👋 Hi Reader,

I will be candid: I don’t watch a lot of TV.

I haven’t watched much in the last 5 years if I remember correctly.

So forgive me, if I am a bit late to the TV game.

What I realized is Substack had already launched a TV app in Jan 2026 and it had extended a TikTok-like “For You” feed on their TV apps.

The dissolution of intent

As someone who consumes a lot of the written word, this strangely confuses me.

If I subscribe to a newsletter creator, I am taking a major decision of intent. The intent is to not let my brain succumb to brain-rot and be able to read something long-form (without social-imposed text limitations) and to form my opinion without an algorithmic influence.

But the fact that the same platform which allows me to subscribe to long-form thinking is now making me resort to short-form brain-rot is a sign that worries me.

As you may be aware, Substack has been going full-tilt into video for quite a while now. I understand that it is trying to become a creator platform, instead of just a newsletter platform. And it is trying to go where the consumer has gone, when it comes to following a creator.

They are not the first ones too. Instagram launched a TV app as well which allows you to watch reels on your TV. I believe Beehiiv is also trying to roll out new creator tools by allowing them to host their podcast, and now webinars too.

Connecting these moves to the Jobs Theory

Being a product guy in a parallel universe, I am a big fan of the Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) theory. I would like to think as the job of a platform evolves, it needs to follow the consumer, as their behavioral patterns expand. I am compelled to see these moves as the platform allowing a creator to extend their expression into multiple content formats.

Having said that, I also strongly believe that bringing in short-form video in a platform whose core job is to enable long-term thinking, is akin to Morpheus offering both pills to Neo and asking him to choose.

You know which pill the consumer will take in 2026.

I am a bit late to track this, but I am watching this space closely now and I will keep you posted as this plays out. Stay tuned.

Do these platform moves intrigue you too, as you start your newsletter journey? Are you confused as to which platform to choose? If you are starting your newsletter journey today as a creator, I would be happy to be a sounding board for you.

Hit ‘Reply’ on this email, or send a note to marketing@letterstack.co.

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Cheers,

Renga from LetterStack

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