Good evening. Streamers are pulling out the streamers🎊 after turning in yet another record viewership month.

• July was the sixth consecutive month that streamers have taken a record-high share of viewing, with 47.3 % of all TV use, according to new figures released by Nielsen.
• That’s up from 46% in June, and ~6% higher than it was in July 2024.

This growth is coming at the expense of cable viewership, which continues to decrease, per Nielsen. In fact, the two largest individual streaming platforms—YouTube (13.4%) and Netflix (8.8%)—by themselves equaled the amount of usage for cable, and easily outdrew broadcast viewing.

Don Draper has been forced to adapt: Businesses used to spending millions on cable TV ads are ramping up entertainment marketing plays on these new, more popular platforms. Little Caesars got millions of YouTube views on a Survivor spoof show it released this year, while Walmart sponsored its first “shoppable” movie last holiday season on Roku.

More marketing-ception ahead: Dick’s Sporting Goods announced this week that it’s launching a new in-house content studio, which will expand on its Sports Emmy-winning documentary work.

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Each of the following events happened on August 19. Your challenge is to put them in the order in which they occurred by year, earliest to latest. Answers at the bottom!

• A) High-ranking communist hard-liners in the USSR attempt a coup against leader Mikhail Gorbachev. They briefly succeed, but their effort collapses in three days.
• B) The Beatles kick off their first US tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Thanks to an offhand comment by guitarist George Harrison about the group’s favorite candy in the days leading up to the show, the OG boy band is pelted with flying jelly beans during the night’s set.
• C) The first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track built on 328 acres of farmland that is now the home of the world’s most famous motor racing competition, the Indy 500.
• D) Google goes public, raising ~$1.7 billion in its IPO. In an unusual move, the shares were sold in a public auction intended to put the average investor on an equal footing with financial industry professionals.

Hint: The purpose of a race? To come first.

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Today’s Conjoiner sequence has been known to turn its challengers into a stud spud. Go ahead and spin the wheel👇.

The first clue of today’s sequence is: “Bake it, boil it, mash it, put it in a stew”...

Mini

Today’s mini crossword is inspired by the flattest character to ever grace pages and screens—but we added some texture and now it has more ridges than Ruffles. Warning: It may Ruffles your feathers, too.

• Play today’s puzzle here.

Sudoku

Pick a number, any number—as long as it’s 1-9 and the same number doesn’t already appear in the grid, row, or column. Now that you know the rules…

• Play today's puzzle here if you’re up for a challenge.

Click to play any (or all) of the three GOATWars’ challenges below, then pick the GOAT through a series of head-to-head matchups. This data-driven process was developed to create definitive best-of-all-time lists using a more objective approach than random bloggers just publishing controversial opinions for clicks.

• 🍾 THE GREATEST LUXURY CARS OF ALL TIME
• 💪 THE GREATEST MUSCLE CARS OF ALL TIME
• 🔋 THE GREATEST ELECTRIC CARS OF ALL TIME

🏈 THE GREATEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHES OF ALL TIME

1. Nick Saban
2. Bear Bryant
3. Joe Paterno

Explore the full list.

🤝 THE GREATEST FANTASY/SCI-FI SIDEKICKS OF ALL TIME

1. Spock
2. Chewbacca
3. R2-D2

Explore the full list.

👑 THE GREATEST ICONIC WOMEN’S ACCESSORIES OF ALL TIME

1. Pearl Necklace
2. Stiletto Nails
3. Wide Brim Hat

Explore the full list.

Note: Results are as of the published time; these lists are dynamic and may change.

C, B, A, D

• C) 1909: The first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track built on 328 acres of farmland that is now the home of the world’s most famous motor racing competition, the Indy 500.
• B) 1964: The Beatles kick off their first US tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Thanks to an offhand comment by guitarist George Harrison about the group’s favorite candy in the days leading up to the show, the OG boy band is pelted with flying jelly beans throughout the night’s set.
• A) 1991: Communist hard-liners in the USSR attempt a coup against leader Mikhail Gorbachev. They briefly succeed, but their effort collapses in three days.
• D) 2004: Google goes public, raising $1.66 billion in its IPO. In an unusual move, the shares were sold in a public auction intended to put the average investor on an equal footing with financial industry professionals.