Good morning. The SAG-AFTRA actors’ union just struck a deal with AI voice acting platform Replica Studios to help actors easily license their “digital voice replicas” to gaming studios. So if we start to hear Morgan Freeman’s voice in Animal Crossing and Grand Theft Auto…now we know why.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

MatPat Retires from YouTube

After 13 years of making YouTube videos on the lore and theories surrounding games, style, food, and film, Matthew “MatPat” Patrick has announced his retirement.

Context: Patrick and his wife, Stephanie, have spent the last decade-plus building The Game Theorists YouTube channel into a media empire known as Theorist Media, with three spin-off channels and a collective following of over 38 million. 

In December 2022, the Patricks sold Theorist Media to content startup Lunar X, which Matthew said laid the groundwork for them to 1) take a step back and 2) staff up. 

So starting in March, Matthew will no longer be the host of Theorist Media videos. His staff of writers will take over as hosts while the 37-year-old spends more time with family. 

• “As much as I love you, and I love overthinking things, and I love theorizing, I don’t love late nights,” Patrick said in the tearful announcement video. “I don’t love the fact that Steph and I have been work-first for over a decade, where I’m sitting down to dinner with my best friend and we’re talking about business logistics.”

Creators were quick to share the impact the Patricks have had on YouTube.

• Ludwig said MatPat was “one of the goats” of YouTube on a livestream to 30K viewers.

• “MatPat has done so much for YouTube and YouTubers over the years,” Jacksepticeye said on X. “Thanks for everything Mat! Can't wait to see what you do next.”

Big picture: Creators like Kevin Espiritu and Phil DeFranco predict more creators pivoting or retiring altogether this year, largely due to grueling workloads taking their toll and lucrative business opportunities for their media companies taking shape.

Kenny Beecham Partners with ESPN, Peyton Manning

Basketball commentary creator Kenny Beecham is partnering with ESPN and Omaha Productions (the entertainment company started by former NFL star Peyton Manning) to revamp and distribute his Numbers on the Board video podcast, Beecham announced today.

Why it matters: The move marks ESPN’s second deal with a YouTube-first creator after signing Pat McAfee last year.

“I think everyone is aware that everything’s moving digitally, and I don't think [ESPN has] been silent about that either,” Beecham’s business partner Cody Hock told us. “It's exciting to see where the puck's going, and we're definitely sitting on the right track.”

How they got here: Beecham started the basketball analysis podcast Through the Wire with three childhood friends and a “pretty barebones set,” as Hock put it, in 2017.

• After six years of partnering with sports media company House of Highlights to produce the podcast, the group signed with Omaha for a fresh start.

• Omaha will rebrand the show as Numbers on the Board, distribute it as part of ESPN’s podcast library, and build a new set for Beecham and his co-hosts.

Looking ahead: Beecham will continue to expand his Enjoy Basketball media and lifestyle brand, which currently consists of a 3x/week newsletter with 50K readers and limited edition product drops.  

Plus, with the help of Omaha, Enjoy already has a new podcast in development and teased “alternate” NBA broadcasts—modeled after Peyton and Eli Manning’s popular football watch party on ESPN, The ManningCast. 

Creator Filmmaking: Inside Luke Korns’ Storytelling Pivot

Travel creator Luke Korns starts his latest YouTube video documenting his month-long trip through China with a statement: “This is not a travel vlog. This is a film about connection.”

We caught up with Korns to talk about creativity, business, and more → 

On why he took a backseat: Korns said that he wanted to shift viewers’ focus away from his “voice and perspective” to let three locals tell their stories.

• “There’s only so much that I can express in terms of what I’m soaking in from these places,” he told us. “These individuals that I connect with, to share their experience of where they live and their life in general, is what gives me inspiration.”

On how he keeps himself afloat after going broke in 2021: Korns pointed to his “frugal travel lifestyle” (i.e. traveling to relatively affordable countries and staying in hostels) along with being upfront with brand partners about how long each video will take to make.

• “I think it’s really cool that I can put two months into each project and have them perform at a level where I can still support myself,” he said.

Korns’ next stop? The Solomon Islands, a remote country northeast of Australia with “no Internet or cell service,” he said.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Streamers Mizkif and Knut are opening a weightlifting and MMA gym in Texas.

• Fitness creator Will Tennyson launches a healthy snack line called Be Good Bakery.

• Make it as a creator in 2024 with these 7 insights shared by HubSpot Network creators like Jay Clouse of Creator Science and John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneurs on Fire.*

• X claims it will give creators 100% of revenue from ads that appear on their livestream content, Elon Musk said in a recent stream.

• TikTok is limiting users from viewing data trends via its Creative Center, a hub for the platform’s popular hashtags. 

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