Gen Z's TV is starting to feel like, well, TV. Their platform of choice, YouTube, is reporting over 180 million hours of the Tube screened to TV screens every day. And Snap's chipping away at walled gardens, allowing for shows to be... wait for it ....syndicated... from the likes of networks, publishers, YouTube and beyond to the Snapchat Discover Section. Not stopping there, Snapchat followed TV's footsteps and also added Nielsen segments and News Partners.The Big Screen Leagues require Big Bucks, and Google's got em. Coming off of a solid Q2 for Alphabet, YouTube is offering some of its top creators 6-figure checks to fight off IGTV and other entrants. #Thirsty and #ICYMIYouTubeisEmbracingHashtags. While Business Insider didn't go as far as to name-drop Twitch as a competitor, it's definitely one to watch considering esports could be in the Olympics by the 2024 Paris Games. Helping Television Get Over The Branded Content Hump. [Forbes]On YouTube, 85% of the views are going to influencer content, on Facebook it’s more like 70%. So if you’re the television industry, you’ve got a leakage problem: the social media sites and the influencers are intercepting your production dollars and they’re intercepting your ad revenue “We crunched some numbers, and for every hour of traditional TV they’re not watching, something like 20 minutes goes to streaming—Netflix, Amazon, Hulu. The other 40 minutes goes to social media. And they’re watching a lot of video on social media too. A lot of influencer video”-- Rob Gabel, CEO Tubular Labs.Time spent with digital video will grow 25% by 2020 [Business Insider]Globally, consumers will spend 84 minutes a day watching online video in 2020, up 25% from 67 in 2018. Online video ad spend is still only a fraction of the size of TV ad spend, but this share is steadily rising. The online video ad market was only 14% the size of the TV ad market in 2017, up from 10% in 2015. Zenith predicts this figure will increase to 23% in 2020, however. And this 23% figure could rise further if top digital video and social platforms are able to address some of the pervasive issues within digital advertising — like low ad viewability — to entice big brands to spend more on digital. YouTube Streams Over 180 Million Hours to TV Screens Every Day [Variety]180 million hours of video to smart TVs and TV-connected devices each and every day. Other numbers revealed by Wojcicki Friday: Viewer interactions including likes, comments and chats grew 60% year-over-year; the community tab, which has been available to creators with over 10,000 subscribers, is being used by over sixty million viewers every day; and live streaming watch time increased by 10x over the past 3 yearsYouTube is dangling 6-figure checks in front of its biggest stars as new competition emerges from Instagram [Business Insider]"Contracts have yet to be delivered, but this is about guaranteed money for 'concurrent' posting," one Hollywood source said. "It's a case-by-case basis." It's not clear how many creators have been involved in these talks, but it's not believed to be widespread.Esports Could Enter The Olympics Fray By The 2024 Summer Games In Paris (Report) [Tubefilter]And while the stated purpose of the inaugural Esports Forum was to discuss how the gathered array of esports players (including Overwatch pro Jake Lyon), teams, game publishers, and media professionals might collaborate with the IOC in the future, participants also discussed the possibility of gaming as an Olympic sport, according to Variety.YouTube CEO stresses creator communication, concerns over platform experiments as top issues [Polygon]Wojcicki said the company made a conscious effort to answer “600 percent more tweets” through official handles this year compared to all of 2017. YouTube begins embracing the hashtag [Engadget]The video platform now allows uploaders to add hashtags to their descriptions and video titles to make it easier for viewers to find their channels and content.Exclusive: Snapchat is launching a news partnerships initiative [Axios]The partners include NewsWhip, Storyful, SAM Desk and TagBoard. News organizations with subscriptions to these tools will now have full access to all publicly-available Snaps, the same way they have access to publicly-available Facebook and Twitter data through those vendors.Kid-Friendly Network Pocket.watch Raises $15 Million Series B Round Led By Viacom [Tubefilter]With its newfound capital, Pocket.watch will continue to expand the reach of its content and advertising while continuing to link up with top kids channels. Viacom Media Networks COO Sarah Levy will join the Pocket.watch board, and the two companies are expected to team up for programming ventures that will be released across digital platforms and TV.Elisabeth Murdoch's Vertical Networks Plans Snapchat Dating Show 'Parental Guidance' (Exclusive) [THR]Launched in 2016, the Snap-backed Vertical Networks first tested the Snapchat waters with male-focused Discover channel Brother. Its first push into original show formats was dating series Phone Swap, which is now being adapted for television with veteran reality TV producer Robin Ashbrook (MasterChef). Other Vertical Networks shows include Solve and Celebrity Binge Watch.Verizon CEO: "We Are Not Going to Be Owning Content" [The Hollywood Reporter]Telecom giant Verizon on Tuesday said it lost 37,000 net pay TV subscribers for its Fios video service in the second quarter, compared with a loss of 15,000 in the year-ago period, with management reiterating that it wasn't on the hunt for acquisitions of content companies. Vestberg and McAdam on Tuesday stressed Verizon's focus on being a mobile powerhouse, with Vestberg saying that he was concentrating on providing the best mobile network.YouTube official says they demote conspiracy content [The Washington Post]Snapchat Ad-Buying Platform Adds Nielsen Audience Segments [B&C]Report: YouTube TV needs a big ad revenue boost to become profitable [9 to 5]Under 13? You may soon find your Facebook or Instagram account suspended  [Digital Trends]No hiding: You can now see when your Instagram friends are using the app with a green dot [USA Today]Facebook can now sync your Instagram contacts to Messenger [TechCrunch]Comic-Con TV Activations: From ‘Jack Ryan’ to ‘The Good Place’ [Variety]NBCU's Crafting Platform to Rebrand as a Lifestyle Subscription Service  [Variety]Mitu Slashes Staff in Major Reorg; CEO Herb Scannell, Co-Founder Beatriz Acevedo Step Down [Variety]Massive Musical.ly Hub ‘Flighthouse’ Launches YouTube Channel With Piper Rockelle, Ben Azelart, More [Tubefilter]Verizon's creative chief on building an in-house agency, AR and all those Thomas Middleditch ads  [Marketing Dive]