After years of YouTube trying to replicate Netflix’s premium streaming model, the roles have reversed.
Driving the news: Top streaming companies like Netflix and Disney are opening their chequebooks to try and get popular YouTubers to create shows on their platforms, per the Wall Street Journal. It’s part of an industry-wide shift towards online creator-led projects.
- Netflix has held talks with Dude Perfect, a popular sports-focused group on YouTube, and NASA engineer turned YouTuber Mark Rober about creating new shows. The company is also considering bringing video podcast interviews to the platform.
- Disney, which has previously explored adding user-generated content to Disney+ is reportedly on the hunt for family-friendly YouTubers to star in new shows.
Why it’s happening: The bidding war to land YouTubers has heated up since Amazon’s recent hit Beast Games netted at least US$100 million in profit. The show had 50 million views in just 25 days and reached the top spot on Prime Video in more than 80 countries.
- The show’s host and owner of the most-subscribed channel on YouTube, MrBeast, is reportedly seeking US$150 million for each of the next two seasons.
Big picture: Thanks to its creators, YouTube has quietly become the king of living room entertainment. Over 17 million Canadians stream YouTube on their at-home TV sets. In the U.S., YouTube has surpassed Netflix as the most-watched streaming service on TVs.—LA