YouTube announced some new ventures this week, namely that it will be co-producing feature films with DreamWorks-owned AwesomenessTV. It will also be backing series starring its most famous stars, including SMOSH, Fine Brothers, Prank vs. Prank, and Joey Graceffa.
Judging by the descriptions given, the series will target the 12-14 age demographic, and one can infer from the DreamWorks association that the films will do so as well.
We’re seeing increasingly more media companies that previously just hosted content get into the content production business. Spearheaded by Netflix in 2011 with “Lillyhammer,” the world of video streaming platforms has become increasingly competitive, with Hulu, Amazon, and most recently Yahoo diving into original programming headfirst.
So far, these companies have seen varying levels of success. Netflix obviously has obviously been responsible for several cultural phenomena, like “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black” (and now perhaps “Daredevil”), as well as the revival of old favorites, like “Arrested Development,” “The Killing,” and now “Fuller House.”
Hulu, though they’ve struck several network hosting deals, such that they now host the entire back catalogue of “Saturday Night Live,” has not seen tremendous results from its original programming. I don’t think I know anyone who has seen one of their shows, to be honest.
Amazon has had some great pilots, such as episode 0 of “Mad Dogs,” but due to the high barrier of entry for an Amazon Prime subscription required to stream them, they’ve pigeonholed themselves even past HBO-levels of premium broadcasting.
Yahoo Screen, though it is relatively new, has acquired rights to some cool shows, including the sixth season of “Community” (though that show is well-past its prime), and Paul Feig’s new series “Other Space” and “Sin City Saints.” HBO is also now counting on Internet-only subscriptions through HBO Now to bolster its stagnant cable-based business, and they produce some of the biggest shows in the world right now.
Though Netflix has established itself as an early leader, there’s no telling who will win the content race of the mid-2010s. If this week’s YouTube news is indicative of anything, it’s that there has not been much competition in the early teen/tween viewership market. But it looks like YouTube is about to change that.
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