Newsom’s parting gift: $1 billion homework

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The only things I saw on social media over the weekend: the NYC Marathon, people dressed as Elizabeth Holmes and of course Heidi Klum’s costume. We broke down the man behind her iconic looks (plus those of The Weeknd, Bad Bunny & Colin Farrell in The Penguin.)

BIG news for LA tax credits. Plus ‘You Can See Everything’ was the highest rated movie of all time…

My Chemical Romance broke the record as the only artist to debut at the top of the Billboard 200 Chart with an anniversary album continuing a huge trend in streaming, YouTube ads can’t keep up with viewership, MLB has grown their sponsorship sector by 57% since 2022, Harry Styles closed out his 30-show Madison Square Garden Residency, and Fox reached record revenues due to the World Cup and political ads (please stop).

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I wrote about something I struggled with a lot in my life that is now my biggest advantage:

We worked with 36 companies last year. This year, I wanted to focus on ones I actually use and believe in. Wispr Flow topped that list. Dictating my notes, texts, my newsletter, and endless stream of consciousness is the only way I can actually keep up with everything going on before my brain moves on.

I spent the majority of my life thinking I had to change how my brain worked to be successful but it turns out I just needed to find work I loved and tools that help me keep up with it.

That’s why I’m officially partnering with Wispr as an evangelist. You’ll see it integrated into AvA LIVE starting this Wednesday, recap notes from the show in this newsletter, and if you want to try it, here's a free trial for ya: https://wisprflow.ai/ava

🌴 Gavin Newsom is proposing California increase its annual film and TV tax credits from $750 million to $1 billion, including $100 million for indie productions and extra incentives for companies filming multiple projects in-state. He’s also backing a federal credit that would stack with state incentives.

The catch: his successor is elected tomorrow and takes office in January, so getting this passed will likely be the next governor’s problem.

🎬 ‘You Can See Everything’ is officially the highest rated movie in Letterboxd history, hitting 4.8/5 at its peak.

This bested the previous record of 4.7/5 held by ‘Harakiri.’ The film’s success also led to it being shown at over triple the number of theaters (3,200) vs. when it debuted with 855.

📺 YouTube brought in $11.2 billion in ad revenue in Q3, up 9% but its slowest growth of 2026. That’s despite taking a record 15.8% of U.S. TV viewing in August.

TLDR: More people are watching YouTube, but ad dollars aren’t keeping pace.

💿 My Chemical Romance earned their first Billboard 200 Number 1 album by becoming the only anniversary project to ever debut in the top spot.

The feat comes 20 years after the ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ first came out, and some of you literally may not have even been alive at that point yet.

The Trend: Nearly a third of streams on Spotify’s Global Top 200 this year went to songs that are at least 10 years old. In the U.S., those songs have 3x’d their share of Top 200 streams since 2024.

Meanwhile, songs released in the past 18 months got 34% fewer streams on Spotify’s Global Top 200 charts in January–September 2026 than newer songs did during the same period in 2025.

Bonus: Dominic Fike also just reached the top spot on the Billboard Pop Airplay Chart with ‘Babydoll’ which came out over 8 years ago.

📲 Daddy Yankee is turning his new album, “La Postal,” into a short-form drama series premiering November 3 on YouTube and aTwist, with Visa backing

We broke down the rapid growth of microseries (New buzzword alert) this week with Tanya Cohen, head of Made by Us Studios, who has a major deal with TikTok

🍿 Cinemark is bringing the Dallas Cowboys’ Dec. 7 game against the Seattle Seahawks to the theater in the first ever local NFL screening. With Cosm already showing games on immersive dome screens, more companies are betting fans will pay to watch sports somewhere between their couch and the stadium.

⚾ Major League Baseball sponsorships have increased by 57% since 2022, reaching $2.12 billion in 2026.

🎵 Harry Styles finished his 30-show residency at Madison Square Garden on Halloween by dressing up like me looking for a midnight snack:

🦊 Fox posted a record breaking revenue quarter that was fueled by the most watched World Cup Final of all time… and political ads?

The company’s revenue is up to $4.57 billion (+22% year over year), with over $350 million of that being due to political ads alone. We all hope for the best with this upcoming election, but I can’t wait for more normal YouTube ads again…

THIS WEEK ON AvA LIVE:

2-Time Oscar-winning director now working with the Obamas & IShowSpeed
2 actors from the #9 show on Netflix
The person who saw TikTok before everyone else
VP of sporting at one of the fastest-growing leagues in America (Expansion fees have 100x’d)
And my favorite WB in the industry WILLA FRICKIN’ BENNETT!

Tune IN!