Good morning. Technoblade, the late Minecraft YouTuber who passed away in 2022, is getting a feature length documentary, produced by Riot Games and Minecraft server group Hypixel Studios.

Aptly titled Technoblade Never Dies (after his signature catchphrase) we’re excited to reminisce on his legacy through the big screen.

PS—We’re off Monday for Labor Day. We’ll see you in your inbox on Wednesday.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Today’s lineup:

At the end of August, YouTube announced a massive change in how public views are counted. Previously, a view registered only after a user clicked a video and watched for an undisclosed length of time. Now, it counts from the second a video starts playing (including autoplay). 

More than a week into the new policy, some of the platform’s most active creators are reporting inflated views.

Here’s what creators are saying →

Ludwig shared analytics from two videos of similar length and format: one from four months ago and one from a few days ago. Both hit 2.6M public views, but the older video pulled $25K in AdSense to the newer one’s $900—pointing to fewer engaged views (the metric that determines YouTube monetization).

Anthony “Anthpo” Potero told us he’s seen public views climb on his group channel Bunch of Friends, while engaged views are the same or slightly lower. The channel’s most recent video received 1.2M public views and 468K engaged views. Their last video before the switch got 791K public views and 521K engaged views.

Colin and Samir told us their latest video (which covers this very topic) received 5X the amount of views in its first hour than their next most-viewed video, which posted before the platform change. 

Views are seemingly up across the board. So what does it mean?

“As creators, [views are] deeply rooted in our own self-worth, our egos, our understanding of ourselves in the relative context of creators,” Samir said in the video. “To have this number change is actually very significant.”

Syd, who joined Colin and Samir on this week’s episode, felt differently.

“If views are changing for everyone, isn't it kind of changing for no one?” Syd told Samir. “You're just going to have to adjust to whatever the new standard is going to be.”

What this means for creators and brands: Samir says advertisers with a strong understanding of the creator economy are going to prioritize fandom and video quality over views and follows to understand if they want to invest in a creator. 

After 12 years, 100+ episodes, and over 400M views, comedy creator Amelia Dimoldenberg announced that she’s ending her flagship YouTube series Chicken Shop Date.

“I never thought I’d stop Chicken Shop Date, I thought maybe it would be a part of me forever, and in some way it always will, but I feel like it’s now time to move on from this adventure and onto a new one,” Dimoldenberg said on Instagram.

How she got here: Dimoldenberg started Chicken Shop Date as a magazine column in 2011, before uploading to YouTube in 2014. With the show’s success, Dimoldenberg started a production company, philanthropy, starred in a Super Bowl ad, and worked the red carpet at events like the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

Even though Dimoldenberg’s signature show is ending, she has several new projects in the works:  

The US Open has nearly doubled its creator credentials from last year, bringing in podcasters, fashion, food, and lifestyle creators alongside sports creators (to mixed results). 

Why it matters: The three-week tennis tournament drives over $1.2B in economic impact for NYC—more than the entire home seasons of the Yankees and Mets combined—and generated 3B impressions last year from its US Tennis Association (USTA) accounts.

The tournament is partnering with creators to expand its reach and audience—a similar strategy All Star Weekend and the World Cup employed this year, the latter of which broke multiple viewership records across socials.

“[The USTA] is trying to open the bubble of these events, where it’s not just tennis fans watching the US Open,” Underscore Talent’s Head of Sports, Abe Santos, told us. “Maybe it’s some other people watching because their favorite influencers or celebrities will be there.” 

The creator win: The tournament provides creators access to a prestigious event while opening the door to foster brand relationships, Santos said. For his clients like soccer creator Brittany Wilson Isenhour, event-related brand deals made up to 70% of her revenue. 

US Open brand activations this year include Ralph Lauren, Dairy Boy, Lacoste, and Emirates, which bring creators in without official tournament credentials. 

Looking ahead: Creators looking to be part of sport “tentpole moments” need to plan in advance, Santos said. He recommends that creators fold the sport and its sponsors into their content organically—posting about tennis or showing up at smaller feeder events. His team is already prepping creators for the 2026 Super Bowl and 2028 Olympics. “This is a long play,” Santos said. “It really comes down to strategy.”

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