YouNow just added a large chunk of change to its coffers. The live streaming social app and video chat service, founded in 2011 by CEO Adi Sideman, has announced a $15 million round of funding.

YouNow is described in a release as “the live social network that connects audiences and broadcasters in real time.” Users can broadcast live to viewers and interact with them, as well as monetize their streams through virtual goods. For example, while viewers can chat with a creator for free, they can also choose to purchase gifts for the broadcaster or pay for their own highlighted chat messages to stand out from all the other messages from the other fans of any particular creator. YouNow broadcasters receive a portion of these earnings; Sideman told The VideoInk in May 2015 his company saw $1 million per month flow through the platform.

YouNow’s newest influx of cash will help the live streaming social app develop its offerings and expand on its current business. The app and web platform’s previous investors include Venrock and Oren Zeev, who led this new $15 million round. Comcast Ventures also joined the round and is YouNow’s newest investor.

“YouNow has struck a chord with young audiences who crave and are increasingly willing to pay for real-time video-based interactivity,” said Sam Landman, Managing Director at Comcast Ventures, in a release. “YouNow’s virtual goods economy is enabling the most dedicated creators to build rewarding careers on the social network, based entirely on their talents. We’re excited to support the team and their vision.”

“The addition of Comcast Ventures to our family of backers underscores our success in building a real-time social network that fulfills the needs of a younger, digitally savvy generation that is eager to participate in media and not just consume it,” added Sideman. “We are proud that many of our creators make their livings live-broadcasting on YouNow. We urge creative people to broadcast on YouNow and find their audience.”

YouNow currently claims 100 million active monthly users and 50,000 hours of new live video content each day.

Filed under: Articles, News, YouNow by Bree Brouwer
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As the online video industry grows more popular around the world, the companies that run multi-channel networks (MCNs) on YouTube are developing international ambitions. Two of those companies are AwesomenessTV and Endemol Beyond, which have teamed up for a multi-year deal that will bring owned-and-operated AwesomenessTV channels to multiple foreign countries.

Through the terms of the deal, Endemol Beyond will launch new, local-language channels in countries like the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Brazil. The channels will leverage the creators from within the AwesomenessTV network while also seeking to “incubate new talent and verticals across the network,” according to a press release. The new channels will also make use of several AwesomenessTV programs, including Cheerleaders and IMO. The partnership between the two MCNs will also result in long-form programming for distribution across digital and TV platforms.

The partnership between Endemol Beyond and AwesomenessTV continues the international expansion that has been central to both companies’ respective plans over the past year. AwesomenessTV recently announced an expansion to Canada through a deal with DHX Media. Endemol Beyond’s new initiatives include an Asian division headquartered in Singapore.

The countries targeted by the new deal are all hotbeds of online video expansion. Specifically, the two most recent YouTube Spaces to be announced will arrive in Rio de Janeiro and Paris.

“Partnering with Endemol Shine Group will enable us to expand our footprint to reach teen audiences in their local languages with content produced just for them,” said Brian Robbins, CEO and Founder of AwesomenessTV, in a release. “We will also be able to offer creative talent in these markets the same opportunities as those in the U.S., including brand deals, marketing support and premium production.”

In total, AwesomenessTV’s multi-channel network contains more than 90,000 channels.

Filed under: Articles, AwesomenessTV, Endemol Beyond, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by OpenSlate. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

It’s another installment of the weekly Tubefilter Chart of the Top 50 Most Viewed U.S. YouTube Channels and an American entertainment organization is still in the top spot.

Chart Toppers

At the top of the chart yet again this week is WWE. The YouTube home of clips and video highlights from World Wrestling Entertainment events held onto its championship belt, slamming down more than 96.3 million views on the week. Next up is FunToyzCollector (aka the channel previously known as DisneyCollectorBR). The most well-known of all the children’s toys and unboxing channels online opened up nearly 84.3 million views during the seven-day time period.

In third place is BuzzFeedVideo. The premiere YouTube offshoot of the popular social website known for its hard news and listicles ended the week with more than 77.4 million views. Up next in the #4 spot is FamilyFunPack. The YouTube home of the family video exploits of a Alyssa, David, Zac & Chris, and Michael (and their parents) were accepted into the homes and phones of families across the world to the tune of more than 77 million views.

And rounding out the Top 5 is Taylor Swift. The international country-turned-pop star’s channel’s view count was relatively constant on the week, closing it out just shy of 71.4 million views.

Top Gainers

The honor of one of our Top Gainers in the U.S. this week goes to Chris Smoove.

The American gamer who has shockingly amassed a subscriber base of more than 2.6 million despite not playing Minecraft always gets a lot of views on YouTube, but this week was better than most. Smoove’s NBA 2K16 Let’s Play videos that act as a legit and/or fictional play-by-play of his balling skills from his high school and college days helped the channel to a 248% week-over-week increase in views, more than 22.1 million views on the week, and the #49 spot on the U.S. chart.

Channel Distribution

The top 50 most viewed U.S. YouTube channels this week amassed a total of 1,947,163,251 views. Here’s the distribution of a few of those channels by multi-channel network:

• VEVO: 17 channels in the U.S. Top 50, with Taylor Swift the highest-ranked channel of the network at #5.
• Maker Studios: 5 channels in the Top 50, with DisneyCarToys at #7.
• Fullscreen: 3 channels in the Top 50, with FamilyFunPack at #4.
• BuzzFeed, Movieclips, OhMyGenius: 2 channels each in the Top 50, with BuzzFeed’s BuzzFeed Video at #3, Movieclips‘ Movieclips Trailers at #18, and OhMyGenius’ Kids Channel at #36.

As always, keep up to speed with the latest Tubefilter Charts and all of our news at Tubefilter by subscribing to our newsletter,following us on Twitter, becoming a fan on Facebook, and watching our videos on YouTube.

OpenSlate is a video content analytics platform that tracks more than 250,000 YouTube video channels and measures their ability to attract, engage and influence an audience. By providing one consistent measure of quality – the SlateScore™ – OpenSlate helps marketers, producers and agencies hone their online video marketing strategy.

Filed under: Articles, News, Statistics, YouTube, Youtube Chart by Joshua Cohen
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[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by OpenSlate. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

It’s another installment of the weekly Tubefilter Chart of the Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide and a classic American sport is still in the top spot.

Chart Toppers

WWE maintained its position at the top of the charts this week. The YouTube home for all videos related to World Wrestling Entertainment witnessed a slight 2% decrease in its weekly view count to bottom out with more than 96.3 million views. In second place is LittleBabyBum. The YouTube destination for all of your favorite English songs to sing to your children racked up more than 92.7 million views during the week.

In third place, one again, is ItsBabyBigMouth. The Canadian YouTube channel all about whatever one finds inside Kinder Surprise Eggs ended the week with more than 90.7 million views. Up next in the #4 spot is FunToyzCollector. The progenitor of all popular YouTube channels featuring videos of adults playing with children’s toys scored nearly 84.3 million views in the week.

And rounding out the Top 5 is BuzzFeed. The flagship YouTube channel of the very popular website devoted to animated GIFs, listicles, and hard news closed out the week with more than 77.4 million views.

Top Gainers

The honor of one of our Top Gainers this week goes to Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The YouTube home of Jimmy Kimmel’s eponymous late night talk show had a solid week online. Videos from the ABC staple always perform well on YouTube, but a sketch depicting Matt Damon and Kimmel going to couples therapy performed better than most. The clip quickly racked up a seven-figure view count and helped Kimmel’s channel to a 290% week-over-week increase in views, more than 35 million views on the week, and the #45 spot on the worldwide chart.

Distribution

All in all, the top 50 most viewed YouTube channels accounted for 2,636,456,528 views last week. Here’s the distribution of a few of those channels by multi-channel network:

• Vevo: 8 channels in the Top 50, with Taylor Swift at #9.
• Maker Studios: 5 channels in the Top 50, with PewDiePie at #12.
• Machinima: 3 channels in the Top 50, with Toy Pudding at #29.
• BuzzFeed, Fullscreen, XMediaDigital: 2 channels each in the Top 50, with BuzzFeed’s BuzzFeed Video at # 5, Fullscreen’s FamilyFunPack at #6, and XMediaDigital’s mashamedvedtv at #7.

And here’s the distribution of the this week’s Top 50 YouTube channels by country of origin:

• United States: 23 channels in the Top 50.
• Great Britain: 5 channels in the Top 50.
• Canada: 4 channels in the Top 50.
• Thailand: 3 channels in Top 50.
• Spain, India Russia: 2 channels each in the Top 50.
• Chile, Ireland, Jamaica, Netherlands, Philippines, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine: 1 channel each in the Top 50.

As always, keep up to speed with the latest Tubefilter Charts and all of our news at Tubefilter by following us on Twitter, becoming a fan on Facebook, and watching our videos on YouTube.

OpenSlate is a video content analytics platform that tracks more than 225,000 YouTube video channels and measures their ability to attract, engage and influence an audience. By providing one consistent measure of quality – the SlateScore™ – OpenSlate helps marketers, producers and agencies hone their online video marketing strategy.

Filed under: Articles, News, statistics, Statistics, YouTube, Youtube Chart by Joshua Cohen
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In mid-September 2015, ephemeral messaging app Snapchat added the ability for users to use sticker-like “Lenses” to decorate their snaps. These Lenses made it possible for users to place hearts over their eyes or regurgitate a rainbow. Now, the Financial Times reports Snapchat will start selling sponsored Lenses as an ad unit, with Hollywood studios as the app company’s initial target clients.

According to the Times’ sources, Snapchat will design the sponsored Lenses for brands and release them alongside the regular Lenses. Sponsored Lenses will debut on October 31, 2015. Sources claim Snapchat will reportedly charge brands $750,000 per Sponsored Lens on a peak day (like Halloween or Christmas) to reach the app’s entire 100 million-strong userbase, which watches four billion video views per day. Off-peak advertising days will cost brands less (but still a significant chunk of change) at $450,000.

Snapchat confirmed with Variety the app company would start selling Lenses-based ads, but Snapchat declined to provide more information. Snapchat only said that “sponsored lenses allow Snapchatters to express themselves and connect with a brand in a really creative and dynamic way.”

Snapchat has been working on various monetization methods for a while now. In addition to its Two Pennies video ads on its Discover platform, the platform launched a branded content agency called Truffle Pig with the Daily Mail and WPP. Along with the Lenses update, Snapchat also introduced the option for users to pay 99 cents for three replays of snaps, which usually disappear after viewing and can never be seen again.

Filed under: Articles, News, Snapchat by Bree Brouwer
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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. 

The Twilight Zone may be a classic TV show, but it’s episodes are full of hammy acting, over-the-top music, and ridiculous plot twists. For those reasons, it is ripe for satire, and The Compendium of Terror provides just that. Fresh off some screenings at New York’s Channel 101 showcase earlier this year, Compendium of Terror is a hilarious parody web series from sketch comedy group Faster Human.

The Compendium of Terror’s characters tend to oversimplify and misread their situations, leading to plenty of humorous moments. The jokes here are pretty simple–there’s a lot of classic setup/punchline combinations–but they’re funny, and you may find yourself laughing out loud a few times per episode.

Faster Human also thickens the Compendium of Terror plot by adding in a Review-esque host character, played by Jacob Wilson. The presence of the host allows The Compendium of Terror to riff on TV production; an episode parodying Twilight Zone’s 1985 reboot throws in some 80s jokes as well. The bottom line is that, no matter which subjects get tossed into the Compendium of Terror mix, the result is highly amusing. Check out new episodes as they arrive on Faster Human’s YouTube channel.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Hamburger Hummus. Jillian Bell and Angela Kinsey star in this web series set at an Israeli blogging conference.
• After Class. The collegiate series we featured in Fund This has now launched its pilot.
• The Millionaires. Rich people try as hard as they can to ruin their own finances.
• Sessions with My Parents. Australians Skype with their relatives from the far-off land of Los Angeles.

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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October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and that distinction is very important to Lizzie Velasquez. Velasquez, a YouTube vlogger and motivational speaker, has a rare congenital disease that prevents her from accumulating body fat and dramatically impacts her physical appearance. As a result, she has become a regular target for cyberbullies, who have in the past dubbed her the “world’s ugliest woman.”

Velasquez has dedicated her life to standing up to her bullies and speaking out against bullying in all its forms. Now, she’s getting some help. In a new video posted by the Women Rising organization, celebrities recognize National Bullying Prevention Month and say “I’m with Lizzie.”

Many of the stars who stand with Velasquez, such as iJustine, Michelle Phan, and Felicia Day, are her peers on YouTube. Others, such as Kristen Bell, Chris Hemsworth, and Katie Couric, and known for their work in TV and film. The message, however, is consistent: Bullying is an extremely damaging act, and it’s time for us to recognize that fact on a federal level.

More information on the “I’m With Lizzie” campaign can be found on its website. There, you can also obtain information about A Brave Heart, a documentary about Velasquez that arrived in theaters on September 25th.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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YouTube recently decided to feature Tyler Oakley and Lilly Singh (aka IISuperwomanII) as the faces of its next round of promotional advertisements. But in addition to the typical formats of TV, print, and billboard ads, YouTube turned to an alternative, digital-native greeting card service with a Victorian and retro-American flair to help out in the promotion of Oakley and Singh. Yes, Oakley and Singh have their own Someecards.

Founded in 2006, Someecards focuses on delivering humorous e-cards to a social and tech-savvy crowd. For the YouTube initiative, a Someecards rep said in an email to Tubefilter the e-card company worked closely with its in-house team to create cards that captured the spirit and character of both Oakley and Singh. For example, one digital greeting has a picture of the ever-polite and cheerful Oakley with his eyes closed and a cheesy grin on his face next to the words, “Sometimes I wish I could just close my eyes and make you agree with me.”

The greetings were created with shareability in mind, which has worked out well for a few of the cards in particular. One digital e-card featuring Singh garnered over 37,000 shares, while another featuring the 27-year-old Canadian vlogger pulled in 33,000 shares. All together, the Oakley and Singh e-cards have more than 106,000 combined shares.

“It was really fun to write card lines for positive personalities like Tyler and Lilly,” said Dan Wilbur, Ecards Editor at Someecards. “They’re extremely funny without being mean, which is refreshing. And now any time something annoys us in the office we say ‘story of my life!'”

You can check out all of the Oakley and Singh e-cards here. Someecards boasts more than 9 million unique visitors a month and over 100 million total monthly impressions across the brand’s website and social media followings.

Filed under: Articles, News, Superwoman, Tyler Oakley by Bree Brouwer
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Amazon has a new reality series to add to its slate of digital content. The streaming video service and home to Prime Instant Video has ordered a new season of the show The Fashion Fund, an original unscripted series from Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE).

Produced by CNE and Break Thru Films’ Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, The Fashion Fund follows ten novice and/or burgeoning designers as they compete for a chance to win $400,000 and tutelage under some of the top names in couture today. The first two seasons of CNE’s The Fashion Fund ran on the cable TV channel Ovation. The Fund competition itself was originally launched by Vogue and Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2003 to discover and develop American designers. Amazon will release ten new episodes of CNE’s unscripted The Fashion Fund series starting in November 2015 on a weekly basis. The 2015 Fund judges, led by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and CFDA chairman Diane von Furstenberg, will select the competition winners at an event in Los Angeles in October.

This is not the first reality series Amazon has picked up as of late. The streaming video platform recently closed a three-season deal with Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May for a new automotive-themed show. The first season of this series is set to arrive on Amazon in 2016.

No specific release date has been announced for Amazon’s The Fashion Fund as of yet.

Filed under: Amazon, Amazon Studios, Articles, Channels, News, Production Companies by Bree Brouwer
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Caspar Lee and Joe Sugg are YouTube vloggers, roommates, and the co-stars of an upcoming movie called Joe and Caspar Hit The Road. Now, they’re business partners, too. They have established a studio called Raucous Productions, through which they will create projects both on and off-YouTube.

Lee and Sugg co-founded Raucous alongside Dom Smales, the managing director of social media management agency Gleam Futures. “This is a first step but represents a line in the sand,” said Smales. “It’s part of our commitment to partner with our talent to help them make original IP.”

Raucous Productions already has its first project lined up: It’s a feature film called Joe and Caspar Hit the Road, which the new studio is co-producing alongside BBC Worldwide. In the film, Lee and Sugg will chronicle their adventures across Europe.  This formula has been used for several other “YouTube influencer films,” and like other projects of its ilk, Joe and Caspar Hit the Road has sold remarkably well, even before its official release. Its initial pre-sale delivered record-breaking numbers for Amazon UK.

Beyond their film, Lee and Sugg are involved in a number of intriguing projects. On October 17th, they’ll both participate in a charity live stream to benefit Stand Up To Cancer. Lee has also been cast in Laid in America, where he will co-star alongside fellow YouTube star Olajide “KSI” Olatunji.

Clearly, Lee and Sugg have big ideas. We’re sure they have plenty of shenanigans planned for their road trip, too.

Filed under: Articles, Celebrity, Channels, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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A week ago, we learned that Felix Kjellberg, the gamer who makes YouTube videos under the name PewDiePie, would appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Sure enough, we turned on the TV on October 1st, and there he was. The ultra-popular Swede sat down with Colbert to chat about the success he’s seen online.

Anyone who has heard PewDiePie talk to the media knows he is eloquent and charming. The only question surrounding his Late Show appearance concerned the tone Colbert would adopt in interviewing a YouTube star. One of his late night competitors, Jimmy Kimmel, recently came under fire for belittling YouTube’s Let’s Play community (of which PewDiePie is a member) during a segment on his show.

Compared to Kimmel, Colbert brought a completely different attitude to his discussion of Let’s Play videos. He was respectful toward PewDiePie and cognizant of the manner in which online video is shifting viewing priorities among young consumers. At the same time, he was not afraid to poke fun at his guest’s occupation. When PewDiePie likened his videos to “sitting with a friend on the couch,” Colbert quipped, “and your friend will never give you the controller.”

The full segment with PewDiePie is not available on The Late Show’s official channel, but several YouTube users have uploaded their own ersatz versions, which, at the time of this post, CBS has not yet claimed.

Colbert’s reverent-yet-playful tone matches the one James Corden (whose show airs after Colbert’s) used when he interviewed YouTube stars on his program. If CBS is trying to set a standard for how TV hosts should treat digital media stars, I’m all for it, and other personalities (looking at you, Kimmel) would be wise to take note.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Featured, News, PewDiePie by Sam Gutelle
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The Marseille Web Fest is back for a fifth year of celebrating digital productions. The France-based web series festival, the biggest international event of its kind in Europe, will take place on October 9 and 10 at the Théâtre de la Joliette.

Over the course of two days, the Marseille Web Fest will screen a roster of 25 digital series to audiences who attend the festival. Among the titles showing at the fifth annual event are Ridley Scott’s Halo Nightfall series and Looking for Maman by actor Jonathan Lambert. These 25 web series, hailing from ten different countries, will compete for the chance to win eight awards from a jury of judges led by Jean-Pierre Dionnet. French SVOD Canalplay and Canadian digital production company TreeCircle Media will present the Coup de Coeur and Innovation Prizes, respectively.

Additionally, the 2015 Marseille Web Fest will feature events and programming for attendees to learn more about the digital series industry. Festival-goers can meet and talk with a variety of international talent, from media companies to audio-visual artists. Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend news conferences or participate first-hand in the making of new digital content.

You can learn more about the Marseille Web Fest by visiting the event’s official website. While there, you can also register to attend the festival, which is free and open to the public. You can also brush up on last year’s digital series winners here.

Filed under: Articles, Marseille Web Fest, News by Bree Brouwer
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