CTV’s Next Big Frontier Is the Home Screen (SPONORED): While traditional home screen ad opportunities last only a few moments, Telly’s Smart Home Screen offers a more persistent presence alongside the content viewers engage with most, shifting the experience from a “first moment” to an “every moment” opportunity. In one case study, a major streamer saw a 157% surge in app launches during a campaign, jumping from the 10th most opened app to the 4th, with engagement remaining elevated afterward. Telly points to results like these as evidence of shifting streaming.
Rising Kane’s: I profiled Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old director of Backrooms, the new horror film from A24, as part of a broader examination of the ways in which YouTube creators are reshaping Hollywood. Parsons, along with other YouTubers-turned-directors like Markiplier (Iron Lung) and Curry Barker (Obsession) represent a new cohort of filmmaker, who learn their craft online and develop portable followings that they can convert into ticket-buyers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Parsons, despite his age, was exceedingly polite, considered, and serious about his craft. You can read my profile here, or check out an abridged Q&A below.
America’s Test Cuts: America’s Test Kitchen laid off 10% of its workforce on Monday, just three months after the company acquired Food52 out of bankruptcy for around $10 million, according to the Boston Globe. The cuts were unrelated to the tie-up, per a spokesperson. Last year, ATK laid off seven employees and shuttered Cook’s Country, and in 2023 it shut down ATK Kids and laid off 23 staff. ATK itself was acquired by the holding company Marquee Brands in 2023, which owns a portfolio of food brands including Martha Stewart and Sur La Table. This seems to be more of a reallocation than a sign of distress, especially given that ATK CEO Dan Seurat told me in January that the company is still actively looking to snap up other titles.
Roku Creators: On Tuesday, Roku launched a new destination succinctly called Creators, whose offering is pretty self-explanatory. The section allows viewers to browse through creator content, and it comes in tandem with a larger creator partnership on the Roku Channel that will see the launch of FAST channels like the Prof G Podcast. Sources have told me that Netflix, Tubi, and Roku are moving most quickly to bring creator content to their platforms, and this launch is further evidence of that. Paramount has recently floated a similar trial balloon as well. How long before your favorite streaming service becomes unrecognizable from YouTube?
Quote/Unquote
Kane Parsons is the 20-year-old director of Backrooms, a new horror film from A24 premiering May 29. Parsons got his start on YouTube, creating a series of short films inspired by the digital urban legend of The Backrooms.
After his series went viral in 2022, racking up more than 120 million views, A24 signed me to direct the feature film, which is projected to bring in $31 million in its opening weekend. Parsons is the latest in a growing cohort of YouTube-creators-turned-directors, alongside Mark Edward Fischback (Markiplier, on YouTube), Curry Barker (the director of Obsession), and Max Reisinger, the founder of Creator Camp.
This interview has been edited.
