Will Keenan has had a very busy last few months. The online video executive and former Maker Studios Vice President left his position as President of Endemol Beyond USA in August 2015. A month later, Keenan announced his move to the live streaming startup Streamup, where his role is President and Chief Content Officer.

As his new position indicates, Keenan is bullish on the immense potential live streaming offers digital creators and the entire online video industry as a whole (both in terms of exposure and revenue-generating potential). The Streamup President will appear at Stream Con NYC at the end of October to speak about his views on how live streaming is the next form of television, so Tubefilter decided to catch up with him beforehand to talk all things live broadcasting and Streamup’s role in this burgeoning video realm.

Tubefilter: Why start another live streaming platform? What does Streamup offer that other platforms don’t?

Will Keenan: If Periscope’s recently been called “the Twitter of live video” then Streamup’s now becoming “the Netflix of live video.” Streamup’s the first Premium Live-Streaming Platform (PLP? 😉 ) and we’re just now starting to make history by also becoming the first live-streaming platform to actually develop, finance, and produce original, high-quality live series and interactive shows (…and many in partnership with star talent & top content creators from both the traditional & digital spaces).

Live-streaming is one of, if not THE fastest, growing form of content in the digital space, and within just our first year Streamup attracted a huge, very engaged global community audience of over 21 million monthly active users (and still growing fast!) where our creators and StreamupStars can produce very high-quality premium live content. The company’s initial focus when founded last year by genius Kyle Michelson was as a group video-chatting platform, and when Streamup started experiencing a massive growth explosion of its user-base and viewership it was actually the global Streamup community itself that led the way in the direction to our recent premium enhancement of the platform by offering Pro-streaming tools and audience engagement features that go beyond any other platform. Streamup provides an entertainment experience that’s truly “TV for the digital age.”

TF: How has the reception been for Streamup? Can you give us stats or stories you’re proud of?

WK: The reception to Streamup from millions of people around the world has been overwhelmingly positive, and Streamup’s gigantic growth of streamers and viewers in such a short time very well may be unprecedented. In less than one year, Streamup’s user-base exploded from 10,000 monthly active users (MAUs) to well over 21 million today. One of the most impressive aspects to me about Streamup’s ground-breaking rise in popularity in record time is the fact that so far it’s only been on desktop! We now launch our mobile Streamup apps for iOS and Android during these next few months, and I expect Streamup’s over-21 million monthly active users to increase even faster as well as get much bigger. 

TF: What is the internal Streamup team most excited about for the company?

WK: During the company’s first year, Streamup purposely stayed under the radar and maintained a low-profile but then they brought on board a guy like me as President of the company. 🙂 So now, in addition to the upcoming launch of Streamup’s mobile apps, we’re also moving full-speed ahead on our incredibly generous monetization plans for creators since one of Michelson’s and my main goals is for our talent and creators to make a real living with live-streaming by empowering our stars to create the highest quality content of any live-streaming platform. I’m personally also very excited to launch Streamup’s many original live programming initiatives. Streamup’s overall mission is to create original premium live series and high-quality interactive shows that surpasses anything seen on TV.

TF: Tell us a bit more about Streamup’s ideas for developing talent and live TV programming.

WK: There are currently many great talent on Streamup building massive global audiences, but even though Streamup’s already huge as far as audience, this is really just beginning of Streamup’s creation of another “star discovery” system. YouTube created its own “star system,” as then so did Vine, Instagram, and Snapchat, and right now is THE time to actually become a Streamup Star (and one who is actually able to make money creating high-quality content). In addition, I’ll soon be announcing top talent in production deals that will premiere new live shows on Streamup, and I’ll also be announcing a number of major strategic partnerships with prolific content companies and top series producers.

I think it’s high-time and quite possible to now develop online a new live variety show brand that can last for 40 years, much like Lorne Michaels did with SNL on NBC. I can also envision creating a live, breaking news brand hosted by young influencers (much like CNN was able to do did on cable many years ago). And just imagine people’s favorite TV or online series format genres now becoming LIVE shows. Live prank shows, live beauty tutorials, live reality shows, live comedy, live music, live shopping, live movies, the possibilities really are endless. Just look at the huge viewership at what’s been called the “slow content movement” where fans will watch a live-stream for eith months to see eggs hatch like NYU’s “hawk cam.”

Streamup’s already currently in development on many these concepts and more. We’ll soon start announcing premiere dates of all our original live shows and exclusive programming, so GET RRREADY! 🙂

TF: Live streaming video games has obviously done really well for platforms like Twitch, but where do you think the live streaming craze is going to go next in terms of content/programming over the next few years? And what place will Streamup have in it?

WK: Each platform seems (or actively attempts) to have its own unique approach; some will be focused on gaming like YouTube Gaming and Twitch, others are more regional like YY in China, and some are User-Generated-Content-quality “one-click” services, etc.

At Streamup, we’re laser-focused on our our large, global audience of 16-35 year olds who have long since cord-cut their cable plans, though still desire to consume anytime and anywhere quality entertainment. Everyone can think of Streamup as not just a live-streaming platform and more as a real-time entertainment platform. What we’re doing at Streamup (and I hope others are able to soon follow) will ultimately completely replace TV.

TF: What kinds of creators are seeing success on Streamup?

WK: The new Streamup Stars and content creators on our platform are seeing success across all genres, from talk shows, music series, podcasts, Q&As, live cooking formats, gameplay, you name it. But the overall metric leading to success on Streamup has been high-quality, entertaining content.

There’s less of a UGC-type feel on the Streamup platform unlike other live-streaming services, so Streamup’s been said to not really be the real-time platform for any “rando just streaming himself walking his dog” or “some suit streaming his quarterly earnings call.” Moreso, the type of content succeeding on Streamup is of a higher quality and usually very well-produced by talented creators. Streamup also happens to have a huge audience all over Asia who really seem to enjoy watching live karaoke, gambling, and more.

TF: What are some of Streamup’s goals for the coming year?

WK: Over the next year, Streamup will continue to launch new stars, will keep growing massively, will launch many successful premium original live series and interactive shows, and will further experiment with innovative ways to facilitate the creation of original content and support for new technologies to make the entire experience even more immersive. In short, it’s gonna be a very big year ahead for Streamup. #DiveIntoLIVE #TurnupStreamup

You can hear more from Keenan and other online video executives at Stream Con NYC. Get your tickets here.

Filed under: Articles, News, Stream Con NYC, Streamup by Bree Brouwer
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With about a year to go until the 2016 presidential election, Democratic and Republican candidates are crisscrossing the nation in search of support. At the same time, the candidates are also battling each other online. Ad-tech platform Strike Social has compiled some data on the presidential candidates, and it has determined that Hillary Clinton has made the biggest push on YouTube–at least thus far.

A big theme on the Democratic side of the presidential race has Bernie Sanders’ populist rise, which has been fueled in part by his appeal to younger voters. He hasn’t, however, translated his success with young people into success on YouTube, where he has gained just 2.4 million views. That’s barely one-third of the 6.96 million views Clinton has gained on her videos.

An online video narrative more consistent with the current political situation is the fractured nature of the Republican Party on YouTube. While Republican candidates have uploaded close to 700 more videos than their Democratic counterparts, the two candidates with the most views are both Democrats–Clinton and Sanders. Donald Trump, for all his bravado, has managed just 1.6 million views on his campaign’s YouTube channel, and most of the other Republican candidates are behind him in that category.

Clinton’s YouTube advantage isn’t necessarily indicative of a stronger strategy, though her campaign has shown interest in the online video community. Instead, she’s benefited from the popularity of her campaign announcement video, which went viral to the tune of 4.8 million views. The truth is that very few 2016 presidential candidates have attempted to engage with viewers on YouTube in any meaningful way. The one exception is Ben Carson, who appealed to young voters with an interview directed specifically at teens.

President Obama showed us YouTube can be a potent political tool, which is why it is so odd that the 2016 candidates don’t seem to be using the video site much. Perhaps the upcoming debates–including October 13th’s Democratic tussle–will energize the political race on YouTube. Of course, if the candidates don’t provide any content, new viewers won’t show up, and in that case, YouTube will become a missed opportunity more than anything else.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Politics, Strike Social by Sam Gutelle
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Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have a new project in the works with a popular digital talent. The duo behind the critically-acclaimed and recently-concluded Comedy Central sketch comedy show Key & Peele will executive produce an untitled comedy series for Fox, starring Viner Andrew Bachelor (aka King Bach).

Written by Key & Peele’s Alex Rubens, the upcoming Fox comedy is, according to Deadline, based on a Vine from Bach. The series stars the famous Viner as an undercover cop who grew up on the streets and goes back to the neighborhood he hails from to exact revenge on the bullies who messed with him when he was a kid. Rubens will executive produce the Fox comedy alongside Key and Peele.

Over the years, Bach has made quite the name for himself on Vine. As of March 2015, the digital celebrity claimed the title of most-followed Viner (beating out fellow short-form video creator Nash Grier). On his ascension to claim the top spot on Twitters’s six-seconde video platform, Bach has also held several acting roles in traditional entertainment on shows like The Mindy Project (now at Hulu) and House of Lies. The burgeoning entertainment personality also signed on as a host alongside DeStorm Power for a new season of Punk’D on the cable channel BET.

As for Key and Peele, the pair of funny men are no stranger to the digital world themselves. The duo’s sketches on Comedy Central’s YouTube channel routinely pull in millions of views (Key and Peele even tried convincing their video viewers to move over to their linear television show). The comedians have appeared on a video for Epic Rap Battles of History, and more recently teamed with Maker Studios for a comedy series called Ithamar Has Nothing To Say.

No release date has been announced for Fox’s untitled comedy starring King Bach as of yet.

Filed under: Articles, FOX, Key and Peele, King Bach, News by Bree Brouwer
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Vlogger and My Drunk Kitchen star Hannah Hart has rolled up millions of views on YouTube and emerged as one of the video site’s biggest stars. Hart’s popularity has made her into a role model for many young women, and that status allows her to connect with her viewers on important issues. In a recent video, she tackles the subject of mental health alongside a very special guest: Actress Glenn Close.

Close comes onto Hart’s channel not as Cruella de Vil but as the founder of Bring Change 2 Mind, a nonprofit that works to eradicate mental health stigma in schools. Hart has a lot of fans who are of scholastic age, and they are ideal recipients for Close’s message. In a four-and-a-half minute video, Hart and Close talk about the steps needed to improve our society’s relationship with mental illness. Close also discusses mental illness as it relates to her own family; she has a sister who lives with bipolar disorder and a nephew who has a schizoaffective disorder.

The video is the latest instance of a YouTube star facing students and offering up a PSA of sorts. Tyler Oakley, for example, teamed up with First Lady Michelle Obama to extol the benefits of higher education.

For Hart, the collaboration joins the other videos she has made alongside well-known actresses. In addition to Close, she has also hung out with Mary Louise Parker and Sarah Silverman. She has also talked about mental health on her channel in the past, particularly in a video featuring fellow YouTuber Kati Morton. Her latest video arrives just after the end Mental Illness Awareness Week, and her contribution to the ongoing mental health discussion is worth watching.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Hannah Hart, News by Sam Gutelle
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YouTube is opening up its digital doors to more overseas countries. Google’s online video site (which recently made improvements to its thumbnail image selection) has expanded globally with more local versions of its site based in west Asia, the Baltics, and the Adriatics.

In a company blog post, YouTube writes how roughly 80% of the site’s billions of daily video views come from outside the U.S. In order to better serve these international viewers and connect them with their local YouTube communities, Google’s online video site launched local country versions in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus, as well as more countries in the Baltics (like Lithuania) and Adriatics (like Serbia and Bulgaria). Across the entire world, YouTube now runs 85 total local versions of its site, which is available in 76 different languages.

An added benefit of these new local video hubs means creators in those regions can start benefiting from YouTube’s monetization and creator offerings. Creators such as Kazakhstan’s DynastyofCat (a DIY channel with over 300,000 subscribers) and Belarus-based vlogger DimaErmuzevich (more than 400,000 subscribers) can now become YouTube partners, monetize their content, access the YouTube Creator Academy, connect in the Creator Community forums, and more.

“We hope that this will allow more creators to bring more of their ideas and talents to YouTube for all of us to enjoy,” wrote YouTube’s Head of EMEA Online Partnerships Marenco Kemp in the company blog post. “So whether you’re viewing us from youtube.by, youtube.kz, or youtube.bg, you’ve now got your own YouTube that not only connects you with a community of a billion people, but helps you see the creativity going on right in your backyard.”

Filed under: Articles, News, YouTube by Bree Brouwer
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Filmmaker Freddie Wong and his team at RocketJump are set to star in their first TV-style series, but we’ll have to wait longer than we initially thought to see it. RocketJump: The Show, a Hulu series initially slated for an October 21st premiere, has been pushed back to December 2nd.

RocketJump: The Show will go behind-the-scenes of the production company’s effects-heavy short films. Each episode will focus on a different video, following it from its inception to its release. In June, showrunner Ben M. Waller described the upcoming program as “a little bit BTS, a little bit action comedy extravaganza, and hopefully a lotta bit of heart.”

The show’s teaser, which RocketJump shared in June, can still be viewed on the studio’s YouTube channel, which has more than 7.6 million subscribers.

Hulu did not say why it pushed back RocketJump: The Show, though the new date allows the streaming video platform to better spread out its original programs. News of the RocketJump delay comes one week after the premiere of Casual, a Hulu original series directed by Jason Reitman.

While we wait for RocketJump: The Show to arrive, the studio’s other videos provide plenty of entertainment. You can find those videos on the RocketJump website.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Hulu, News, RocketJump by Sam Gutelle
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We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now.  Read previous installments here. 

Sometimes, with a web series, simplicity is key. Roommates, a new offering from creators Greg Barris and Michael Pomranz, doesn’t try to do too much, but what it does, it does well.

The stars of Roommates are Barris, a New York City comedian, and Bridey Elliott, an actress we’ve seen around these parts before. As you might guess, their characters, Greg and Fiona, live together. They’re not, however, romantically linked. Instead, they verbally combat each other with quiet, steady, dialogue. The first episode, which concerns Fiona’s crush on a maintenance man, has a bunch of strong lines and manages to knit itself together very nicely in the end. It’s also, as Bedford + Bowery points out, based on one of Barris’ stand-up comedy bits.

Roommates won’t blow you away, but it should do just enough to get you to stick around. Keep an eye on its YouTube channel if you want to see new episodes as they come out.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• That Reminds Me. This family comedy has the look and feel of a classic sitcom.
• What Exit? The latest series about young people trying to find themselves takes us to New Jersey.
• AutocorrectFU. The funniest autocorrect fails on the Internet are brought to life.
• Unfinished Stories. Dark, shadowy camera angles populate this horror web series.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Indie Spotlight, News by Sam Gutelle
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Joey Graceffa has just revealed his entire coming out story for a very worthy cause. The YouTube star teamed with non-profit organization The Ad Council as part of its Creators for Good project to create an exclusive coming out explanation video in support of the Love Has No Labels campaign.

The Ad Council’s Creators for Good initiative, which launched in April 2015, seeks to team up with YouTube celebrities to inspire positive change by creating original content about a social issue important to each creator. Graceffa originally came out via a music video in May 2015. The vlogger’s new video covers his coming out story, and promotes the Ad Council’s Love Has No Labels message, which a release says is to “rethink your bias.” 

Over the course of almost 19 minutes, Graceffa tells his story straight to the camera in a candid, no jump-cuts video. The successful book author explains how he grew up thinking being gay was something disgusting, but how he felt attracted to both men and women. Graceffa says he first came out as bisexual to one of his best female friends, and only later realized he was gay before telling his sister and then his parents. Graceffa concludes the video by saying, “I’m just so happy to be a part of a time where we all embrace diversity.”

“Now that I’ve come out to my audience, I want to use my platform to help those struggling to come to terms with their sexuality or other aspects of their lives,” said Graceffa, who boasts 5.2 million subscribers and more than 607 million video views on his channel. “I realized how much other people’s beliefs had held me back, and I want to let my audiences know that it’s okay to be who we are and embrace each other’s differences.” And that honest and empathetic statement couldn’t have come at a better time in the calendar year, as National Coming Out Day is just around the corner on October 11.

Graceffa isn’t the only YouTube creator working with The Ad Council on its Creators for Good initiative. In July 2015, beauty and lifestyle vlogger Meghan Rienks released a video to raise awareness for dating violence. The Ad Council is also working with other digital stars like Grace Helbig and Justine Ezarik (aka iJustine) on other video messages.

You can learn more about Love Has No Labels on the campaign’s official site. You can also check out more of the Ad Council’s projects at adcouncil.org.

Filed under: Ad Council, Articles, Joey Graceffa, News by Bree Brouwer
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The Internet’s answer to Dancing with the Stars has returned for its latest rendition, but you’ll need to be a Vessel subscriber if you want to be one of the first people to see it. Dance Showdown, which pairs digital media stars with professional dancers and pits those pairings against one another in a series of challenges, has launched its fourth season.

The contestants who are taking part in season four of Dance Showdown are a varied bunch, ranging from magician Brian Brushwood to Viner Gabbie Hanna. Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval, who has led the show since its inception, returns as host, and brands like Toyota, Coca-Cola, and Nook have come on board by sponsoring challenges within the new season.

The first episode of season four is available on DanceOn’s Vessel channel, where potential viewers must own a $2.99-per-month subscription if they want to watch. If you’d rather wait for the series to go elsewhere, it will land on YouTube on October 13th, with new episodes arriving each week on DanceOn’s YouTube channel.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, D-trix Presents Dance Showdown, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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Rooster Teeth is ready to show audiences the new season of its popular anime web series. The Austin-based production company will release RWBY: Volume 3 on October 24, 2015.

RWBY: Volume 3 will follow the story of the four main characters Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, all of whom are students at Beacon Academy training as Huntresses to defeat monsters in the fictional world of Remnant. The four young women will compete against other Huntsmen and Huntresses in the Vytal Festival Tournament (on a new animated set that was unveiled earlier this year at RTX 2015 ) to see who will bring fame and glory to their respective realms. However, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang will have to watch out for those at the Festival whose intentions are far less honorable than their own.

Rooster Teeth will release RWBY: Volume 3 on October 24 only for sponsors, the company’s fans who pay a premium fee to gain early access to content. Sponsors can access the newest season of RWBY through the Rooster Teeth site or through the production house’s updated app. RWBY: Volume 3 will be available to the public starting October 25.

“Rooster Teeth is ecstatic for the return of RWBY and the upcoming premiere of Volume 3! We couldn’t be prouder of the team and everything they’ve accomplished,” said Gray G. Haddock, Head of Rooster Teeth Animation, in a release. “We’re constantly amazed at how the series has been embraced by the audience — we owe so much to the fans that have been there from the beginning, and our community can’t wait to welcome all the new fans joining us from overseas as RWBY Volume 1 is released in Japan by WB this November. A sincere thanks to everyone who has supported the show and the crew this year – we can’t wait to share the further adventures of team RWBY with you!”  

You can watch RWBY: Volume 3 starting October 24 on RoosterTeeth.com or its corresponding iOS or Android app.

Filed under: Articles, News, Rooster Teeth, Web Series by Bree Brouwer
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Sometime in the first week of October, Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again” surpassed one billion views on YouTube. In doing so, it became the tenth video to reach that milestone, joining a selective club of music videos.

The videos in the billion-views club, however, have more in common than just their shared tunefulness. Eight of them debuted in 2015, making this the year when one billion views stopped being a novelty–as it was when “Gangnam Style” became the first video to hit ten digits back in 2012–and became a bonafide trend.

The increasing number of videos with one billion views doesn’t necessarily represent a change in viewing habits among YouTube users. Simply put, there are more people watching online video than ever before, and that in turn creates more viewers who use YouTube as their personal jukebox. “For ten years, the Billion View Club was one of the most exclusive circles on YouTube,” reads a release from Youtube, “but in 2015, things changed.” YouTube has marked this change with a graph that shows the rise of the ten billion-view videos over time:

It’s not just the number of billion-view videos that is increasing; the rate at which these videos reach ten digits is also on the up-and-up. “See You Again” needed just six months to achieve one billion views. That speed is eclipsed only by “Gangnam Style,” which went from zero to one billion in just five months.

The evidence is clear: There is an accelerating trend of music video viewership on YouTube, and there is “Gangnam Style,” a great, hilarious, horse-dancing outlier. Psy’s 2012 hit isn’t the only video with a billion views anymore, but it’s still the only one with two billion, and it will be a long time before “See You Again”–or any other music video, for that matter–achieves such a lofty view count.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, YouTube by Sam Gutelle
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It’s been a big two weeks for CollegeHumor. First, on September 29th, the comedy website premiered Adam Ruins Everything on TruTV. Nine days later, it launched another TV show by bringing viewers the first episode of Middle of the Night Show, a late-night MTV talk show.

The host of Middle of the Night Show is CollegeHumor personality Brian Murphy, though he mostly functions as a master of ceremonies. The real stars of the show are its celebrity guest hosts, who are ambushed in their beds in the middle of the night and asked to host a talk show on the spot. It’s a fun idea, although it may not wholly original. Leading up to Middle of the Night Show’s premiere, Seth Rogen called it out on Twitter, where he claimed it to be a copy of a previous sketch concept.

Your mileage may vary on whether Rogen’s claims are valid, but no matter Middle of the Night Show’s originality, it is hilariously well-executed. In a well-trafficked clip from the first episode, CollegeHumor’s camera crew and its adorable travelling pit band join Murphy as he surprises actor Thomas Middleditch. The Silicon Valley star is then forced to identify the guest who has snuck into his bed, but there’s a twist: Middleditch happens to be completely naked at the time.

MTV first announced Middle of the Night Show back in April. It is produced by CollegeHumor’s studio, Big Breakfast.

Along with Adam Ruins Everything (which has received warm reviews), Middle of the Night Show forecasts a lot of success for CollegeHumor’s TV push. You can check out new episodes each Thursday at 11 PM EST on MTV.

Filed under: Articles, CollegeHumor, Featured, MTV, News by Sam Gutelle
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