Xbox One Drops To $349 and $449 After Record-Setting Holiday Sales

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When Microsoft dropped the price of its Xbox One console by $50 during the holidays last year, it created a huge momentum shift that saw more business go its way, with sales tripling following the promotion. This allowed the company to go back into contention with its main rival, Sony’s PlayStation 4 console, and gear it up for a better year in 2015.

That said, it doesn’t look like Microsoft is done yet. The company recently reported that the system became the best selling console for the months of November and December 2014, even outselling the original Xbox 360 by 50 percent by this point in its life cycle.

To celebrate, Microsoft has lowered the price of its Xbox One console again, bringing it down to $349 or $449, depending on the bundle at hand. Better still, it didn’t give a date as to when the promotion would end, which could indicate that the drop is permanent.

“Building off a record-setting holiday, we are excited to announce a new promotion in which fans in the U.S. can buy an Xbox One at a special price of $349, starting tomorrow, January 16, from their preferred retailer,” said Mike Nichols, Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Xbox. “We are thankful for all the excitement for Xbox One this holiday and proud to offer more fans the amazing games lineup, Xbox Live gaming community, and continual innovation that Xbox One fans have come to enjoy.”

Along with the price drop, Microsoft released a new video featuring the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, who talks about many of the highlights that players can expect for the system this year, including its partnership with Sling TV and forthcoming game releases like Fable Legends, the recently announced Forza MotorSport 6 and the highly-hyped Halo 5: Guardians, which will no doubt be a best seller for the holidays. The video is below.

Here’s to another wild year in gaming!

YouTube Will Air Its Own Super Bowl Halftime Show

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By: Sahil Patel

Those who aren’t interested in watching Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz during this year’s “Super Bowl Halftime Show” will have the chance to go online and watch some of YouTube’s biggest stars instead.*

YouTube plans to put on its own halftime show during the year’s biggest television event. It will be hosted by Harley Morenstein, the main guy behind the popular YouTube cooking series “Epic Meal Time.” Morenstein is a member of Collective Digital Studio, which will be producing the program in partnership with YouTube. More than 20 YouTube stars and musicians — some of whom are also affiliated with CDS — will appear during the show, including Freddie Wong, Toby Turner, and Rhett and Link.

Running during the game and filmed at YouTube Space LA, YouTube’s show will feature musical performances and stunts, as well as fake ads created by the online stars. Wong’s ad, for instance, will be a parody of ‘90s-style ads for sugary drinks, one that devolves into something much darker, according to Bloomberg.

Read more…

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

SuperData: Digital Game Sales for December 2014

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Analysis from SuperData CEO, Joost van Dreunen, follows:

  • Digital unit sales jump 10 percent on PS4 and Xbox One during holidays
  • Increased spending offsets declining growth mobile games audience
  • King recaptures players with Candy Crush Soda Saga
  • 4K TVs at CES herald a new wave of smart devices
  • Call of Duty Online launches Open Beta in China

Total spending on digital games in the US reached $1.2 billion in December, up 11 percent from the same month last year. Major drivers were mobile and digital console, which grew 17 percent and 10 percent in that same period, respectively. Among the digital platforms, mobile and digital console both follow the seasonal pattern of digital publishing most closely, with peak sales during the end of the year. Social gaming, on the other hand, is showing a 10 percent decline, totaling $184 million in sales compared to $204 million a year earlier.

Digital unit sales jump 10 percent on PS4 and XOne during holiday season

Aggressive sales of digital games on consoles allowed the category to grow 10 percent compared to December a year earlier. Totaling $110 million in sales, digital unit sales on both the PS4 and XOne jumped as the year came to a close. Compared to November, both platforms sold on average 12 times more units (full game downloads), but obviously did so at a lower than usual price-per-unit. The monthly average transaction value on PS4 dropped from $20 to $11, and from $21 to $7 on the XOne. By comparison, the average transaction value on Steam dropped to $2, down from $8 in November, as a result of this year’s Winter Sale.

Increased spending offsets declining growth in mobile games audience

If you asked Santa, he’d say the mobile games market had been both naughty and nice to publishers this season. During the holidays the overall user base for mobile gaming tends to grow in absolute numbers, but has now started to show early signs of saturation. In December 2014 the monthly active user base in the United States grew 8 percent, from 264 million to 287 million, compared to the same month a year earlier. A year before that the mobile game audience jumped 20 percent, up from 218 million in December 2013. The inevitable decline in growth as market penetration for tablets and smartphones climbs forces a shift in strategy among publishers. The goods news is that mobile game spending hit a new record with the average monthly spend across the entire mobile gaming audience reaching $1.41 in December.

King recaptures players with Candy Crush Soda Saga

Since its November launch, which included larger than life installations in London and New York City, King saw Candy Crush Soda Saga, the sequel to its earlier hit, quickly climbing the charts. Today, the title continues to be one of the top five grossing mobile games on Android and iOS and is the second most downloaded game on both app markets. King’s timing could not be more perfect, as its original breakout title Candy Crush Saga has started to lose steam. King currently claims three of the top five grossing apps on mobile and three of the most popular games on Facebook. The company’s success underscores a growing trend among publishers, like SuperCell, that currently dominate the ranks by financing large marketing campaigns, mostly via traditional channels such billboards and television.

4K TVs at CES herald a new wave of smart devices and a new platform for digital games

After a lukewarm reception in 2012 and 2013, Smart TVs are set for a comeback with the Trojan horse we have come to know as the 4K TV. The technology will be built into virtually every new Ultra HD screen and the devices will offer a number of games and apps. Leading the charge is Sony, who is equipping every new Bravia model with Android TV, Google’s new platform for television streaming. The Japanese giant is also teaming up with Samsung to to incorporate PlayStation Now, the console’s game streaming service, into all of Samsung’s Internet connected TVs in the US and Canada. Users with a paid subscription will be able to stream over 200 PlayStation 3 games by simply connecting Sony’s Dualshock controller. Additionally, both Samsung and Yahoo 4K TVs will include Playsino’s Home Bingo, which illustrates the number of possible Android-based apps that could soon enter the living room.

Call of Duty Online now in Open Beta in China

After a year of testing in Closed Beta, Activision recently launched the Open Beta for its highly anticipated free-to-play PC shooter together with Tencent. In offering one of its key franchises for free, using a free-to-play monetization scheme, the Western power house aims to gain a foothold in the desirable but tricky Chinese game market. The move follows a larger industry trend as also mobile game companies and console manufacturers have recently made inroads into China. Activision’s ambitious project, which included a promotional trailer with actor Chris Evans (AKA Captain America), hopes to rival popular Asian titles like Crossfire, which grossed $1.15 billion in 2014. Developed by Raven Software and Activision Shanghai, Call of Duty Online is specifically tailored to the Chinese market and includes unique microtransactions like renting in-game items. The content itself, a collage of the best elements from Black Ops and Modern Warfare, has also been carefully localized, swapping Zombies for more culturally relevant Cyborgs. If successful, the developer will likely adopt the strategy to enter other markets like Brazil, where consoles have been difficult to promote.

[a]listdaily Analysis
by Steve Peterson

The growth of digital game sales, and its ongoing transformation of all aspects of the game industry, continues, with December 2014 marking a milestone. “Looks like the difference between digital and retail is now no more than a rounding error,” said SuperData CEO Joost Van Dreunen in an email. Given the current trends, it certainly looks like digital’s share of the market will continue to grow. Mobile continued its upward trajectory with 17 percent growth, and interestingly console games showed 10 percent growth in digital sales on PS4 and Xbox One.

The interesting subtext here is that full game downloads on consoles have some definite downsides from a consumer standpoint. For one (important) thing, you can’t resell the game once you’re done with it, which is an important way for many game players to get some money to offset the cost of the next game they want to buy. You can’t exactly lend the game to a friend, though services like Sony’s Share Play feature address that to some extent. Plus, games to quite some time to download for most people, and the basic hard drives provided on the Xbox One and PS4 might be maxing out, especially with DLC and the various free games being provided on a monthly basis by both services.

On the other hand, digital full game downloads offer a major cost savings to publishers (no cost of goods, near-zero fulfillment costs) that can be a serious boost to the bottom line. The corollary, though, is that it’s very easy (all too easy, in the eyes of some) to discount game prices. In fact, we saw this very effect, as van Dreunen noted above: “The monthly average transaction value on PS4 dropped from $20 to $11, and from $21 to $7 on the XOne. By comparison, the average transaction value on Steam dropped to $2, down from $8 in November, as a result of this year’s Winter Sale.”

Now, many of those transactions were doubtless for DLC or lower-priced indie games, but it’s also true that a number of full games were on sale for the holidays. And why not, if it doesn’t seem to affect retail sales directly, and it adds to a publisher’s profits The long-term danger is that consumers will being to feel that games aren’t really worth $60 – which is already happening. Steam has trained many gamers that, if you’re not simply dying to play that hot new PC game right as it comes out, you can get it for far cheaper if you’re willing to wait for a sale. It shouldn’t be a surprise that we’ll see similar behavior with console games as consumers grow more used to downloading full game titles.

The natural response by publishers will be to try and boost the pre-orders by offering more perks, thus leading to more full-price sales (whether digital or physical). However, the track record of 2014, with so many AAA games that had problems, may be making consumers wary about signing up for pre-orders in 2015. That remains to be seen, but you can expect publishers will be working hard to overcome any such resistance.

Another notable data point from December is the success of King Digital’s sequel to Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga. It’s unusual to see a mobile game sequel doing as well or better than its predecessor, which is a distinct change from the PC and console game market. Of course, most mobile games are continually improved and expanded over time, often on a weekly basis, so making comparisons to PC and console games is inexact. Still, it’s a solid boost for King Digital, wich needed that as the original Candy Crush Saga game has been fading. Now the question becomes will King Digital be able to find a completely different game that can be a hit on the same scale, or is it possible the company can figure out how to make lightning strike for a third time in pretty much the same spot

SuperData’s analysis of the 4K/UHD invasion of CES is spot on. While the higher definition will take time for full adoption, the sneaky part is that pretty much every TV from a major brand these days is a smart TV, 4K/UHD or not. Now these smart TVs are beginning to include games, game services, and full-on Android TV so that games and other apps can be downloaded right into the TV (if there’s space available, of course). It’s the console-less console, even to the point of offering PlayStation games through PlayStation Now, through both Sony and Samsung TVs (and perhaps other brands in the future). Gaming has broadened its audience tremendously through the ubiquity of mobile devices that can play decent games, and now TV screens are joining in on the fun.

It’s going to be an exciting year for digital game sales on all platforms, and about the only thing you can be sure of in 2015 is that we’ll see some surprises along the way.

Duracell Tackles Twitch For Madden Super Bowl Promotion

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Duracell has jumped into the live streaming and eSports worlds with Twitch to offer Madden NFL 15 gamers a chance to win a trip to Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix. The Duracell Longest Lasting Tournament kicks off Jan. 16 at 4PM ET/1PM PT and runs for 26 straight hours on Twitch and Xbox One via DuracellTournament.com.

NFL players Arian Foster, Maurice Jones-Drew and Patrick Willis will partner with Madden pros Stephen Gibbons, Zach Farley, Eric “The Problem” Wright, Sam “Fiasco” Policicchio, Peter “Litezout” Calefato, RONEFFECT77, IMROSEBOWL, HASHUGZ7 and QJB to form Team Duracell. The player who holds the longest win-streak at the end of the 26-hour tournament could win a Super Bowl prize package. The two runner-ups will receive $5,000 and $3,000 in cash, respectively. Duracell is also giving away autographed gear and the new Duracell IonSpeed4000 Charger with 4AA batteries. Every contestant will get a Duracell/Twitch t-shirt.

Ramon Velutini , Duracell brand manager, explains what opportunities eSports and Twitch have opened up for the company in this exclusive interview.

Longest Lasting Tournament Duracell eSportsImage Provided By Duracell

What has Twitch opened up as a marketing tool for brands today?

As a live video platform and community for gamers, Twitch allows brands to effectively reach gamers and also provides the opportunity to stream events such as the Duracell Longest Lasting Tournament, which allows consumers to interact with the brand in a personal and relevant manner.

What impact has Amazon buying the company had on giving even more validity to livestreaming’s power and influence?

Twitch has had a very large and dedicated user base for some years now, so I think their track record already had great validity in the marketplace. Now with Amazon, I just expect that the brands using the platform to reach young consumers will continue to grow.

Where did the idea for this campaign come from?

Duracell Rechargeable batteries last for 26 hours of non-stop gaming in the Xbox One controllers and we wanted to showcase that to people in a way that was unique and engaging. Twitch is the leading game streaming platform and Madden is an iconic game which fits very well with Duracell and its NFL partnership, so everything came together very nicely.

How big an audience do you hope to attract with this tournament thanks to the Super Bowl tickets?

We are trying to reach every Madden player in the US. Anyone with an Xbox One can sign up at duracelltournament.com.

What does the interactivity that Twitch opens up with the community add to this experience of connecting with NFL pros?

It helps connect gamers with real NFL pros in a way that is unique, seamless and fun. It doesn’t get much better than playing against real NFL players on Madden.

Who are the gaming legends involved with this tournament?

We have 3 NFL players that are known to be avid Madden gamers:  Patrick Willis, Maurice Jones-Drew and Arian Foster. On top of that we recruited for “Team Duracell” some of the top Madden gamers in the world: Problem_Wright, Roneffect77, Hashug27, LitezOut, Maddentips, amongst other.

What impact do you feel having pro football players and pro video gamers together in this format will have on attracting a wide audience?

Duracell Longest Lasting Tournament eSports Patrick WillisImage Provided By Duracell

It is already drawing thousands of people to sign up for the tournament as it provides a unique opportunity to gamers to play against the most prolific gamers in the industry!

What type of validity does an event like this bring to the burgeoning eSports category?

Events like this will help continue the growth of the eSports category and will open the door for even more brands to participate and engage with this audience.

What opportunities does eSports open up for a brand like Duracell?

Gamers, whether they are console or PC gamers, go through a lot of batteries. ESports gives Duracell an opportunity to establish a relationship with these consumers allowing the brand to showcase our product in a real and authentic way.

How has the entry of more mainstream brands like Coke and American Express impacted eSports with more traditional brands like Duracell?

Our entry to eSports is solely based on the fact that Duracell has an authentic tie-in with the game because we are the power behind the game.

How does live streaming help Duracell connect with the elusive Millennial gaming audience?

Live streaming is huge amongst this audience, so we are just leveraging that platform to connect in the way the audience wants to connect and engage with the brand. It’s an incredible opportunity to have consumers who engage over 20 hours a week on a platform like Twitch.

How important is it for everyone to walk away with a prize from this event with the t-shirts, and connecting with gamers in a positive way?

The important thing is that everybody has a good time playing the tournament, so our intent to give out prizes to even the person that finished in last place is a way of showing our appreciation to the gamers and to thank them for participating in the Duracell Longest Lasting event.

Mobile Game Revenue Zooms For 2015

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There’s no question that the mobile game scene has exploded in popularity in the last few years, with both premium and free-to-play games making millions of dollars across the board. According to Newzoo, this could be the year that global sales from mobile games finally overtake those from console video games.

An article over at Fortune indicates that Newzoo recently raised its 2014 global revenue forecast from $21.7 billion to $25 billion, with the new total equating to a 43 percent increase over mobile game revenues recorded for the previous year.

With mobile gaming growing past a particular market, Peter Warman, chief executive for Newzoo, believes there’s plenty of room for revenue to grow. For 2014, the North American mobile market has boomed to a whopping 51 percent year over year, while Western Europe was close behind with a 47 percent increase. Perhaps the largest growing market, however, was in Southeast Asia and China, where numbers have grown a significant 86 percent.

“Despite a widely reported slump in new tablet unit sales, game revenues on tablets are growing faster than smartphones, cementing the position of tablets as a key gaming device,” said Warman. “Smartphones and tablets have given gamers two new screens to play games on in addition to their TV and PC screen.

“Because U.S. consumers use all four screens, mobile gaming does not replace console or PC gaming. Moreover, it gives gamers the possibility to play games anywhere at any time, pushing overall time spent on games in the U.S. up 40 percent in only two years.”

With that, mobile gaming will easily overtake console gaming growth, where despite strong console sales by Microsoft and Sony, the sales of console game software is still showing mild growth at best.

“Initially, online casual and social network games suffered revenue losses because of mobile games growth,” said Warman. “This year, for the first time, we see signs that it is taking its toll on the global growth of PC and console gaming.

Newzoo predicts that mobile games will generate $30.3 billion worldwide, compared to console games making $26.4 billion. That means both markets are still quite a big deal, but there appears to be a new leader in town if these estimates hold up.

North America will still see dominance on the console front, with $24.05 billion in overall game revenue, with mobile holding $7.2 billion and consoles performing with $11.1 billion. In other markets, however, things will certainly change – especially in Asia and China.

“Playing games on the TV or PC will not disappear,” said Vincent van Deesen, market analyst for Newzoo. “They are different screens, each with their own right of existence. What we see happening now is that money spent on games is gradually being spent more equally across all four screens.

“Ultimately, this could be 25 percent for TV, 25 percent for PC, 25 percent for tablets and handhelds, and 25 percent for phones. In the U.S., the percentages are 44 percent, 26 percent, 15 percent and 15 percent respectively. On a global scale, the split is closer to the theoretical situation: 28 percent, 39 percent, 13 percent and 20 percent. Time spent on games have already shown a close-to-equal split across screens for years,” he explained.

More details on the report can be found here.

Nintendo Tries Free-To-Play Pokémon

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Nintendo has already proven that the Pokémon franchise can be a true best seller for the 3DS handheld, as its numerous releases, like Pokémon X and Y, have sold millions of copies without breaking a sweat. Next month, it’ll introduce the popular brand to the handheld once again, but this time in a new format for the franchise – free-to-play.

Pokémon Shuffle is a new game that was announced during yesterday’s Nintendo Direct online presentation, a match-three style puzzle game that has some traits in common with King’s wildly popular Candy Crush Saga games. Players will match up Pokémon style characters as they do damage to enemies and move on, only having a certain number of lives before they’ll need to wait to refill – or pay a small fee to do it automatically.

The game’s arrival on the portable front is a push for not only the Pokémon franchise, but also for the company’s New Nintendo 3DS system, which will be making its debut on U.S. shores next month. Granted, the game will still work with older 3DS systems, so audiences that paid for previous Pokémon adventures won’t be unfairly shut out.

Nintendo has dabbled with free-to-play games before, but this is one of the first efforts from the company that revolves around such a popular franchise – and a match-three concept that directly butts heads with the likes of King’s mobile library.

This game isn’t the only one that Nintendo hopes will compete with the mobile market as far as the 3DS is concerned. Puzzle & Dragons Z has been confirmed for a U.S. release sometime this spring, combined with the previous announced Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Edition.

Pokémon Shuffle doesn’t have a release date yet, but Nintendo is expected to release it sometime this spring, in the midst of the new Nintendo 3DS’ arrival at retail. The game’s debut trailer is below.

Brands Hesitate Over Snapchat Ad Fee

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Snapchat is no doubt a popular app these days, with thousands of users engaging in a variety of conversations and sharing million of pictures on a daily basis. That has the company believing that it has a strong advertising model in place, one that could bring a number of partners into the fold. However, the process isn’t quite going over as smoothly as planned…

Adweek is reporting that the company is asking brands for $750,000 on a daily basis for its new ads. This is a little steep, especially considering that the ads won’t be on the screen permanently, instead just flashing between pictures being posted on users’ feeds. As a result, some companies are questioning the worth of such a program.

The company just started running ads late last year, starting with Universal Pictures’ Ouija horror film. It’s met with some success, but it’s left the company feeling overconfident, feeling as if it’s on the same level as a TV-style commercial space with access to millions of users.

The program has drawn in McDonald’s, Samsung, Electronic Arts and other companies, with quick videos and photos being shown in-between messages. However, with the new asking rate, some are wondering if it’s worth sticking around.

“They (Snapchat) have minimums, and they are very firm on them,” one agency executive explained when it came to the company’s approach. “From a monetization perspective, they are looking for fewer, bigger, better.”

While there’s no doubt that the ads would have huge outreach with the 100 million monthly users on the app, it’s still quite a risk, due to the lack of sophistication and limited outreach capabilities. There’s also no way to really see the effectiveness of an ad based on numbers, with a lack of age breakouts, according to the executive. “It’s very hard for marketers to get their hands around advertising that is so ephemeral,” they explained.

Universal has stated that Snapchat was a very effective part of its advertising, but the question of price still comes into play. A top executive for another major brand stated, “I’m a big fan of Snapchat, but they are going to market with rates that are significantly higher than what’s competitive out there. It is difficult to go forward with a deal with Snapchat at the prices they are quoting.”

The rate is also quite higher than what YouTube charges for its daily ads, going at around $500,000 a pop – and that’s a more effective means of advertising, with room for video aplenty compared to static ads that disappear.

“I don’t think Snapchat can get what it’s asking,” said the exec. “They’re going to have to negotiate down.”

Snapchat had no comment on the new ad rates.

Twitch Adds Music Marketing to Streaming

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Millions of users turn to Twitch when it comes to broadcasting their gameplay sessions and other events to a wide audience, but some were a little bitter last year when the company introduced copyright protection software that would block out audio from certain songs on their streams. However, today, Twitch came up with a viable solution that should certainly ease the tension in this area – a curated music library.

According to TechCrunch, Twitch has launched a new Music Library service, which users can use to play in the background of their gaming sessions without fear of having their audio blocked out. The 500-song collection is consistently curated, and can be used in any broadcast for no charge to broadcasters. It’s not only helping make streams more interesting, it’s helping music makers market their tunes.

The service is a win-win for the company, as it also opens up a venue for artists that are looking to expand their exposure to a wider audience. “Music labels came to us saying, “We’d love to work with you to get our music into the hands of broadcasters to help promote albums launching,” said Twitch Chief Strategy Officer Colin Carrier, speaking with TechCrunch. “There’s already a growing backlog of things we want to add to this. This is something we want to add to monthly, weekly even.”

Some strong labels have already signed on with the service. Monstercat provides a heaping dose of powerful electronic music that will help energize various gameplay sessions (whether they’re Call of Duty or League of Legends), and others are expected to be on board soon with their various offerings.

In addition, the deal could open up exposure to more artists taking part in gameplay sessions. Last month, popular DJ DeadMau5 took part in a Diablo III session on his devoted Twitch channel, attracting a large audience of viewers.

Electronic music isn’t the only focus of the music service, as Carrier is also looking into bringing various bands that focus on hip-hop, alternative rock and metal as well.

Twitch is also pushing artists to produce their tracks live and also check each others’ work over through promotional streams, as suggested on its page. This could help broaden a new music-based community for the channel, and, on top of that, expand the tunes that users can utilize on a regular basis. Interested artists with a large YouTube following are being directed to an online application to take part in the program.

While this won’t quite give users the freedom to blare whatever tunes they see fit (sorry, most of the big boys are still copyrighted), this at the very least provides a new venue for users to take advantage of, whether they’re an avid game player or an up-and-coming musician.

5 Defining Trends In Digital Media

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By: Jessica Klein

As pay-TV subscriber numbers go down and investment dollars in digital-first media companies go up, you can feel these trends shaping the future of video. Content is getting more global, brands are becoming publishers, and traditional media companies are trying to get their slice of the online video pie.

See the infographic…

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

Vimeo and Maker Studios’ Exclusivity Deal

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There’s no question that YouTube is a juggernaut when it comes to creating superstars with original content in all sorts of genres, from gaming to entertainment. But this week, Vimeo has made a deal that could see some of the talent coming its way.

The company has formed an alliance with Disney’s Maker Studios, which will bring over a number of formidable talents that will create exclusive video-on-demand content for its channel.

Through the deal, Maker will provide Vimeo with access to its 55,000 creators for distributed content, which will then be put on its video-on-demand platform. In addition, Vimeo will also pay out of pocket for original content from several talents at Maker, which will be released through exclusivity windows throughout this year, according to Variety.

“Thus far, YouTube creators have been monetizing through ads,” said Greg Clayman, general manager of Vimeo Audience Networks. “This lets Maker go to their creators to choose to window content, or distribute original content, in addition free, ad-supported video.”

Maker is no stranger to housing content away from YouTube, as it previously formed its own Maker.tv channel. But this opens up a whole new venue for the team. “Maker is always excited to create original programs that reach audiences across platforms, and Vimeo will be a great partner to distribute new ideas,” said Maker chief strategy officer Courtney Holt.

No projects have been confirmed with Maker just yet, nor any of its individual creators, but Vimeo is hard at work figuring out what to do with it. “It’s a fabulous talent pool to work with,” said Clayman. “Maker has tremendous reach in terms of promoting content, across their network.”

The deal also provides a little more leisure with exclusivity than the previously announced plan with the Vessel service, which came last year. “We’re not saying, ‘Hey, put your content here three days in advance and we’ll charge X,'” explained Clayman. With that, the team hasn’t ruled out the possibility of subscription channels, which would be owned and run by content owners over at Maker.

This should be good news for Vimeo, and provide some strong content as YouTube prepares its own possible subscription services sometime this year.