YouTube international channel rush

YouTube has confirmed it is rolling out its original channels initiative, launched in the US last year, to the UK, France and Germany. At Mipcom, VP and global head of content Robert Kyncl said YouTube will launch at least 46 new European channels over the coming months from major producers including such as All3Media, and BBC Worldwide in the UK; UFA/FremantleMedia and Endemol in Germany; and Kabo Productions in France. Among the biggest beneficiaries of the scheme are: Shine Group-owned online producer ChannelFlip, which will make a version of its new HuHa channel available in all three territories and launch an additional channel called The Multiverse in the UK; video technology firm Base79, which is involved in three of the new channels; and Endemol, which will run three of the new channels, one in France and two in Germany. The European roll-out follows the launch of YouTube’s 100 channels platform in the US last year, with US$100m in upfront payments against ad revenue to lure big-name channels to the site. Kyncl said: “Given the success of these and the tens of millions of other amazing channels already out there, we still know there’s more great content to find, follow and fall in love with on YouTube. That’s why today, we’re launching a new generation of original channels coming from France, Germany, the UK and the US.” He revealed that YouTube’s top 25 original channels in the US now average more than a million views each week. It has been reported that YouTube owner Google has promised a further $200m investment in bringing the new channels.