YouTube will invest in original content by some of its most popular stars, giving top video creators an even bigger bump in the online space.
Details of the digital investments are still in flux. The post on YouTube’s blog, titled “Investing in Creativity,” didn’t give specifics on the amount being invested or which stars would receive the assistance. An individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap there’s no official timeline and YouTube will be open to great ideas made on a case-by-case basis.
“We feel the time is right to make another important investment in our creators,” wrote Alex Carloss, head of YouTube Originals, in his blog post. “That’s why we’ve decided to fund new content from some of our top creators, helping them not only fulfill their creative ambitions but also deliver new material to their millions of fans on YouTube.”
Also read: Lionsgate Acquires YouTube Star’s Film ‘The SMOSH Movie’
Hollywood is definitely seeing value in the latest YouTube personalities. On Thursday, Lionsgate acquired the distribution rights to “The SMOSH Movie,” starring YouTube sensations Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, who combine to form SMOSH. SMOSH is the largest content brand for 13-17-year-olds, boasting over 30 million combined YouTube subscribers, 19 million social followers and 12 million monthly unique website visitors.
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“As any creator will tell you, making compelling new content isn’t easy, and we expect to learn a lot through this process,” Carloss wrote. “We’ll experiment with new formats and ideas. We’ll get our hands dirty. We’ll make some mistakes. Together, we’ll (hopefully) create some fantastic new content on YouTube. But one thing is certain: There’s no one we’d rather go on this adventure with than our creators.”