Good morning. Chick-fil-A recently announced a plan for its own streaming service. Little has been said as to why the fast food chain wants to go toe-to-toe with Hollywood, Big Tech, and every other business vying for streaming supremacy…but that hasn’t stopped people on X from weighing in on name options. The top (con)tenders? Net-fil-A or Chick-Flix.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

The DNC, as Seen by Creators

For the first time ever, the Democratic National Convention (or DNC) officially recognized creators, giving them special credentials to programming, breakout sessions, backstage lounges, and parties. 

Worth noting: The 200+ creators at this week’s DNC in Chicago were differentiated from press—members of traditional media were in their own section in the convention hall and largely didn’t receive invitations to lounges or parties.

What was it like to attend as a creator? Here are three POVs →

Jack Coyne, creator of Public Opinion, was invited to interview Vice President Kamala Harris for their Track Star show after Harris’s speech Monday night. 

• “What’s amazing about [filming with Harris] is that since she’s been announced as the nominee, she hasn’t done any interviews,” Coyne told us. “Like she’s talked to me and two other creators. Not CNN or NBC.” 

• Coyne and his team took the opportunity to vlog their experience at the DNC for Public Opinion.

Podcast creator and journalist Taylor Lorenz, who filmed an episode of her Power User podcast at the DNC, said, “I’m glad [the DNC] is recognizing the media landscape is changing. But I think they’re very conflicted about whether [creators] are journalists or marketing.” 

Lorenz noted that journalists are typically trained skeptics—and not all creators are the same way.

But some are: For example, history and political creator Nikita Redkar has been sharing critiques of DNC talks about Israel and Gaza to her Instagram Stories.

• “I’m trying to be very balanced in what I like about the convention and what I don’t like so that people make an informed decision when they vote,” Redkar told us. “I take it very seriously.”

Big picture: The creator presence at the DNC is part of a larger role creators are playing in the 2024 election, with both Republican and Democrat campaigns actively working with creators—from Theo Von and Adin Ross to Hasan Piker and Josh Helfgott. 

“I think the effort [from the campaigns] is there across the board because there’s an understanding that a lot of people, instead of turning on the TV to watch CNN, are looking at their phone or watching YouTube,” Coyne said.

Platform Roundup: The Past Meets the Present

Over the last week, one creator platform shipped features inspired by the past—while others continued staking their claim as the viewing destinations of the future. The highlights →

YouTube becomes the first streaming platform to pass 10% of total TV usage, according to Nielsen's July data. FYI: YouTube became the most popular streaming platform by TV watch-time in February 2023 and hasn’t given up the top spot since.

Nielsen also noted that streaming made up over 41% of TV watch-time last month, the most dominant performance by any category since Nielsen started tracking new viewing formats in 2021.

Instagram adds a Myspace-like music feature. Users can now pick 30-second snippets of songs and pin them to their profiles. Instagram announced the rollout with the help of pop star Sabrina Carpenter, who shared a teaser of her song “Taste” by using the new feature.

Twitch increases subscription prices for mobile viewers, with the live-streaming platform set to charge $7.99 per month for Tier 1 subs starting in October, according to Dexerto. The price bump comes after Twitch just increased the same product’s monthly price tag from $4.99 to $5.99 in July—and the company continues to lose money.

Sponsored by Fiverr

How Fiverr Helped This Creator Revamp Her App

Bukola Ayodele is an NYC lifestyle creator with over 300,000 YouTube subs. She’s also a software developer who launched her own productivity app.

When it was time for a redesign, she knew she needed help. Fortunately, she’s part of the Fiverr Creator Network.

Beyond a brand partnership tailored just for her, Fiverr connects Bukola with top-tier freelance talent. Like Juliette, a UI/UX designer from France with a computer science background. In only two drafts, Juliette delivered the polished redesign Bukola imagined.

Need expert help? Join the Fiverr Creator Network. Partner with the world’s leading digital services marketplace today.

Cristiano Ronaldo Shatters YouTube Record

Global soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo launched his personal YouTube channel on Wednesday, sharing an up-close look at his personal life and family. And it was a massive debut. By the numbers →

• < 90 minutes: How quickly it took Ronaldo to pass 1 million subscribers (a new record for YouTube).

• 12: The number of videos Ronaldo posted within the first 24 hours of launching his channel.

• 34+ million: Ronaldo’s current subscriber count in his third day on YouTube.

FYI: Ronaldo is also the most followed Instagram user in the world with 636 million followers.

Big picture: Plenty of current and former professional athletes like Matisse Thybulle, Tyreek Hill, and even Tom Brady have tried their hand at vlogging over the years—but building a sustainable content business has proven difficult.

One success story: Former quarterback Cam Newton retired from the NFL this year to focus on his production company, which makes YouTube-centric shows such as 4th and 1. “Being independent, I wouldn’t even say it’s harder, but it requires more grit and grind rather than somebody having an already set platform, like ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS,” Newton told Boardroom in April.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Kids channel Blippi teams up with Reebok for a footwear collaboration.

• Jools Lebron, the creator behind the “demure” TikTok trend, curates a list of “demure” content for Netflix.

• OnlyFans launches an original golf competition show featuring OF creators and a $50,000 prize.

• Sides, the restaurant started by the Sidemen, passes £1 million in weekly revenue.

• Kamala Harris launches a Twitch channel.

📚️ Thank You For Pressing Publish

The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

• Read: Ten years after its Netflix premiere, The Ringer catches up with the creators and cast of BoJack Horseman to reflect on the animated series’ legacy.

• Watch: The Verge profiles Justine “iJustine” Ezarik, exploring how the tech creator has continued uploading her trademark reviews for nearly 18 years.

• Listen: Pop star Sabrina Carpenter releases her latest album, Short n’ Sweet.