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YouTube Will Likely Drop 60% of Channels It Backed Last Year

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Just like programming in the traditional TV world, many YouTube-backed channels providing original programming won’t be back for another season.

About a year after the video-sharing site launched an ambitious program to challenge the cable industry by investing $100 million into the development of dozens of new YouTube channels, many of those channels will not receive a second round of funding.

YouTube plans to provide funding to only 30 percent to 40 percent of its original content providers, with programming partners learning their fate over the next couple of weeks, Ad Age reports.

“Our biggest objective was to kick-start the ecosystem, to bring in great creators, to deepen our relationships with advertisers and to grow viewership,” YouTube Global Head of Content Jamie Byrne told Ad Age. “We looked at viewership they’ve been able to achieve, the cost of the content, and from that we are able to determine the channels that are delivering the best return on our investment.”

Read more: CNET

 

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