Netflix’s YouTubefication & 2030 World Cuponomics

Putin’s Russian Roulette, de Meo’s Kering Endgame, Wall Street Bubble Watch

Happy Friday and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting. Here’s what you need to know… and stick around for more on Netflix’s YouTube ambitions.

What I’m Hearing: Netflix is suddenly luring creators, repurposing pop-up videos from legacy media brands, and flirting with a free tier—all while engagement slows and its stock has cratered. Matt Belloni and Julia Alexander debate what’s actually driving the pivot, and whether Netflix is quietly trying to become YouTube. [Read More]
The Varsity: The World Cup is drawing NFL playoff–level audiences in the U.S., and every major media company is gaming out what that means for the 2030 rights. John Ourand digs into the bidding landscape taking shape and the variables that could swing the price by hundreds of millions. [Inner Circle Exclusive]
The Best & The Brightest: Ukraine has knocked out nearly a third of Russia’s oil refineries, leaving the country in the grip of a severe gasoline shortage. Julia Ioffe calls up her friend Nina Khrushcheva, a New School professor recently labeled a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin, for an on-the-ground account of the despair settling in Moscow—and the swirling sentiment on Putin. [Read More]
Line Sheet: As Kering prepares to report its second-quarter earnings this month, there’s an open question of whether the ultra-confident C.E.O. Luca de Meo is going to get the job done. Lauren Sherman surfaces an increasingly popular investor theory about de Meo’s true endgame. [Inner Circle Exclusive]

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Meanwhile, on the pods…

The Grill Room: Dylan Byers and Julia Alexander dig into The New York Times’s pivot to a video-first model and what this move portends for both the newsroom and the journalism industry writ large. [Listen Here]
Fashion People: Lauren is joined by Jenna Lyons and Jonny Bauer of Fundamentalco, the creative agency spun out of Blackstone, for a deep dive into what it takes to build a great brand. [Listen Here]
The Powers That Be: Peter Hamby rings up Bill Cohan to make sense of an I.P.O. market that may be in way over its head, as the internet salvage divers at Bending Spoons just went public at 35x EBITDA and sandwich purveyor Jersey Mike’s aims for a $12 billion valuation. [Listen Here or Watch Here]

And now, a little more on Netflix’s YouTube fever…

HOLLYWOOD

Netflix’s YouTube Anxiety Attack

Netflix is increasingly pivoting toward lower-cost, YouTube-style content—podcasts, short vertical video, creator deals with the likes of Sean Evans and food influencer Meredith Hayden, and repurposed pop-up videos from legacy brands like Travel + Leisure. Facing an engagement slowdown and a stock down 40 percent since October, Matt and Julia Alexander huddled up to debate the central question behind Netflix’s playbook: Does Netflix actually want to become YouTube?

Julia says no, arguing that this is less a wholesale transformation than a “pivot to cheap filler”—diversification designed to feed fandom around Netflix’s premium properties rather than compete with YouTube head-on. In fact, the worst thing Netflix could do is chase YouTube as a primary strategy. In a future drowning in A.I. slop, she argues, Netflix’s real value is being one of the few places where a great show is still the main event.

Click here to Matt and Julia’s full crosstalk.

SPORTS

John Ourand

FIFA Prepares Its 2030 Wish List

With the overperforming World Cup headed into its final (and probably thrilling) stretch, FIFA is seemingly in the catbird seat in negotiating rights deals for 2030 and 2034. And while there is no shortage of suitors, there are surprisingly few details, and a time-zone penalty that makes viewership and rights fees next to impossible to predict.

WASHINGTON

Julia Ioffe

Behind Russian Lines

In a conversation from Moscow, Nikita Khrushchev’s granddaughter describes a society adjusting to shortages, tighter government surveillance, blocked cellphone service, and the realization that Putin’s war has reached home.

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FASHION

Lauren Sherman

The Gospel of Luca

After months of financial engineering and strategic cleanup, Kering faces the true test of convincing shoppers—and not just shareholders—that its brands are back.

MEDIA

Dylan Byers

Julia Alexander

The New York Times’s Video Manifesto

Julia and Dylan reunite to dig into The New York Times’s pivot to a video-first model—confirmed this week by executive editor Joe Kahn, who’s likening the shift to the paper’s move from print to digital. They discuss what it means for the Times’s business and marketing strategy, what happens to newsroom culture when a star system takes hold, and what the move portends for journalism at large. They also touch on Netflix’s upcoming earnings and what they’re likely to reveal about the state of streaming.

FASHION

Lauren Sherman

New Brand Gospel

Jenna Lyons and Jonny Bauer of Fundamentalco, the creative agency spun out of Blackstone, join Lauren for a deep dive into what it actually takes to build a great brand. They get into the importance of authenticity, the impact of A.I. on the creative industry, and why having clear brand values is more essential than ever. They also weigh in on the very different challenges facing established brands and emerging ones as the fashion landscape keeps shifting.

WALL STREET

Peter Hamby

William D. Cohan

The Powers that Be Daily, Starring Peter Hamby

Wall Street’s I.P.O. Bubble Watch

Bill Cohan joins Peter to make sense of an I.P.O. market that may be in way over its head. He discusses Bending Spoons, whose portfolio of old internet companies just went public at 35x EBITDA, and Jersey Mike’s, the popular sandwich chain gunning for a $12 billion valuation. Bill explains why both are probably way overvalued and evidence that Wall Street banks are willing to sell anything for a quick buck.

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