Russ: YouTube now lets you A/B test the entire video. Not just the thumbnail, not just the title. The actual video file.
Nadia: I'm Nadia.
Russ: And I'm Russ.
Nadia: And this is Feed Drop, for Monday, September 28th.
Russ: Coming up on the show today...
Nadia: YouTube just dropped a new feature for creators that could change the game completely.
Russ: We're also looking at the South Korean box office to see what a hit movie franchise can teach us about finding your next podcast idea.
Nadia: And a star from a classic sitcom is publicly walking back a feud with the show's lead… and it's a masterclass in why you need to clean up your personal brand before you pitch a podcast.
Nadia: Alright, let's start with YouTube. At their 'Made on YouTube' event, they announced a bunch of new tools, but one in particular caught our eye.
Russ: The one you mentioned off the top—A/B testing the video itself. Break this down for me, Nadia, and pretend I don't live in a spreadsheet.
Nadia: Okay, so you can upload two completely different cuts of your video—maybe one with a fast, punchy intro and another with a slower, story-driven one. YouTube then serves them up to different parts of your audience to see which one keeps people watching longer.
Russ: Wait a minute. So I could be watching a completely different first minute of a video than you are? That's... unsettling.
Nadia: Exactly. It's the logical next step after thumbnail and title testing. This is all about finding the perfect hook to max out watch time. If you have a video podcast on YouTube, this changes everything.
Nadia: And speaking of optimization, this part of Feed Drop is sponsored by The Podglomerate. More downloads start with a plan, and The Podglomerate's free Ultimate Guide to Podcast Marketing covers the tactics and tools you need.
Russ: Okay, but is this going to lead to better shows? Or just shows that are better at gaming the algorithm?
Nadia: It leads to shows that are better at surviving. On YouTube, attention is the only thing that matters. This tool lets you find out exactly what grabs it, and that data is a massive advantage.
Russ: So now creators have to make two edits for every single video? That sounds exhausting. How about just making one good one?
Nadia: They don't have to. But the ones who do will likely see more growth. It's an arms race, Russ, and YouTube just handed out new weapons.
Russ: Great. More weapons. Just what the internet needed.
Russ: Okay, the next thing on our list is 'Korean Box Office.' I have to say, this feels like a stretch, even for you. Connect the dots for me here.
Nadia: It's not a stretch, it's a strategy! Variety is reporting that a political crime thriller called 'The Assassin(s)' just destroyed the South Korean box office over their big holiday weekend.
Russ: Okay, people saw a movie. So what?
Nadia: The 'so what' is that this is all about IP. A huge hit movie in a popular genre is like a giant, flashing sign for podcast producers. It's pre-packaged, audience-tested IP just sitting there.
Russ: Wait, are you saying someone should just make a podcast about this movie?
Nadia: A companion podcast, an audio drama in that world, a deep dive on the real history behind it... anything! The audience is already built-in. That same article mentions 'Tazza 4' is also a hit—that's the fourth movie in a huge franchise. You can't buy that kind of built-in fanbase.
Russ: So a hit movie is basically a free focus group. You see what's working on the big screen and then you draft off that success in the audio world.
Nadia: Exactly. And after 'Parasite' and 'Squid Game,' everyone knows Korean content has global appeal. A podcast tied to this could have an international audience from day one. It's not just a local story.
Russ: Huh. Okay, I'm sold. It's a smart, if deeply cynical, way to shortcut your way to a hit.
Nadia: It's not cynical, it's business. A multi-million dollar business.
Nadia: Finally, let's talk about a ghost from sitcoms past. Michael Fishman, who played D.J. Conner on 'Roseanne,' is now publicly apologizing to fans.
Russ: Apologizing for what? The quality of the reboot?
Nadia: No. According to Variety, he posted on social media about the 'chaos' of his public feud with Roseanne Barr, and said he just wants to, quote, 'keep pushing out love.'
Russ: I'm sorry, what? A grown man is feuding with his TV mom from 30 years ago, online, and then issuing press releases about it? Who is this for?
Nadia: It's for anyone who might give him a podcast deal! This is the era of the rewatch podcast, right? 'Office Ladies,' 'Pod Meets World'... you get a couple of actors from an old show to talk about it.
Russ: Oh, god, no. Don't tell me this is pre-production for 'Conner Conversations' or whatever.
Nadia: It very well could be! But no network is going to touch a show where the hosts are publicly at each other's throats. This drama makes him toxic to advertisers. This isn't about his feelings, it's brand management 101.
Russ: So he's 'pushing out love' to clean up his brand so he can launch a podcast to cash in on a show... created by the person he's publicly fighting with. My head hurts.
Nadia: That's the creator economy in a nutshell. All that personal drama has a direct, negative impact on your wallet. He's just trying to de-risk himself so someone will give him a show.
Russ: Well, good luck with that. Sounds like a complete mess, and one I will definitely not be downloading.
Nadia: Alright, let's recap. YouTube is handing creators a powerful, if complicated, new weapon: A/B testing for the video itself.
Russ: A Korean blockbuster reminds us that your next big podcast idea might already be a hit movie. And an old sitcom feud shows us that if you want a podcast deal, you'd better get your personal brand in order first.
Nadia: Before we go, speaking of A/B testing… what is it with YouTube thumbnails? You know the ones I mean, Russ. The giant red arrow, the guy making a shocked face?
Russ: [laughs] The shocked face! Always! I saw one for a video about making toast. The guy looked like he'd just discovered fire. I refused to click. I'm not rewarding that.
Nadia: But see, with this new tool, he could test the shocked-face intro against, I don't know, a calm, Bob Ross-style buttering sequence. And he would know which one works better.
Russ: And the world becomes a slightly more optimized, and therefore more chaotic, place. I stand by my point.
Nadia: That's our show! Feed Drop is back tomorrow with more from the business of podcasting. For 'what we're actually listening to,' I just started 'Fall of Civilizations' and the episode on the Byzantine Empire is incredible.
Russ: I'll add it to the list. See you tomorrow, Nadia. Just... don't A/B test your goodbye.
This show is made with AI: the hosts’ voices are synthetic and the scripts are AI-assisted. Every story links to its original source.