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YouTube TV shed subscribers in Q1 2024, for the first time ever, after the NFL season ended

William Coulman

“YouTube TV” might sound like something of an oxymoron — with many turning to YouTube for short hits or highlights — but, since its launch in 2017, the premium service from YouTube had grown steadily to some 8 million subscribers. At least, until Q1 this year, when it took its first backward step.

Estimates from MoffettNathanson, reported by Variety’s VIP+, reveal that YouTube TV experienced its first quarterly loss of subscribers, dropping 150K paying members, as the virtual pay TV service begins to grapple with the seasonality of live sports offerings. The end of the football season — live TV's largest draw — makes Q1 particularly challenging for pay TV and this year the exodus wasn’t just limited to traditional cable.

YouTube execs will be hoping that the lost subscribers return once the season picks back up again come September, as YouTube TV holds the exclusive streaming rights to Sunday Ticket games… particularly because the company is still in the early years of a 2023-2029 deal that’s reportedly worth an eye-watering $2 billion a year. That is, as Variety points out, if the Sunday Ticket still exists following last week’s bumper antitrust trial verdict, in which the NFL was ordered to pay $4.7 billion to plaintiffs.

For years, YouTube TV was big tech’s answer to cord-cutting, but its latest quarter proves that consumers don’t exactly care how they get access to the content… once it stops being a draw, they will cancel.

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Netflix is staffing up an apparent AI animation studio called INKubator

According to several public job listings, streaming giant Netflix appears to be building a GenAI animation studio called INKubator.

First reported by journalist Janko Roettgers in the Lowpass newsletter, INKubator seems to have launched in March and aims to “develop feature-quality content in a creator-led environment.”

As Lowpass reports, INKubator appears focused on AI-generated short-form animation, but listings imply ambitions toward longer-form content. Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

INKubator wouldn’t be Netflix’s first foray into AI. Back in March, it acquired Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup InterPositive — which trains on individual films’ already-shot footage — for as much as $600 million depending on certain targets.

Netflix’s potential future AI-generated animations could be served to an increasingly ad-packed streaming service. At Netflix’s Upfront presentation on Wednesday, the company said its ad-supported tier has now reached 250 million subscribers globally, up 31% from November.

Netflix is building an AI animation studio

Netflix is building an AI animation studio

As Lowpass reports, INKubator appears focused on AI-generated short-form animation, but listings imply ambitions toward longer-form content. Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

INKubator wouldn’t be Netflix’s first foray into AI. Back in March, it acquired Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup InterPositive — which trains on individual films’ already-shot footage — for as much as $600 million depending on certain targets.

Netflix’s potential future AI-generated animations could be served to an increasingly ad-packed streaming service. At Netflix’s Upfront presentation on Wednesday, the company said its ad-supported tier has now reached 250 million subscribers globally, up 31% from November.

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Netflix confirms a “KPop Demon Hunters” world concert tour is on the way

Netflix has a “Golden” mine and it's digging deeper.

At its fourth annual TV Upfront presentation on Wednesday, Netflix President of Advertising Amy Reinhard announced a partnership with AEG Presents to create a “KPop Demon Hunters” world tour that will bring the phenomenon to life.

In March, Bloomberg previously reported Netflix was planning a global world tour sometime next year ahead of the sequel in arenas that would hold 10,000 to 20,000 fans, though the news had not been confirmed by the company nor had a partner been in place at the time. 

“KPop Demon Hunters” is Netflix’s most watched film of all time, racking up 481.6 million views globally during the second half of 2025. Since its release, the HUNTR/X trio of Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami has appeared and performed at several major events including late-night talk shows, award ceremonies, and most recently at Coachella, where they were a surprise guest for Katseye. It hasn’t been confirmed whether the trio will be on the tour.

The announcement of the tour comes after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos shared in a recent blog post that the company spent $135 billion on licensing and original film and TV over the last 10 years.

This year, Netflix has a projected content spend of $20 billion, up 10% year over year, while its annual revenue forecast is between $50.7 billion and $51.7 billion. The streaming giant has brought in more than $46 billion in profit over the past decade.

Netflix said more details around cities and tickets for the concert tour are expected to come out later this year.

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