YouTube Expands its Original Content Channels into Europe and Japan

By Karla Robinson
November 29, 2012

Following the early success of original content on its “channels,” YouTube has ramped up funding to produce more video. The Google-owned service is also expanding the channels overseas in the UK, Germany, France and now Japan.
“Google’s video guys aren’t talking about it openly yet,” AllThingsD reports, “but they’ll be replicating the same idea — YouTube advances programmers production money in exchange for exclusive content — with a handful of partners in Asia.”
One of the initial partners will be Vice Media, a video producer and ad agency that currently has three funded YouTube channels in the U.S.
Based in Brooklyn, the company “specializes in an edgy-but-not-too-edgy mix of youth- and sponsor-friendly content” and has recently attracted attention — positive and negative. Vice is expected to make $200 million this year.
In a related article, AllThingsD notes: “People familiar with the deals say that Google is likely handing out smaller advances to European programmers, because the video ad market pays out less than in America.”
The deals vary depending on market and content maker, but in general, Google offers interest-free advances for exclusive rights to the content. Once the company earns back the advance from ad revenue, the creators get a share of the ad profit.

No Comments Yet