Brand Management: Univision Ends YouTube TV Blackout, Weibo Strengthens Ties Across the Asian Diaspora
Social Networking Service: In November, LinkedIn announced a reinvention of their search engine through the implementation of AI to make searching easier than before. Users can now type what they want in plain text. For example, if someone wants to look up an alumnus from their university who has worked in marketing, they can just type “alumni from university who have worked in marketing.” The result will then redirect them to the most relevant contacts. This feature has been available since launch for LinkedIn Premium members, and LinkedIn has stated that they have plans to “expand availability in the next coming months.”
The third edition of the yearly Weibo Cultural Exchange Night was held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. It coincided with the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Singapore. As such, it served as a great catalyst for connecting Asian creatives and technologists across the diaspora. There were over 1,000 guests in attendance, from all kinds of professions: business, content creation, philanthropy, etc. Apart from being the epicenter of live entertainment for the night, the Singaporean location also debuted Weibo’s Corporate ESG Ranking. This initiative will focus on uplifting and highlighting the performance of different companies in sustainability, cultural connection and relevance, and social responsibility. Despite rifts between the platform and Chinese lawmakers as of late (considering the new regulations), Weibo aims to bridge the gap by bringing the creatives on its platform closer together.
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Online Video Platform: The 56-day blackout on YouTube TV ended on November 26 with the return of Univision, Galavisión, and TUDN Sports. This followed a successful deal renewal between the Spanish-speaking TelevisaUnivision and Google. YouTube TV subscribers have been able to access these channels since the announcement of the deal. As it stands, this has been the longest outage on YouTube TV since its launch, even as it’s grown to be the U.S.’s No. 1 Internet-TV service since 2017. Similarly, Google and Disney were going through similar negotiations for their respective channels and their place in the YouTube TV lineup until recently as well. Google’s qualms with Univision—the biggest Spanish-speaking broadcaster in the U.S.—were about the company seeking to increase prices that were out of line with viewership. This would make sense, as Spanish-speaking content is very popular on the platform, with viewership reaching an average of 9 billion views a day in June 2025.
TikTok has announced a new addition to its site, called “Time and Well-being.” This is in line with initiatives started earlier in the year, like the “Well-being Missions” (in-app “quests” that direct users to better digital health habits and reward them with badges and in-app perks) and features aimed at teens and parents (“Family Pairing,” “Time Away,” etc). The “Time and Well-being” section will feature videos by popular creatives in the mental health and wellness communities, like for @quenwilliamss or @juicybodygoddess. It will also contain upgraded “Well-being Missions,” a “Soothing Sound” generator (which generates rain, white noise, etc., inspired by the online ASMR community), and also an “affirmational journal.” This last feature is specifically a clipboard for users to input their “intention of the day,” with over 120 cards with affirmations. Users can share these affirmations between each other. This is aimed at not only encouraging individual growth and mental health online, considering TikTok’s immense popularity with younger age groups, but also fostering community.
