YouTube Streamy Awards 2022 Date Set for First In-Person Show in Three Years

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ed Helms has managed to find the amusing parts of impending nuclear Armageddon. The actor, writer and comedian hosts “Snafu,” a nonfiction comedy series in which he’ll dissect some of history’s most notorious screw-ups. In the inaugural season, set to premiere Oct. 5 on major podcast platforms, Helms tells the story of Able Archer 83, the NATO military exercise that may have almost triggered a real nuclear war in November 1983. “It kind of felt like a story that needed to be told, and it also seemed like a story that would be fun to tell – it’s loaded with drama and spy-thriller intrigue,” Helms told Variety. “There’s a lot of comedy baked in. But ultimately it’s an intense and somewhat mortifying chain of events.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor For Dude Perfect super-fans, it may be the equivalent of Disney World. The five-member comedy and sports YouTube creators — who have a massive following of more than 58 million subscribers on the platform — are planning a new Dude Perfect headquarters and “family-friendly” entertainment destination. The new three-story HQ building will feature a 330-foot “trick-shot tower,” a Dude Perfect museum, mini golf, a merch store, restaurants and 2 acres of outdoor space. The facility could cost as much as $100 million to build, the group told the Dallas Morning News.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Brett Favre’s weekly NFL show for SiriusXM has been put on hold, a company spokesman confirmed to Variety. It’s the latest business deal in jeopardy over the pro QB’s involvement in a welfare fraud case in Mississippi. The SiriusXM rep declined to provide further comment. Favre, who retired from the NFL in 2010 after 20 years in the league, first began co-hosting the SiriusXM show in 2018. The former Green Bay Packers QB has appeared on “The SiriusXM Blitz With Brett Favre and Bruce Murray” on Tuesdays on the satellite radio and audio streamer’s services, most recently Sept. 13. SiriusXM’s pausing of Favre’s show comes as ESPN Milwaukee said it was temporarily suspending the ex-football star’s weekly “The Brett Favre Show” recapping Packers games, NBC Sports reported.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It seems like everyone is launching a podcast these days — and now comes the Central Intelligence Agency. But don’t expect any major revelations from CIA’s “The Langley Files,” which is really a PR-outreach initiative to burnish the agency’s image as well as dispel notions that it’s a glamorous line of work as sometimes portrayed in popular entertainment. As the agency explains, “The mission of ‘The Langley Files: A CIA Podcast’ is to educate and connect with the general public, sharing insight into the Agency’s core mission, capabilities and agility as an intelligence leader…and to share some interesting stories along the way!”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The iconic music video for R.E.M.’s 1991 hit “Losing My Religion” has surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube — one of only a few songs from the decade to hit the milestone. The alternative band’s official video for “Losing My Religion” has averaged more than 300,000 views globally per day across YouTube so far this year, according to the video platform. It was first uploaded to YouTube in July 2011. Other videos from the ’90s in the YouTube Billion Views Club are Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” (1992); Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991); and The Cranberries’ “Zombie” (1994).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube has spent two years building up YouTube Shorts, its TikTok-style feature for short form video clips. Now it’s about to throw the switch to monetize that content — and share the revenue with creators. Starting in early 2023, YouTube Shorts-focused creators can apply to be part of the platform’s revenue-sharing program if they have at least 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views over 90 days. The new partners “will enjoy all the benefits our program offers, including the various ways to make money like ads on long-form and Fan Funding,” according to Amjad Hanif, VP of creator products at YouTube. YouTube also announced a new way for creators to license music for their videos — and still get paid for their video views under the ad-revenue sharing program.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Courtney Coupe, most recently SVP of content strategy and operations for CNN Digital, is joining LinkedIn as the company’s first head of original programming. In the new role, Coupe reports to LinkedIn editor in chief Dan Roth. She will oversee the strategy, development and production of all original video and audio content at the business-oriented social media platform. LinkedIn has been investing in original content for a decade and is now bringing those efforts together under a newly formed original programming team, led by Coupe. “Courtney has spent her career creating high-quality, economy and career-focused audio and video content for some of the top brands in media,” Roth said in announcing her hire. “We’re excited that she’s bringing her talent for developing groundbreaking content to LinkedIn and helping us deliver insights that drive conversation.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Yara Shahidi will kick it with celebrity peers in a new show premiering on Facebook Watch later this month. The actor, model, activist and self-proclaimed “music nerd” — best known for starring on “Black-ish” and “Grown-ish” — stars in and executive produces Facebook Watch original series “Yara Shahidi’s Day Off.” In each episode, Shahidi will participate in a range of activities with her celeb guests that reflect “their authentic interests outside of their fame,” spanning horseback riding, gymnastics, golfing, soccer and game night. “Yara Shahidi’s Day Off” premieres Thursday, Sept. 29, at 9 a.m. PT, on Facebook Watch, Shahidi’s Facebook page (2.2 million followers) and her Instagram page (7.6 million followers).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Brooke Shields is coming soon to a pair of earbuds near you with her first podcast — in which the actor, model and author explores pivotal moments in people’s lives. “Now What? With Brooke Shields,” produced by iHeartMedia, is set to launch Oct. 11, to be available on the iHeartRadio app and all major podcast platforms. In each episode, to be released weekly on Tuesdays, Shields will chat with experts, authors and celebrity guests about the things that “knocked them off their feet and what they did to get back up,” according to iHeart. “Every success and every setback is accompanied by a choice, and that choice is the answer to one question: ‘Now what?’”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In today’s podcast news roundup, Katy Perry’s retrospective about Elizabeth Taylor as “the original influencer” is set to hit next month; Remi Adeleke gets a two-series podcast deal with Tenderfoot TV; John Allen (aka MrBallen) hires Nick Witters as CEO of Ballen Studios and signs with UTA; and more. “Elizabeth the First,” a 10-episode podcast series narrated by Katy Perry, will premiere on Monday, Oct. 3. The series comes from Imperative Entertainment, House of Taylor, which oversees the late actor’s estate, and Perry’s Kitty Purry Productions. “Elizabeth the First” will be available on all major podcast platforms and the Imperative Entertainment Premium Channel on Apple Podcast Subscriptions. Originally, it was slated to debut this spring.)

Madonna and her daughter, Lourdes Leon, were just two of the major stars sitting front row at the Tom Ford fashion show during 2022 New York Fashion Week held at Skylight on Vesey on Wednesday night (September 14) in New York City.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Prosecutors have asked a court to vacate the 2000 murder conviction of Adnan Syed, who was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, and be granted a new trial. Syed’s case was the focus of the groundbreaking “Serial” podcast back in 2014. Syed, now 41, has been serving a life sentence in prison since 2000. He has maintained his innocence. On Wednesday, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney Office said in a filing in circuit court after an almost yearlong investigation it had uncovered new evidence in Syed’s case that cast doubt on his guilt. “[T]he State no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction,” the office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore Marilyn Mosby said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor WhatApp, the popular messaging app owned by tech giant Meta, is bowing its first original entertainment project later this month — a short film featuring NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo, born in Greece to Nigerian parents, was named the 2021 NBA All-Star MVP and led the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Finals title that year. In the 12-minute film, titled “Naija Odyssey,” the pro basketballer “tells his origin story of many origins as he reconciles his roots, birthplace and sense of belonging between cross-cultural worlds,” according to WhatsApp’s description. The athlete inked an endorsement deal with WhatsApp in February of this year.

Cara Delevingne was not in attendance at a party to celebrate her new collection with Karl Lagerfeld.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Not surprisingly, the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8 — ending a historic 70-year reign — spurred renewed interest in “The Crown,” the popular Netflix series that follows the monarch’s life and events during her time on the throne over multiple decades. “The Crown,” which begins in the late 1940s prior to Elizabeth’s becoming the Queen of England, will end with Season 6, taking the show into the early 2000s. Between Friday and Sunday (Sept. 9-11), the show’s viewership in the U.K. increased more than 800% compared with the previous Friday-Sunday period, according to data analytics firm Whip Media. In the U.S., viewership of “The Crown” more than quadrupled from Friday-Sunday compared with the previous week, and in France viewing jumped threefold, per Whip Media.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amazon will bow a new laugh lead-in for its exclusive “Thursday Night Football” NFL games package, enlisting “Saturday Night Live” alum Taran Killam as the host of “The NFL Pile On” — the league’s first official comedy show. “The NFL Pile On” will premiere Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video, airing each Wednesday throughout the NFL season one day before Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” coverage. In the half-hour show, Killam will riff on “funny and unexpected moments” from the across the NFL the week prior, from mic’d up players during pregame warmups to postgame press conference zingers, and from epic fumbles to off-the-field blunders — according to Amazon, “everything from studio shows, social media and fashion faux pas will be fair game.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Game Show Network was removed from the lineups of Dish Network’s satellite TV and Sling TV streaming services late Tuesday, after the parties failed to reach a renewal agreement. “@dish and @Sling cancelled Game Show Network!” the network tweeted late Tuesday. “At Game Show Network we are working hard to make Game Show Network available to you again.” The tweet directed viewers to gameshownetwork.com/dish with information about how to contact Dish and switch providers. Dish claimed that after “months of working with Game Show Network to reach a fair agreement, they have done an about-face and forced a programming blackout on Dish and Sling customers.” The company said it “remains open to working with Game Show Network to reach a fair agreement and hopes to restore the channel soon.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor More than 10 years after its debut, the official music video for “We Are Young,” the chart-topping hit by Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe, has surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube. The milestone marks both artists’ first entry into YouTube’s Billion Views Club. The music video, directed by Marc Klasfeld, was shot at L.A.’s David Sukonick Concert Hall. The four-minute, 12-second video shows Fun. performing in a nightclub — before a slow-motion riot breaks out among the bar’s patrons. It features an appearance by Monáe, who sings opposite Fun. frontman Nate Ruess on the song’s bridge (with the refrain “Carry me home tonight / Just carry me home tonight”).

“Ratings, what’s good?”The preliminary Nielsen figures for the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, its pre-show and two on-air replays are in — and both TV and cross-platform consumption ratings are up. According to the numbers, 3.9 million viewers tuned in to watch Sunday’s festivities across 12 Paramount Global cable channels and the broadcast network The CW — which is a 3% increase from 2021’s programming, which attracted 3.7 million viewers.Paramount says viewers watched 1.59 billion minutes of VMAs content across TV, streaming and social platforms.