Streaming giant Netflix is partnering with CBS Sports to produce its two Christmas Day football games — the streamer’s first NFL excursion in its three-year deal. The one-year CBS agreement is for production services only, and does not cover on-air talent. Netflix is still exploring its talent options. CBS Sports announcers Tony Romo and Jim Nantz are reportedly under consideration, although Netflix is said to also be pondering a move that would allow it to create an on-camera team that would allow it to put its own stamp on the talent and the games. Paramount Global’s CBS will receive a production fee and promotional spots in the streamed games. Read more

YouTube is testing an integration with parent company Google’s Gemini AI. Called Brainstorm with Gemini, it invites creators to ideate with video, titles and thumbnails. The limited test makes the feature available to a handful of creators whose feedback will be used in strategizing how and whether to introduce the feature more broadly. In May, YouTube began testing another AI tool, renaming its “Research” tab “Inspiration.” The Inspiration tool provides topics that its algorithm detects a creator’s audience might find interested, supplying an outline and talking points. Brainstorm is similar but supports Google’s AI branding. Read more

TikTok is widely launching its promotional discovery feature, TikTok Spotlight, which lets marketers tap into its vaunted “For You” feed. Movie studios, TV networks and streamers are invited to promote their products adjacent to For You feed content identified as having related interest. “TikTok Spotlight identifies applicable TikToks on our platform and attributes an anchor link” that “drives audiences to a dedicated landing page where they can discover more details,” like synopsis, cast, and user-generated content. Users can link to streaming platforms, digital storefronts or theater ticket sales “directly from the landing page.” Read more

The U.S. Copyright Office is warning of an urgent national need for protection against deepfakes. In the first installment of a multipart report on the adverse effects of artificial intelligence on copyright, the office recommends the immediate enactment of a law to combat AI-driven “digital replicas.” Acknowledging that copyright has always had a symbiotic relationship with technology, as well as AI’s tremendous potential, the report nonetheless decries the proliferation of AI-generated deepfakes, “from celebrities’ images endorsing products to politicians’ likenesses seeking to affect voter behavior.” Read more

Google-owned video giant YouTube is experimenting with a new mid-roll advertising format that aims to be less disruptive for live-streaming viewers. YouTube is testing the new format, which positions ads alongside a live stream using a picture-in-picture feature. Currently, the ad breaks occupy the full screen, cutting abruptly from the content in progress, which can be disruptive. With the new format viewers can keep their eyes on live content during the ad break. YouTube’s mid-roll PiP ad tests are part of its fight against ad blockers, use of which has seen some viewers cut off from the platform. Read more