Cunniff with DALL-E 3
The New York Mets struck a record $765 million deal for outfielder and star hitter Juan Soto to play with the team for 15 years.
The Big Swing: Soto’s deal is the most expensive contract ever in pro sports, inching deals closer to the billion-dollar benchmark. But the sheer length of the deal, coupled with the Dodgers’ $700 million ten-year contract with Shohei Ohtani, also points to how some organizations are looking to build their future around star players.
Between the Lines: Is Soto’s deal an insane overpayment or a wise investment? Mets owner Steven Cohen argues the latter.
Soto, who’s just 26 years old, will be making roughly $51 million a year during his tenure for the Mets (and, let’s be honest, it’ll be his entire pro baseball career).
That’s a lot of cash for Cohen, who’s already in the red for four years of high-dollar contracts to build a winning team, per Axios.
But Soto, like Ohtani, is one of those once-in-a-generation players (twice? thrice?) who have unbelievable talent, a fervent fanbase, and, for lack of a better word, star power. In other words, they’re entertaining to watch.
The Cohen equation is that Soto will lead the Mets to consistent glory — a World Series appearance nets teams an average of $50 million in revenue on top of an increase to an organization’s overall valuation.
Final Bat: The Mets brought in close to $400 million last year from a mix of ticket sales, parking, concessions, and advertising. Even if Soto’s long-term presence boosts that to $500 or $600 million, paying $51 million a year on one player is a massive percentage. That’s why some analysts are looking at Soto’s value beyond the Mets. Cohen is in the midst of pitching an $8 billion casino project next to the Mets’ Citi Field stadium. Soto’s celebrity may be a key driver in turning that into a moneymaker right off the bat (sorry, we had to).
Together with Ramdam
Does The Perfect Ad Really Exist?
Great question. Data shows that short-form videos — on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram — perform exceptionally well, especially with Gen Z.
So, if you want to learn which ads actually convert and boost revenue, download the “Decoding the Perfect Ad” e-book. This no-cost guide provides a masterclass on:
Evolving consumer behaviors.
How TikTok/short-form videos will dominate 2025.
Step-by-step breakdowns of high-converting ads with 54 million views.
Proper use of hooks, visuals, editing, and storytelling.
Deploying AI tools to grow revenue further.
Did we mention it’s free?
A24 Wants You To See All Of Its Movies
Heretic // Courtesy of A24
A24 is remaking its popular annual membership to include tickets to every single new A24 movie on opening weekend.
The Big Picture: A24’s play for consistent audiences across all of its titles seems to be the first time a studio is advertising access to its slate as a perk for loyalty — a bet that the A24 brand name is what gets people excited.
Behind the Scenes: For $5 per month, members of the AAA24 membership club have received perks like the studio’s magazine, exclusive access to merch drops, and production sneak peeks.
Now, for only $5 more, they’ll also get a ticket to each new A24 film.
The ticket will be good for members to attend the movie at almost any location on opening weekend as long as it’s playing near them.
The studio has already struck deals with major chains like AMC and Regal, and also with specialty ones like Alamo Drafthouse.
Considering that A24 releases about 20 films a year in theaters (and growing), it’ll be one of the most cost-effective ways to go to the cinema.
Closing Credits: A24 doesn’t believe that the free tickets will have a real impact on opening-weekend box office grosses (it would need to scale pretty big for that). But, it’ll likely increase sales across its merch and other media, which are significant revenue drivers. It’s all about building out the ecosystem that endears brand loyalty. Given A24’s reputation, the membership tickets could get even more eyes on risky, original movies that the larger studios typically avoid.
Together with Klondike
Own a stake in Alaska’s oil reserves.
Estimated 300 million barrels of recoverable reserves
Royalty-based model reducing operational risks
Projected 25+ years of reliable, high-margin royalty income
DEEP DIVES
Read: The Black List dropped its annual list of Hollywood’s most-loved, unproduced screenplays as voted on by 500 industry executives.
Watch: Bloomberg explores how NIL deals haven’t exactly revolutionized playing college sports for most athletes.
Listen: Decoder chats with Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman about the current state of the industry and how the tech may upend the web browser.
64.1% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Do you have cable?
“I don’t even own a TV despite living in LA.”
“We’ve experienced the most awful customer service from Comcast and refuse to pay their exorbitant costs. We switched to fiber optic for our internet provider and deleted cable from our lives.”
“We live in a rural location, just a couple miles out of town. The houses all around us have cable, but they won’t come down our road, which is dirt and ‘too’ far from other houses.”
“I cut the cord 7 years ago and never looked back. It’s actually helped me find more balance by not relying so much on TV to spend my time. I’m certainly reading way more these days and loving it!”
“I’m not a TV watcher, but my spouse is. He finds comfort in having a random cable channel (and I do mean random — everything from CNN to The Curse of Oak Island to ‘80s movies to ‘90s reruns) on in the background while he’s working and also enjoys flipping through actual channels in his free time.”
Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.
QUICK HITS
→ Technology
🏏 Google released its annual list of top trends, where sports reigned supreme.
🎥 OpenAI had too many applications to download its video generator Sora.
😭 Parents now have to explain to their kids why their AI friend Moxie no longer turns on.
→ Fashion / E-commerce
🛎️ LVMH acquired a 20% stake in the luxury French hotel chain Fontenille.
⚽ Manchester City wants fans to make its new uniforms with AI.
👠 The ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz sold for $28 million — the most ever for movie memorabilia at auction.
→ Creator Economy
📱 California wants to put warning labels on social media platforms.
🗒️ Instagram is rolling out a way for creators to focus-group their Reels.
👨⚖️ TikTok would really like a suspension of its ban as it appeals to the Supreme Court.
Let us know how we are doing...
PARTNERSHIPS | COMMUNITY | PODCAST | FRIENDS
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.