for the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit, May 6-8 in Palm Springs.
MrBeast is so big, Beast Industries turns down eight-figure brand deals if they aren’t the right fit
Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson just hosted a two-day, multi-platform “50 Streamers” competition that exceeded 1 billion total views within the first three days. The latest MrBeast offering, which pitted 50 streamers against each other in competitions with the winner getting $1 million, dipped into the livestreaming space, with its Easter Sunday grand finale drawing 1.75 million live concurrent viewers across YouTube and Twitch.
Those massive numbers are a testament to the creator’s world-spanning reach (his team says 80% of his 1.45 billion views in the last 90 days are from outside America) and his somehow continuous growth.
That growth is powered not just by Donaldson’s ability to create blockbuster-level content with widespread appeal, but by the business decisions being made at his holding company, Beast Industries.
In the two years since Jeff Housenbold took over as CEO, the company built around YouTube’s most-watched creator has quietly flipped the commercial dynamic: Fortune 1000 CMOs are now calling them, not the other way around. The result, Housenbold says, is the freedom to say no — to apparel brands Donaldson would never wear, or to deals that don’t survive contact with a Gen Z audience that sniffs out inauthenticity fast.
What’s replaced the old model is a smaller book of longer, deeper partnerships — multi-year, category-exclusive, built around brand objectives that go well beyond a single video. Lowe’s, for instance, isn’t just a sponsor. It’s a play against Home Depot.
“When I came in we had a two-person steam scrambling when a video was coming up to get an advertiser or brand partner,” Housenbold told Digiday. “Now I have a 25-person team…strategically we’ve moved to fewer, bigger multi-year deals with some category exclusivity.”
Housenbold says Beast Industries is data driven, and comes to the negotiating table with reams of information in hand.
“Two years ago the conversation was harder, now I have 20 pages of how big we are and what our impact is — brands never get past page two, because they get it,” he said.
And though brands may get what Beast Industries can provide (which includes a slight shift in YouTube format, with MrBeast’s videos now averaging around 28 minutes to reflect viewers’ long-form preference and that 55% of YouTube watch time is now on screens), that doesn’t mean the company wants to partner with every major company that comes knocking.
Brand deals involve seamless integration into MrBeast’s content, whether it’s a themed Starbucks drink or a relationship with Lowe’s which seeks to differentiate the home improvement company from Home Depot, and Housenbold says MrBeast’s Gen Z and Gen Alpha audience can easily be turned off by inauthenticity.
“We don’t want to look like a Times Square billboard. We want to be thoughtful about brands that are contextually relevant and authentic,” he said. “I turn down seven-figure, eight-figure brand deals all the time where I’m like ‘Jimmy would never wear that’.”
As of November 2025, Beast Industries was reportedly worth $5 billion.
Though Housenbold says the 27-year-old Donaldson plans to make YouTube videos “until he dies,” Beast Industries is also thinking carefully about how to expand in ways that don’t rest squarely on Donaldson’s shoulders.
“There’s a reason we call it Beast Industries, not MrBeast Industries…I’m actively building up 10 more Jimmys,” Housenbold says.
He likens Donaldson to Walt Disney, calling him a storyteller who uses technology to create stories that can entertain and inspire audiences.
A bold claim perhaps. But Housenbold’s vision for Beast Industries involves expanding its platform to boost more creators that appeal to different audiences and brands, double down on streaming (the 50 Streamers event was a great test case), and, as we’ve seen from recent job listings, delving more into TikTok and doubling down on the Beast brand identity.
“MrBeast is like Mickey Mouse, it’s still house and mouse, but Mickey Mouse spawn Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck, and now they have Lucasfilm and Star Wars, and Marvel and the Avengers and Pixar and Woody and ESPN…that’s where we’re headed,” Housenbold said.
More in Media
Digiday+ Research: Publishers favor generative AI over predictive AI
Publishers have worked to find the right fit for AI tools, and found that generative AI lends itself better to journalism than predictive AI.
‘I’m playing the long game’: Journalists are striking out alone and discovering the business is toughest beat of all
News creators have become preferred sources for younger viewers, but how do they grow and sustain their independent endeavors?
Creator scandals have turned morality clauses into brands’ go-to exit strategy
The fine print in creator contracts has never mattered more. A succession of high-profile creator scandals is putting morality clauses at the center of how brands manage risk.