• by Colin Kirkland , 4 hours ago

The second season of “Beast Games: Strong vs. Smart” -- an Amazon Prime reality show owned and hosted by YouTube’s top content creator MrBeast -- will integrate the global coffeehouse chain Starbucks into various participant challenges and more. 

The show, slated to start on January 7, will offer contestants around-the-clock access to a special Starbucks store built within the confines of “Beast City,” a temporary housing area built for participants while they compete. 

To drive awareness about Beast Games, while also appealing to fans of the show, the partnership will also feature a new show-inspired beverage -- the “Cannon Ball Drink” -- at all Starbucks locations for a limited time starting next month. 

The drink itself will be highlighted in the show per a “Cannon Ball Challenge” featured in a “Survivor” crossover episode. Additionally, Starbucks will appear outside of the show on MrBeast’s YouTube channel for the creator’s “30 Days in the Sky” challenge.

The blend of branded placements per the partnership showcases MrBeast’s unique position as a leading internet personality. The creator, otherwise known as Jimmy Donaldson, has over 454 million YouTube subscribers and over one billion social media followers. 

Despite finding success across industries, including merchandise and various business ventures, Donaldson is focused on making his Amazon Prime show profitable. In its first season, “Beast Games” made an estimated $100 million for Amazon, along with viewership and subscriber increases, but lost Donaldson tens of millions of dollars. 

To help revamp the show’s revenue model, Core Henson – the previous head of reality television at NBC -- was recently named president of Beast Industry Studios, the holding company responsible for MrBeast’s YouTube channels and Prime show. Henson is expected to scale the creator’s media business. 

Following Henson’s addition to Beast Industries, the company has announced collaborative partnerships with both Starbucks and Lowe’s, the latter naming MrBeast as part of its new Gen-Z-inspired creator network.