Good morning. This week, Discord purchased Gas, a poll-based social app where friends share compliments. It’s kind of like the modern version of voting for superlatives like “Best DJ” or “Sweetest Smile,” but without the yearbook committee politics. And it’s popular, especially with teens—the app currently has 1 million daily active users (and it only launched last summer).

–Hannah Doyle

Inside the World's Largest Pizza Party

In just two years, challenge creator Airrack has skyrocketed to 10 million subscribers by producing videos that run the gamut—stunts, collaborations, even complex reality TV-style formats. 

To celebrate the 10 million milestone, Airrack set the bar high: 

1. Host the world’s biggest pizza party

2. Make the world’s largest pizza 

Context: Pizza has always been an integral part of Airrack’s brand. He launched his Pizzafy sauce (which makes anything taste like pizza) last year, and he regularly incorporates pizza into his content and merch.

Which brings us to the pizza party: Airrack partnered with Pizza Hut to orchestrate two parties—one small get together at 368 in NYC and the record-breaking pizza party in Los Angeles, which included a 14,100-square-foot pizza at the LA Convention Center and the world’s largest pizza party at the YouTube Theater.

Colin and Samir were there, and from what they saw? Though unconfirmed, Airrack is likely about to get a call from Guinness World Record evaluators.

Was the event successful beyond the records, though?

The day was an impressive production. The party started with the pizza party record-breaking attempt (participants had to consume two slices of pizza, one breadstick, and one soda). After that, two audience members competed in various games to win $10,000, Airrack showed deleted scenes from his channel, and the team brought out Yung Gravy to perform. 

But wait, there’s more: Earlier in the day, while the pizza was being built, Airrack and his team hosted a live stream on his channel in an effort to sell exclusive merch. The stream brought about 18,500 concurrent viewers at its peak and nearly 900,000 total views. Airrack is also set to release a video about the event to his main channel.

Our Take

Airrack shot for the stars with the scale of this project—two world records, a livestream, a massive video on the way, a blue chip partnership, and more. Airrack has the team to support a production like this. Up-and-coming creators should take inspiration from the scale and ambition of this project, but also be cautious about building their content strategy around large spectacles that can be a lot to take on. 

YouTube Inches Closer to Cable

YouTube is testing features that let viewers watch free, ad-supported streaming TV (also known as FAST) on the YouTube Movies & TV hub. 

How is this different from YouTube TV? With YouTube FAST, some viewers in the U.S. can watch select channels for free. YouTube TV requires a paid subscription to access live and local TV channels.

Big picture: Moving into the FAST lane puts YouTube in more direct competition with streaming players like Roku, Paramount +, and Tubi. According to a recent Nielsen report, YouTube accounts for 8% of TV viewership and surpasses Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video in total TV usage.

This FAST test aims to widen that gap—already, YouTube recently secured the rights to NFL’s Sunday Ticket franchise and created a marketplace allowing users to sign up for paid streaming services.

Our Take

YouTube is angling to become the go-to platform for video, and given its scale and power under Alphabet, it could succeed. 

This test also reflects the changing habits of the average YouTube viewer—more people are watching YouTube on their smart TVs. We predict that in the future, viewers will use YouTube’s mobile app primarily for Shorts, while long-form videos, FAST, and YouTube TV will be watched on TV and desktop.

Sponsored by Shopify

What Does an Entrepreneur Look Like?

With their unmatched ability to bring together content and commerce, creators are the modern class of entrepreneurs.

In The Publish Press, we’ve covered creators from all walks of life, ranging all the way from Ryan Kaji who built a YouTube empire before his 10th birthday to the inspiring elder creators coming onto the scene in their 60s and 70s.

There’s one platform powering the commerce charge, across creators of all shapes and sizes and that’s Shopify.

Try Shopify free for 3 days, no credit card required. You, too, can be an entrepreneur—start your journey on Shopify.

Overheard Instagram Accounts Get Acquired

The accounts known for posting snippets from eavesdropped conversations (ex: Guy on the phone in Washington Square Park: “I’m not going to be able to make it, I’m stuck in Astoria.”) was sold to Doing Things Media, a short-form video studio with original programming that owns TikTok-famous Recess Therapy.

Context: Overheard has a roster of eight accounts, major partnerships with brands like Le Labo, Netflix, and Erewhon, and its own newsletter and merch shop. The company has five staffers and is reportedly profitable.

Our Take

With platforms shifting their focus to short-form video, photography- and graphics-focused meme accounts have typically struggled to find and monetize their audiences. Overheard’s tie-in with a notable social-first media company allows it to expand into video and become a more holistic, platform-agnostic brand.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Alexis Nikole aka BlackForager does a segment on Jimmy Kimmel.

• TikTok is testing a podcast feature.

• The Green brothers appear on How I Built This.

• Critical Role's Amazon Prime show starts its second season.

• YouTube is replacing TikTok as top sponsor at VidCon this year.

• AttorneyTom looks to sue Logan Paul.

🎁 Share the Press

When you refer new readers to the Press, you earn merch from the Press Publish shop.

*Here’s your unique link to share: https://news.thepublishpress.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

You currently have 0 referrals. You're only 5 away from receiving Stickers.

*Please do not use fake email addresses — they will not qualify as referrals. Thank you!