mercredi 19 novembre 2014

YouTube: what kind of television is it?


There are now many kinds of television. Linear TV with stations, networks and catch-up TV, VOD, OTT / SVOD streaming (Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, VUDU and soon HBO)....
And then there is YouTube, $6 billion in revenue (2014).
YouTube is not always mentioned as TV but often as a social media (the second after Facebook). For the time being, YouTube is the first TV website, one of the only ones to show growth last year along with Amazon, Netflix, and HBO Go (cf. chart infra). What all started as a hobby for many YouTubers (uploading user-generated content) is now very professional and lucrative. And since the future of video is mobile, YouTube will obviously increase its market share; it will also take advantage of growing connected TV... (see also, in French, "mcn, les nouvelles voies de la télévision".)

Within YouTube, we have seen the development of multi-channel networks (mcn). An mcn can represent many- hundreds - of partner channels. An mcn works more or less both like an incubator and an ad network.
As an incubator or accelerator, it helps fund new media companies (DanceOn got $4 million in funding from Plus Capital and AMC Networks).
As an ad network, it represents new networks and sells their audiences, keeping part of the money collected through AdSense. It helps creators to monetize their audience.

Most mcns are specialized and many are or will represent competition for the cable TV networks. In the U.S.A.,  the majority are based in California, taking advantage of a rich media environment, studios and digital "startups", VCs, etc. Among the biggest MCNs:
  • Machinima (2000, California): video games (among investors: Google and Warner Bros). 154 million unique viewers, 3.6 billion views per month, half happening on mobile. (Source: Machinima, July 2015).
  • DanceOn (2010, California): dance and music. Among investors: AMC Networks.
  • Fullscreen (2011, California): "global youth media company", 450 million subscribers. Among investors: Comcast, WPP, The Chernin Group.
  • Tastemade (2012, California): for food lovers (among investors: Comcast, Liberty Media and Scripps).
  • AwesomenessTV (2012, California): programs for teenagers, like "Runaways", "I.M.O - In My Opinion": 14 million subscribers. Acquired by Dreamworks Animation in 2013.
  • Makers Studios (2009, California),  acquired by Disney in 2014.  42 million unique users.
  • StyleHaul (2011, California). Investors: RTL Group / Bertelsmann (93.6%). Fashion, lifestyle, beauty.
  • Whistle Sports with 195 channels targeting young audiences. Investor: BSkyB, $7 million.
Doesn't an mcn look like an MSO?

The YouTube business model is based on advertising ("free") although they claim they might soon start paid subscription channels based on themed topics as well.
On the advertising side, YouTube has proposed Premium video commercials ("preferred") which are like upfront buying, with audience guaranteed on targets, using Nielsen measurement.
And YouTube keeps innovating: shoppable videos are tested in the UK by the supermarket Asda (Walmart) with its Mum's Eye View channel....
Moreover, there are now tools, like Epoxy, to monetize MCNs audience on social media platforms (social reach optimization, analytics). Bertelsmann and Time Warner invested in the company...

From an advertisers and viewers' point of view, YouTube looks more and more like TV and less and less like the Web. In fact, generally speaking, TV is more and more an online media, the Web becoming the media of TV ("media mediorum"!). Not only is YouTube becoming serious competition for TV networks but it seems to act increasingly as a partner to them in the new TV ecosystem. 

TV websites. Source: survey by RBC Capital Markets, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2, 2014

5 commentaires:

Sten226 a dit…

I think what makes YouTube so successful is that it is very easy to share the videos. Just by copying and pasting a link, a big number of your friends will watch the same video. On all other platforms, sharing the material is more work. This is all thanks to their business model where the contents of the website is for free. Changing that model could have disastrous consequences in my belief.

#Soufiane226 a dit…

In my opinion, Youtube doesn't look more and more like TV and less and less like the web. It's related to the adaptation of a new global behavior which tends towards a standardization of customs.
Nowadays, the same functionalities can be found on TV as well on the web and vice versa.

Laura226 a dit…

Depuis son rachat en 2006 par Google, l’offre du site s’est bien étoffée, avec notamment des contenus plus professionnels et l’intégration, en 2013 d’une série de 54 chaînes thématiques dont 29 en France permettant la monétisation de ses contenus vidéo, par le biais d’abonnements compris entre 0,99 dollars et 7,99 dollars.
En France, la plateforme a également lancé en 2013 un appel d'offre pour la création de chaînes originales gratuites. L'Agence CAPA, M6, Canal + ou encore auféminin.com ont pu bénéficier du préfinancement de la plateforme.
Plus récemment, YouTube et TF1 ont annoncé le développement de plusieurs chaînes originales.
Il y a peu également, YouTube a mis en place une aide au financement de projets pour les auteurs de vidéos avec un partage des revenus publicitaires.
Le lancement de ces offres et partenariats montre l’envie de la plateforme de détenir ses propres chaînes TV et de devenir un acteur grandissant dans le domaine de la TV en ligne tout en essayant de s'insérer (de plus en plus loyalement ?) dans l'écosystème télévisuel.
Avec la puissance de sa société mère qui a développé la clé Chromecast, il y a fort à parier que la mécanique contenants/contenus sera développée de manière optimale et permettra à Youtube de créer ses propres contenus à l'instar d'Amazon.

Unknown a dit…

Est-ce que Youtube défie la télévision, la question reste ouverte et sera sûrement à reposer dans les prochaines années.
Pour l'instant, les deux médias semble plutôt complémentaires.Youtube cherche à diversifier et à professionnaliser ses contenus, et la télévision veut établir des ponts avec Youtube pour assurer sa place. @marion226

#Selina226 a dit…

We can clearly witness a growing consumption of online videos especially on YouTube at the expenses of TV that lost its hegemony in most homes. The expansion of diverse terminals has led to a change in behavior: people can easily switch between different contents and between screens to another.
Nonetheless both Medias are complementary. The number of views on YouTube provides guidance on the “taste tendencies” of the public, which can be taken into account by the audiovisual sector and many successful TV formats have been adapted to YouTube. Also, visibility on YouTube today can help build credibility to transit to a career on a traditional chain and vice versa.
However, one of the main tensions between YouTube and television in France is the lack of regulatory and fiscal constraints to the platform of videos disadvantaging the TV channels. Advertising on YouTube is a much more economical solution compared to TV but for advertiser the transfer implies a considerable change. The value of their advertising is no longer based on the television program for a wide audience, but on a very precise targeting very much appreciated by advertiser. But, it audience remains difficult to measure because on connected screens the attention is easily diverted to other things and views can easily ignore publicity through software blocking ads.