After a first-time-ever loss of overall subscribers in Q1 of 2015, pay-TV and cable companies didn’t fare much better in the last three months. According to research firm SNL Kagan, pay-TV companies lost roughly 625,000 residential and commercial subscribers in Q2 of 2015, the biggest loss recorded in the industry for that quarter in the last five years.
SNL Kagan tracked over 70 cable operators across the U.S., and reported that the 625,000 subscriber loss now puts the total number of residential and commercial pay-TV subscribers at around 100.4 million as of June 30, 2015. The previous record loss of subscribers was set in Q2 of 2011, when pay-TV operators lost around 441,000 customers (which didn’t get much better at 394,000 lost subscribers in the same quarter of 2012).
While the second quarter is usually the slowest growth period for cable subscriptions, SNL Kagan Principal Analyst Ian Olgeirson believes a variety of factors influenced this year’s record low. “Not only does the second quarter tend to be soft anyway, with seasonal shifts in viewing habits and people’s usual gravitation away from pay-TV, but operators are pulling back on promotional activities and are being a little less aggressive overall in getting new customers,” Olgeirson told FierceCable.
“Verizon is shifting its strategy and not growing its footprint. You have AT&T waiting on its acquisition of DirecTV. You have Sling TV. There are a lot of related elements to push this number down.”
Olgeirson also noted that along with Dish’s Sling TV, consumers have more choices than ever for their entertainment content needs. “If you think about the moving 625,000 subscribers, those people are watching video someplace,” Olgeirson said. Subscriber growth at Netflix at least proves the analyst’s point; that video streaming platform reached 65 million global subscribers in the second quarter of 2015, beating its estimated subscriber projection by 0.8 million new subscribers.
You can read more about SNL Kagan’s Q2 pay-TV report via its press release.
Comcast could be a new competitor in the ever-growing online video arena. According to Business Insider, the massive broadcasting and media giant may be preparing to launch its own video service dubbed Watchable.
Sources told Business Insider Comcast could still change Watchable’s name before any official reveal. The Watchable service could cull original video content from a large pool of Comcast partners, who will likely sign on for year-long, nonexclusive deals in which they receive a portion of video ad revenue from Comcast. Reported online video and digital media brands already signed with Comcast’s Watchable service are Vox (which just received a $200 million investment from Comcast’s subsidiary NBCUniversal), BuzzFeed, AwesomenessTV, Refinery29, and The Onion.
Insiders familiar with the Watchable project also told Business Insider the platform is part of a larger strategy for Comcast to bring its digital offering into the living rooms of its current customers. Comcast will reportedly provide its content partners’ videos via the Xfinity X1 set-top boxes (and eventually via iOS and Android devices); by 2017, the media company hopes to switch out all non-X1 set-tops for the online video-capable device, growing Watchable’s reach from just a few million homes to tens of millions.
Comcast declined to comment on Business Insider’s story, but BI’s sources believe the media giant’s online video platform could be arrive within the next few weeks.
Out of all the podcasts led by YouTube stars, we’re particularly partial to Ear Biscuits, hosted by the inseparable duo of Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. Each week, we will bring you a recap of the latest Ear Biscuits episode, as well as an invitation to listen in and join the conversation.
This week’s guests on Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal’s Ear Biscuitspodcast are a group of musicians who are in the process of defining their legacy on YouTube. The Gregory Brothers, who have received hundreds of millions of views, have become well-known for their autotuned “songificiations” of the news. During their time on the podcast, however, the question they ultimately arrive at is “what’s the plan moving forward?”
The arc of The Gregory Brothers’ Internet career received its first significant lift when Michael–by all accounts the initial driving force behind the auto-tune videos–produced a few “locally viral hits.” The next year brought with it the 2008 presidential election, and it was during those months that a star was born. By identifying “accidental singers” like Joe Biden and Sarah Palin (whose voices work well when treated to extensive auto-tuning) and utilizing a “quick turnaround,” The Gregory Brothers scored thousands of views. At that point, Evan says, “it felt like we got an inkling that people think this is interesting and funny.”
After they “hit the jackpot” with a popular video starring Katie Couric (“She was the greatest,” says Michael), The Gregory Brothers quickly became YouTube sensations, but their collective star would grow even further when they began to apply the formula to viral videos like the “Double Rainbow” guy. “That was the first time we got this picture that we were starting to be one of the bigger fish in this pond of YouTubers,” explains Michael. Ultimately, the focus on viral videos would lead to the most popular YouTube video of 2010: The “Bed Intruder Song.”
The success of hits like the “Bed Intruder Song,” however, brings up a fundamental question of YouTube stardom: What can you do to become known for more than just one concept? It’s a question that The Gregory Brothers keep in their minds. “Striking that balance of how much energy you put into one projects versus another is a constant balancing act,” says Evan. Instead of focusing on recreating the success of past viral smashes, the Brothers are now trying to “stay in the game and be consistent.” As Evan puts it, “our audience is still there.”
In the end, though, The Gregory Brothers are driven not by the videos they create but by the strong bonds they have developed with one another. “We put in all this time learning how to work together,” says Sarah, “and it would be a shame to throw it out the window.” Evan agrees. While he admits he doesn’t know how long it will be “until the environment totally changes,” he says that “right now, we still really enjoy making videos together.” And you can run and tell that.
The Gregory Brothers’ full biscuit with Rhett & Link is available on iTunes and Soundcloud.
Over the last five years, Rooster Teeth’s flagship convention, RTX,has grown from a small gathering of fans to a huge three-day spectacle other online video production companies could only dream of hosting. With tens of thousands of attendees, special guests like Freddie Wong, and demos of unreleased video games like Behemoth’s Pit People, in a few short years RTX has become an event to be reckoned with.
Much of the success of the yearly, Austin-based convention stems from Rooster Teeth (aka RT) Community Manager, Barbara Dunkelman. At an interview with Tubefilter during RTX 2015, the 26-years-young staff member discussed the event’s humble origins, its explosive growth, and the future of RTXs around the world.
Dunkelman said RTX was initially conceived after RT staff members decided it was better to host one giant get-together instead of individually attending separate fan events around the world. “We love our community,” Dunkelman explained. “We wanted to see them and give back to them, and host a really cool party with them.”
RTX started in 2011 as a modest get-together of roughly 400 super aficionados. The event attracted 4,500 attendees in 2012, 10,000 in 2013, and 32,000 in 2014. Now, RTX has grown into such a massive community-based must-attend entity that this year’s convention boasted over 40,000 attendees, over 80 exhibitors, three different event venues, and main sponsorship (and lots of free pizza) from Pizza Hut.
Dunkelman started helping RT co-founder Gus Sorola plan RTX in 2012, and back then, she “had no idea it would grow this quickly.” “I knew it would grow eventually,” the RT community manager said. “I thought maybe we’d be at this capacity in 10-15 years, not five.”
With that explosive growth came some unique issues. For example, Dunkelman pointed out how over the years, RT has tried to expand the event outside of the company’s own content to attract more gamers and fans from the web at large. But that meant program planning and autograph coordination for RTX became increasingly difficult to manage each year as fan-favorite and general-topic panels started to overlap. For example, this year’s Red vs. Blue panel took place at the exact same time on Saturday as the first Achievement Hunter panel, and in two different venues no less.
“Things that are really popular, like the podcast or Achievement Hunter or RWBY, all 40,000 attendees want to go to those things,” said RT’s community manager. “But we can’t accommodate that; we can only accommodate 4,000 people at a time [for the large panels and autograph sessions].”
Despite the drawbacks to RTX’s growth, Dunkelman and Sorola have a new planning partner to lean on – RT’s parent company Fullscreen, which acquired the production company in November 2014. Dunkelman claimed RT’s gaming and online video-themed event was already better in 2015 compared to previous years, as Fullscreen’s sales team helped her run the show floor and organize sponsors. “It’s still new at this point, but I think next year’s RTX will be even better,” Dunkelman stated.
In addition to growing the Austin-based RTX, RT now has a second official event to handle in Australia starting in 2016. The decision to launch RTXAU stemmed from the fact that RT already had event partners in Hanabee (a company which specializes in anime and pop culture licensing) and the Supanova Pop Culture Expo in Australia, both of which basically “teamed up to do it for us,” said Dunkelman, noting she and Sorola have barely had to do any work on RTXAU so far.
Additionally, Dunkelman said RT couldn’t overlook the rabid fan base in Australia. “I think the highest views per capita is Sydney for all of our videos,” she explained. Dunkelman hopes the first year of RTXAU will be like the second one of RTX, where it was a “couple thousand people” and a few panels, but still felt like a “close-knit community event.”
Dunkelman explained her and Sorola’s long-term goals for RTX are to make it “the best it can be.” Dunkelman believes keeping multiple venues will allow the Austin-based RTX to grow larger and attract even more attendees. Additionally, Dunkelman noted RT’s desire to expand the event to more countries outside the U.S. and Australia. “After Australia, we’d definitely like to go to the UK, and then Canada, because I’m a little biased,” said the Ontario native.
All these plans will certainly come with their own set of snags and frustrations as RTX expands domestically and across borders. But the RT staff member said the excitement and energy she sees from fans at the event makes all the troubles worth it. Additionally, she’s just stoked she’s “able to pull this off” each year.
“It’s something I work on all year round, especially the last six months before the event,” Dunkelman explained. “And putting all of your energy and all of your focus into something and then seeing it work, seeing people enjoy it and be thankful for it happening… just seeing it be a success after all your hard work is so rewarding.”
Refinery29 only started getting serious about web video at the beginning of 2015, but since then, the women’s lifestyle brand has managed to carve out a space for itself in a crowded category. A key part of its growth has been partnerships with digital media stars like Jenn Im and Pixiwoo, who have contributed videos to the Refinery29 channel.
Now, through a new initiative, Refinery29 has created a system through which it can foster more partnerships with digital media influencers. It has launched Here and Now, a “talent collective” that will connect content creators to high-quality branded projects.
The description Refinery29 offers on the Here and Now website is filled with buzzwords, but in essence, the new initiative seems to be a studio that will work with YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, and Snapchat stars to create branded content for release on both Refinery29’s network and the channels of participating creators. The first brand partner is Smashbox, which will work with Here and Now to promote its Camera Ready BB Water Broad Spectrum SPF 30 makeup.
Refinery29 has already recruited a strong group of content creators–including Lauren Curtis, Casey Holmes,Danielle Bernstein, and Justina Blakeney–to work on Here and Now projects. “Through Here and Now, Refinery29 is expanding its relationships with a select group of content creators whose mission aligns with our core belief of telling meaningful stories with a sense of purpose and an empowered point of view,” said Justin Stefano, co-founder and CEO of Refinery29, in a press release. “Establishing Here and Now is a natural next step for us as we continue to find new ways to grow our network of contributing experts and delve further into mobile platforms.”
The release date for Here and Now’s first project has not yet been announced.
Since launching a live-streaming service earlier this year, Firetalk has looked to make its mark by partnering with prominent online video channels. The latest content creators to team up with Firetalk’s “always-on” product are the progressive newspeople from The Young Turks, who will use Firetalk to engage with viewers during the live broadcast of their flagship news show.
Users who tune into Firetalk’s website or mobile app between 6-8 PM on Tuesdays and Fridays will be able to access a variety of enticing features. A chat function will allow viewers to communicate with each other, and Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian will be able to use the platform to respond to questions from fans in real time. Young Turks content will remain available on Firetalk even after each live stream ends.
“From fan meetups in cities across the world to Google Hangouts and phone calls with our members, The Young Turks has always embraced opportunities to interact with our audience in meaningful ways,” said Young Turks COO Steven Oh in a press release. “By partnering with Firetalk, we can amplify the conversations we’re having with our fans, allowing them to communicate with Cenk and Ana live, instead of after the show. We’re excited about this partnership and the potential to communicate with our audience like never before.”
Firetalk has jumped on a trend established earlier this year by startups like Meerkat and Periscope, which have turned heads with their powerful live streaming platforms. Firetalk’s ability to distinguish itself is largely dependent on its ability to connect to online fan communities. In that sense, The Young Turks, which has a massive online following that includes more than 2.2 million YouTube subscribers, is an ideal partner. You can check out the news network’s Firetalk streams beginning on August 18th.
Epoxy hosted an office unveiling event this week at their headquarters in Venice Beach, California. The company conceived of in 2012 with nearly $9 million worth of funding to date that seeks to provide synchronization and heightened visibility for creators across the digital space, has expanded its physical location with a brand new studio space on the premises, and had a party to show the space off to creators and networks. An impressive locale, Epoxy’s venue also has the storied history of being designed by famed architect Frank Gehry and the former home of Hollywood icon Dennis Hopper (#facts).
That the building now belongs to a digital company, however, doesn’t seem like that far of a leap to Epoxy CEO, Juan Bruce. “We’re also excited to have a storied location for Epoxy House which was designed by Frank Gehry and part of the late Dennis Hopper’s compound,” Bruce said. “Both these creators questioned the norms of their respective arts, pushed the boundaries and it is reflected in the post-modern nature of the architecture which uses traditional materials in very unusual ways. Similarly Epoxy creators are pushing boundaries and defining new norms for entertainment, mixing the best of social media, technology, multiple platforms and traditional story telling.”
In the courtyard beyond, a taco station sizzled delicious treats while a DJ spun records. Emoji balloons, which have become a trademark of Epoxy events, were scattered around the scene as well. Though the company certainly wanted to show-off their location and what they could do, it was evident that Epoxy wanted everyone to first and foremost remember that this was a party, and that they, along with the whole digital space, have plenty to celebrate. Knowing Epoxy’s commitment to bringing content together, it comes as no surprise that they appreciate bringing people together in a similar manner.
Ultimately, though, the event merely reflects Epoxy’s greater attitude toward bringing the digital community a little bit closer together. What may appear on the outside to be just another gathering for tacos and dancing, in actuality, is part of the cog of camaraderie that Epoxy so very values in the emerging landscape of the scene. In the end, it’s all about community.
“Epoxy was built to serve video creators operating across platforms,” Bruce further explained. “Epoxy House is dedicated multi-platform creators, networks and media. Whether you’re YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Twitter, Twitch, Facebook or Snapchat first, this is a space to work, collaborate, meet-up, hang out or host an event. We feel the LA video ecosystem needs a platform independent space for creators and we’re excited to see what the community does with it.”
If you’re interested in filming, hanging, partying at the Epoxy House, just drop them a line.
Ticketmaster is looking to support its status as a useful destination for event tickets by producing more video content, and it is now specifically honing in on its youngest users. It has launched a new destination called Minimaster that recommends family-friendly events and shares blog posts and videos aimed at kids.
Minimaster features a bright, colorful design, and its videos highlight specific events that both children and their parents can enjoy. One of first videos available on the new site, for example, explores “The Greatest Show On Earth” by heading to the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus:
Other Minimaster content includes a “Back to School” sweepstakes that will award a $500 Ticketmaster gift card to its grand prize winner.
Ticketmaster has spent the past few months increasing its video output through a smattering of original web series and one-off releases. Minimaster, which features four videos at launch, will add to that production spree; Ticketmaster will create 1-2 new videos each month for its young viewers to enjoy.
YouTuber David Burd has a successful debut album on his hands. The rapper and comedian, known as Lil Dicky to online video fans, has landed in the #1 spot on Billboard’s rap albums chart for the week of August 22 for his Professional Rapper.
Lil Dicky’s debut album claimed its top position on Billboard thanks to 22,000 copies sold by August 6, as reported by Nielsen Music. The YouTube star’s premiere album features some impressive top-level names in the rapping industry, like T-Pain and Rich Homie Quan. Professional Rapper’s main track features Snoop Dog, and is sitting at the top of Billboard’s Comedy Digital Tracks chart with 5,000 downloads and over 1.8 million views on YouTube.
In addition to landing at the #1 spot on Billboard’s rap chart, Lil Dicky also landed atop the Comedy Albums chart for the week of August 22. Dicky’s Professional Rapper album claimed the seventh position on the Billboard 200 chart and was also #47 on Billboard’s top 100 artists chart, all for the August 22 week.
Lil Dicky rose to fame on YouTube in 2013 when his music video for the song “Ex-Boyfriend” garnered over a million views in its first day online (the video is now sitting at almost 11 million collective views). Then in 2014, Lil Dicky released “Lemme Freak,” which now claims 6 million total views and landed him the fourth spot on the Billboard + Twitter emerging artists chart for the week of October 11, 2014.
You can purchase Lil Dicky’s debut album Professional Rapper via the iTunes Store.
A significant legal dispute involving a prominent YouTube star has been resolved. Michelle Phan, whose beauty videos have earned her nearly eight million subscribers on the world’s most popular video site, has settled out of court with Ultra Records, which in July 2014 accused her of illegally using its artists’ tracks as background music.
Ultra’s initial claim concerned artists like Kaskade, who Phan frequently used as the soundtrack for her makeup tutorials. According to Ultra, Phan never properly acquired the licenses she needed to use those tracks, and the label claimed she “continues to willfully infringe in blatant disregard of Plaintiff’s rights of ownership.”
Shortly after news of Ultra’s claim broke, Phan’s team fired back. Her legal advisors launched a counterclaim in September 2014, in which they argued that “Ultra agreed to allow Michelle to use the music and Michelle intends to fight this lawsuit and bring her own claims against Ultra.” The counterclaim referred to a series of emails between Phan and a member of the Ultra team in which the label’s representative agreed to let Phan use its music. The main question raised by the case was whether this unofficial blessing protected Phan, even though she never seems to have obtained official licenses for Ultra songs.
We’re not going to learn the answer to that question, at least not in this case. Details of the settlement were not disclosed and neither side has offered any comment on the matter as of yet.
Samsung has just made it easier for consumers to broadcast live video. During a product reveal for its new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ devices, the technology manufacturing giant announced the products would come with a feature called Live Broadcast, which lets users live stream video directly to YouTube.
Live Broadcast is built into the native camera app in Samsung’s new Galaxy devices, and allows video streams of 1080p resolution of up to 60fps. Galaxy owners will be able to start a live stream whenever they feel like it, or schedule one in advance. According to VentureBeat, these live stream feeds can be sent to another phone, tablet, or desktop computer, sent to groups of contacts or a select few, or broadcast to the public through YouTube Live.
With the inclusion of native, direct-to-YouTube streaming capabilities, Samsung is catering to the recent craze surrounding live broadcasting. And whether intentional or not, Samsung is also setting itself up as the go-to brand for consumers who want a simple live streaming option, without having to install extra apps or buy more equipment.
Last November, Conde Nast Entertainment (CNE) made a play for bigger digital viewership when it announced a partnership with beauty guru Kandee Johnson. The deal brought Johnson (and her audience of more than 3.1 million YouTube subscribers) to CNE’s owned-and-operated channels, where she stars in a number of beauty-related programs.
The latest series born from the partnership between Johnson and CNE is called Kandee Now, and it is essentially a canvas onto which Johnson can share whatever beauty tips she finds relevant. The first episode discusses the topic of “facial fitness,” which involves a bunch of isometric exercises that can help strengthen your face. Johnson looks kind of ridiculous when she does these exercises, but hey, she does have a nice face.
Kandee Now is distributed through Glamour, the beauty publication run by Conde Nast. The first episode is available on both YouTube and The Scene, which features videos from across the CNE network.
Johnson’s collaboration with CNE dates back before her official partnership with the studio began last year. She has hosted two seasons of Beauty ReCovered, a Glamour web series in which she uses all her cosmetic know-how to recreate famous covers from Glamour’s 75-year history. She’s also a rising star in the YouTube community; she’s one of the content creators who will chat with James Corden during an upcoming episode of The Late Late Show, and she was recently nominated for her first Streamy Award.
If you want to keep tabs on Kandee Now, head over to The Scene, where new episodes will be available as they are released.
