YouTube has begun renewing funding for channels it partnered with last year, but not all 160 channels that were part of the program are making the cut. Google launched its YouTube program to support premium content channels last year with an estimated budget of $100 million. Content producers were given as much as $5 million to create shows that were exclusive to YouTube for a year. Much like a TV network, YouTube is now evaluating the hits and misses.
YouTube said which shows get their funding canceled comes down how much budget they were given and how they’re performing. For performance, the site is gauging not only views but also ‘watch time’, a new metric it began measuring and including in video rankings in late October.
Losing funding doesn’t mean the shows are necessarily canceled, they just won’t have YouTube’s money to play with. The company hasn’t said which shows it’s keeping in its roster but it estimated it would reinvest in about 40 percent of them. YouTube show rankings such as Deadline’s could be a good indicator of which shows return.
Source: All Things D
