Joko Widodo, known colloquially as Jokowi, has a lot of similarities with other YouTubers. He vlogs about his experiences, meets up with his fans, and collaborates with other creators. There’s one small thing, however, that makes Jokowi’s YouTube channel different from the rest: He’s the President of Indonesia. Since launching his channel in May 2016, the head of state of the world’s fourth-most populous nation has gathered more than 137,000 subscribers, with his latest video receiving 1.5 million views in its first two days of activity.
Jokowi, who has held Indonesia’s top office since 2014, picked up his YouTube hobby from his 22-year-old son Kaesang, who also maintains an active channel on the world’s top video site. Since Jokowi started vlogging, among other actions, he has posted a live stream from an event he attended in Australia and has met with his nation’s top YouTube stars in his presidential residence, just as Barack Obama did back in 2014.
Jokowi’s most popular video, however, chronicled his recent dinner with King Salman of Saudi Arabia. The vlog, which includes a few kind words from the guest of honor, became a viral hit in Indonesia and around the world.
For Indonesian viewers, Jokowi’s official channel is an easy way to stay up-to-date with the national affairs of their leader. Given Donald Trump’s history with YouTube, perhaps he’ll be the next president to become a vlogger-in-chief.
Filed under: Articles, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on Indonesia’s President Is An Up-And-Coming YouTube Star
TYT Network, the progressive digital news network behind flagship show The Young Turks, announced today a staggering milestone: its shows have been viewed 6 billion times since the company’s online launch in 2005.
Perhaps more impressive is the pace at which this figure has been reached. Between 2007 and 2012, for instance, the network accumulated 2 billion views. But in the era of President Donald Trump, TYT Network clocked 2 billion views in 2016 alone. The company says it had more online views than CNN, MSNBC, and Fox last month, citing figures from comScore, and more unique viewers than all of those networks combined among audiences aged 13 to 24. Across all social platforms, TYT Network says it amasses more than 200 million views per month.
At the same time, The Young Turks announced that it will stream its TYT Live series on web-based TV platform Pluto TV beginning today. Broadcasting weekdays from 6-8pm ET, the show features hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian breaking down news, politics, social justice, entertainment, and popular culture. Audience members can also interact on Twitter in real-time using the hashtag #TYTLive.
TYT launched on Pluto TV in October 2015. In addition to its first live show on the platform, the TYT Network also furnishes content from its other verticals, including TYT Politics, TYT Interviews, and TYT Sports. Pluto TV announced a $30 million funding round from investors including ProSiebenSat.1 and Scripps Networks Interactive last October.
Filed under: Pluto TV, The Young Turks by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on The Young Turks Network Clocks 6 Billion Lifetime Views, Bolsters Pluto TV Lineup
Following YouTube’s announcement in October that a sci-fi action series from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s production company, Seven Bucks, was in the works for subscription service Red, the video giant has now released casting details for the project, which is titled Lifeline.
Zach Gilford (of Friday Night Lights and The Purge: Anarchy) will star as Conner Hooks, alongside Sydney Park (of The Walking Dead). Lifeline, which will consist of eight half-hour episodes, is about a group of insurance agents who are sent into the future to prevent the accidental deaths of their clients. Gilford will play a top insurance agent who has never missed a save, until Park’s character, a sixteen-year-old orphan, is put on his watch.
Additional cast members include Eden Estrella (Furious 7), Usman Ally (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Veep), and Lilan Bowden (Andi Mack). And while Johnson is set to serve as an executive producer, he teased on Instagram that he may be making an appearance as well. “The big, brown, bald tattooed man may have to make a cameo in this one,” he wrote. “I need my gun and fruity snacks.”
Lifeline is being co-produced by Seven Bucks Productions and Studio71, the multi-channel network with which Johnson is partnered. The series will be directed by Sam Gorski and Niko Pueringer of famed special effects YouTube channel Corridor Digital. It was written by Ben Freiburger and Grant Wheeler, and is set to premiere on YouTube Red this year.
Lifeline marks a move by YouTube Red to incorporate the works of more traditional stars into its roster. (Nick Cannon is also set to write, direct, and star in a YouTube Red feature film called King Of The Dancehall). Johnson launched a YouTube channel last summer, which today counts close to 1.8 million subscribers thanks to high-profile collaborations with influencers like Logan Paul. Other Seven Bucks productions include Paramount‘s forthcoming Baywatchmovie and HBO’s Ballers.
Filed under: YouTube Red by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Casting Announced For YouTube Red’s ‘Lifeline’ Series, Produced By ‘The Rock’
Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.
In the world of sports video games, some of the best-quality footage comes from QJB. The North Carolina-based YouTuber is a regular within the worlds of Madden, NBA Live Mobile, and other similar franchises, and his likable personality has opened up some fun opportunities. In one vlog, for example, he got to meet NFL stars like Antonio Brown, Von Miller, and Rob Gronkowski:
How does QJB feel now that his channel has more than one million subscribers? We found out:
TF: How does it feel to have one million YouTube subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?
QJB: It really feels great. I reached a milestone that I never even thought of reaching when I first started making videos. I really appreciate all of the support from my fans. Without them I wouldn’t be anything. They make me work harder and keep me on track each and every day.
TF: What has been the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make since your YouTube videos first started getting popular?
QJB: The biggest adjustment definitely has to be time management. Before, YouTube was just a hobby, but once it became my full time job, I had to make sure I balanced everything and had to make sure I got videos up in a timely manner.
TF: Your videos are all shot in very high quality. How do you pull that off and why is it important to you to have top-quality footage?
QJB: It’s all thanks to the awesome equipment that I use! I work with elgato to capture high quality gameplay, use a nice condenser microphone, and edit on Final Cut Pro X. I try to make sure every video is high quality because I know that’s what is expected now on YouTube and if I can’t stand to look at it then I know my subscribers won’t.
TF: What, in your opinion, are the qualities that separate good sports video games from bad ones?
QJB: Good sports videos definitely need to have crazy highlights, exciting commentary, and a nice flow. I always imagine watching ESPN highlights when I’m editing a sports video. Make sure to emphasize the big moments and keep everyone engaged.
TF: Do you have a personal favorite video game from among the ones you’ve played on your channel?
QJB: I’d have to go with Madden 17 at the moment but NBA Live Mobile, NBA 2k17,Madden Mobile, and MLB The Show are close.
TF: What is a feature you would like to see added into the ‘Madden’ franchise in coming installments
QJB: I really wish some of the “Superstar” elements would come back to Madden. Having team workouts, going to the combine, experiencing the NFL Draft, and having some dope cutscenes/story mode would be awesome. I’ve been asking for that for a while.
TF: When you do a video, are you consciously thinking about the sort of commentary your fans want to hear or do you pretty much just say whatever pops into your head?
QJB: Every video that I go into, I have a slight idea of what I want to say/talk about. Of course I realize that my subscribers want to hear my catchphrases so I try to mix those into the video but other than that I freestyle.
TF: If you could play a match against any pro athlete, who would you choose?
QJB: I would love to play against some of my favorite athletes from the Dallas Cowboys like Dez Bryant, Dak Prescott, or Ezekiel Elliot. Also LeBron James and Stephen Curry are some of the guys I look up to. I’m not sure how good they would be but it would be fun to hang out for a while.
TF: What’s next for your channel? Any fun plans
QJB: I’m just going to continue to make high quality videos for my audience, continue to have fun and travel, make new connections, and see what new opportunities come up!
Filed under: Articles, Featured, Millionaires, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on YouTube Millionaires: QJB Makes His Sports Videos Like “Watching ESPN Highlights”
Following YouTube’s splashy unveiling of YouTube TV earlier this week, a skinny bundle of cable channels priced at $35 per month that’s slated to bow in June, one prominent executive whose channels were omitted from the bundle was feeling the burn.
Turner Broadcasting chairman and CEO John Martin said the fact that its channels, including CNN, TNT, and TBS, were not a part of the package was a “big mistake” on YouTube’s part, Bloomberg reports. Other cable bundles, including DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, and SlingTV, do offer Turner’s channels, and Martin added that “it’s hard to imagine an attractive package without Turner.” All told, these three existing bundles count a total of 2 million subscribers, according to Bloomberg.
Also absent from YouTube TV are Viacom channels, including BET, MTV, and Nickelodeon, as well as those from Scripps Networks Interactive (Food Network, HGTV), Discovery Communications (The Discovery Channel, TLC), AMC Networks (AMC), and A+E Networks (A+E, Lifetime). All four major broadcast networks, however, are a part of the service, including ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. YouTube TV offers a total of roughly 40 total channels.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki told Bloomberg that in order to cut down on costs, the company sought to helm an essential offering, with an added focus on live sports.
Martin noted that Turner, a division of Time Warner, is still open to joining YouTube TV. “They are all having a difficult time putting together optimal packages,” he told Bloomberg of the growing field. “Our strategy is still the same. We want to be in as many packages as possible.”
Filed under: YouTube by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Turner CEO: YouTube TV Made A “Big Mistake” Omitting CNN, TNT, And TBS
[Editor’s Note: Welcome to Diary of a Web Series, the column that offers you an entertaining look into the machinations of a zero-budget web series made possible by an idea, fortitude, and democratized tools of production. For all the background on why we started publishing Diary of a Web Series – and why we think it’s great – check out the first installment right here. You can watch the web series the diary is about, too. It’s called STRAY and it’s good. Click here to watch it. And you can catch all the installments of Diary of a Web Series right here.]
Cameron Clarke really likes Lucky Charms.
That’s one of many things we discovered on the first shoot for STRAY. We wanted Rich (played by Cameron) to eat cereal during the “Top & Bottoms” episode, so, to make things easier on Cameron, since he would be eating spoonful after spoonful of the stuff, we asked him to tell us what his favorite cereal was.
It turned out to be Lucky Charms, which is funny because I associate it with childhood, not with Cameron, a grown man measuring 6’2’’. I didn’t expect him to choose Lucky Charms, and I certainly didn’t expect him to eat it all.
Cameron dutifully ate the kids’ cereal during takes, but even in between takes he ate greedily, not discriminating between the frosted oats and colored marshmallows, as more discerning gourmands, like 8-year-olds, might have done. No, Cameron shoved it all down his gullet. After a while, I expected him tilt the bowl back like a chalice and slurp directly from the lip of the bowl.
“You know you don’t HAVE to eat all of the cereal,” I said.
“I like it,” he parried.
An action shot of Cameron shoving the cereal into his mouth. He kept it up with the level of joy, dedication, and enthusiasm seen above throughout the entire shoot.
Which I had no problem with until we realized our Lucky Charms stores, a family-size box, might not withstand Cameron’s inexorable appetite.
Will, who handled many of the logistics on set, conferred with me privately.
“We might run out,” he said gravely.
We’re gonna need a bigger box!
I faced a dilemma: Risk running out of Lucky Charms or halt the production to get another box.
We faced several challenges on that first shoot – logistics, tech learning curve, continuity issues, etc.– but it was something as trivial as the amount of cereal we had that threatened to disrupt the production. Granted, we could have fudged it, and sure, we could have taken a break and replaced the box, but the Lucky Charms fiasco taught me a lesson: Sometimes, it’s the little mundane things you never anticipate that can throw a monkey wrench into your production.
Ultimately, we were saved by the same thing that saved every parent of a gluttonous, Lucky Charms-eating child: a tummy ache.
Pablo Andreu is not a creator or a scriptwriter. He’s certainly not a filmmaker. He’s just a guy who decided to make a web series called STRAY. It’s a bromantic comedy in which a brash gay dude and a nerdy straight guy talk sex and relationships while reconnecting in New York City years after college. He hopes it’s funny. By some inscrutable alchemy, his scribblings have wormed their way into The New York Times, McSweeney’s and some others. Usually, you can find him babbling here: https://medium.com/@pdandreu
Photos by Alison Bourdon.
Filed under: Diary of a Web Series by Pablo Andreu Comments Off on Diary Of A Web Series: Lucky Charms
At the Sundance Film Festival, Amazon made aspiring filmmakers an offer that many of them couldn’t refuse. Post your film to our Amazon Video Direct platform, the digital retailer said, and we’ll pay you $100,000 and offer you two-times our typical royalty rate. Ultimately, 12 Sundance films, including several that won awards at the festival, chose to opt-into what Amazon is referring to as its Film Festival Stars program. As a result, the offer will now be extended to filmmakers at other festivals, including South By Southwest (SXSW), the Tribeca Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The Sundance films whose creators took Amazon up on its offer include Manifesto, which stars Cate Blanchett and won the Special Jury Award for Cinematic Vision, and Free and Easy, which won the Special Jury Award for Cinematography. As per the terms of the deal, those films must be Amazon exclusives for at least two years.
Up next for Film Festival Stars is SXSW, where films in the narrative feature competition will be offered $100,000 bonuses, documentary features will be offered $75,000, and other qualifying films will be offered $25,000. In the U.S., these films will also accrue 30 cents for each hour of watch time they generate, as opposed to the normal 15-cent rate available on Amazon Video Direct.
The goal of Film Festival Stars is to give aspiring filmmakers a place to share their work in front of a sizable audience while also building a competitive library for Amazon Video Direct, which launched in May 2016. “The Amazon Video Direct Film Festival Stars program provides an unprecedented opportunity for independent filmmakers to reach a motivated audience,” said Danny Fisher, CEO of distribution company FilmRise, in a press release. “Prime Video customers have demonstrated a strong interest in independent film and are searching for high quality, festival content. Amazon Video Direct brings this content straight to customers through Prime Video.”
Amazon’s offer is valid for SXSW entrants until April 30th.
Prominent influencers are reportedly leaving Snapchat — frustrated with the company’s apparent apathy toward its creator community. In addition to unanswered technical difficulties, BuzzFeed reports, several creators are fed up with Snapchat’s reluctance to provide viewership metrics that are critical to garnering branded deals.
Accordingly, several influencers are leaving Snapchat to post their Stories on Instagram, BuzzFeed reports, including Mike Platco (500,000 followers) and Sallia Goldstein. Other prominent creators, including Cyrene ‘CyreneQ’ Quiamco and Shaun ‘Shounduras’ McBride — who has roughly 1 million followers and is one of the platform’s biggest stars — are still loyal to Snapchat. However, they harbor concerns. And McBride is increasingly prioritizing building his YouTube channel. “If Snapchat would just open up the lines of communication with creators and help us understand the platform better so we could work [more easily] with brands, we’d probably focus more on posting our best content on Snapchat,” he told BuzzFeed.
However, that doesn’t seem to be a priority for the ephemeral messaging company — and intentionally so. A Snapchat spokesperson told BuzzFeed that the company’s focus is on fostering engagement between friends and family members as opposed to providing a platform for influencers.
Perhaps that could change, however, as more and more influential users depart the platform amid plummeting Stories viewership. Coinciding with the launch of Instagram Stories in August, per BuzzFeed, overall views on Snapchat fell 40% from July 2016 to November 2016.
The BuzzFeed report, landing on the same day that Snapchat went public in a soaring IPO, feels slightly ominous in that it echoes a similar piece in The Wall Street Journal last May stating that top Vine stars were defecting from the micro video platform in favor of competing services like Instagram and Snapchat. Vine shuttered earlier this year.
Filed under: Snapchat by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Top Snapchat Influencers Reportedly Defecting In Favor Of Instagram, YouTube
Mashable rolls out multiple videos per week on platforms like YouTube and Snapchat, and with its latest hire, it is putting itself in position to scale up even more. The digital media company has hired Polly Auritt, formerly of Fullscreen, as the Head of Programming and Development at Mashable Studios.
Auritt’s Mashable gig is a newly-created position that builds on the work Mashable Studios has done since its 2015 launch. The content shop’s videos, many of which are sponsored, have tended to be short, but the decision to hire Auritt could spark a push into more long-form content. In particular, a press release cites over-the-top devices and television as two platforms Mashable is targeting.
“Polly will bring leadership and on-the-ground experience to an important and fast-growing area of Mashable,” said Mashable Studios President Eric Korsh in a press release. “She’s innovative, creative and aggressive – a great combination for a team making inroads in new production models by combining the forces of our great creative talent, with our patented Velocity Technology Suite.”
When she was at Fullscreen, Auritt led a scripted programming push that helped build the library for an SVOD service launched in April 2016. The shows developed under her watch included the high school comedy Filthy Preppy Teen$ and Bret Easton Ellis’ The Deleted. She left Fullscreen in October 2016.
Auritt will be based out of Los Angeles and will report to Korsh.
Filed under: Articles, Featured, Mashable, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on With Hire Of Former Fullscreen Exec, Mashable Looks To Produce Long-Form Content
Following deals with the NFL, MLB, NHL, and PGA, it turns out Twitter doesn’t only want to stream traditional sports content — the company is now making a full court press for eSports broadcasts as well.
Though it initially began experimenting with eSports streams last July with an EleagueCounter-Strike: Global Offensive championship, Twitter announced today pacts with two leading eSports companies, ESL and DreamHack, to broadcast a total of 15 gaming events throughout 2017. The deal also includes original content. Streams will be culled from the ESL One, Intel Extreme Masters, and DreamHacktournaments, according to a release, with the premiere outing being the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice tournament in Poland this Saturday. (Both ESL and DreamHack are a part of the Swedish digital entertainment goliath MTG).
In addition to tournament coverage, ESL — the Electronic Sports League — will also furnish a 30-minute weekly show exclusive to Twitter, featuring tournament highlights and behind-the-scenes footage. All told, there will be 1,500 hours of programming. Marketers will be able to purchase TV-style ad packages during the live broadcasts, as well as sponsor highlight and recap clips. Broadcasts will air at esl.twitter.com, iem.twitter.com, and dreamhack.twitter.com.
“eSports is growing at a rapid pace and we see this collaboration as a way to tap into the engaged audience of gamers that are already using Twitter as a primary source of content,” said Twitter COO Anthony Noto.
Johannes Schiefer, VP of social media and editorial at Germany-headquarted ESL, said, “eSports fans are endemic to digital…Intel Extreme Masters Katowice is our most anticipated live event.” Added Marcus Lindmark, president and CEO of Swedish digital festival company DreamHack: “This will be a shortcut for fans, as they can both watch and engage on [Twitter] at the same time.”
Filed under: Twitter by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Twitter Pacts With eSports Giants To Stream 15 Gaming Tournaments In 2017
With the original shows it has launched on platforms like YouTube and Snapchat, Comedy Central has exposed young comedians to larger audiences. Now, it is shining its digital spotlight on a global crop of funny people. Comedy Central International has announced five new web series, including one that features South African YouTube star Josh Pieters.
The shows in Comedy Central’s latest digital slate are designed for distribution across multiple platforms, including Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube channels like Comedy Central UK. The goal seems to be to keep individual episodes short, with none of them expected to run for more than four minutes. There is some traditional sketch comedy mixed in through programs like Bad Snappers, while other offerings utilize the mockumentary format of Comedy Central hits like Nathan For You. One of the first shows to premiere out of the new slate, for example, is Totally Reported, which parodies the edgy reporting of outlets like Vice.
Pieters, who has more than 700,000 subscribers on his channel, will contribute to the slate in the form of Josh Investigates, a six-episode series that will jokingly discuss “the most pressing issues of the day.” It will be available on Snapchat, YouTube, and Comedy Central Play app.
“We’re heavily investing in a diverse slate of short-form content across our digital platforms, such as Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook, and exploring new ways to work with emerging and established talent,” said Comedy Central International VP of Comedy Development Claire McArdle. “It allows us to reach our audience where they are already consuming content and it gives us the continued opportunity to foster and grow our talent relationships within the Comedy Central International family.”
More details about the five programs in Comedy Central International’s new digital slate can be found over at The Hollywood Reporter.
Filed under: Articles, Comedy Central, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on Comedy Central Shares Global Slate Of Web Series, Including One With YouTube Star Josh Pieters
Leading music video platform Vevo has named Will Jackson senior vice president of strategy and operations, the company announced today — a newly-created role. Jackson, who joins Vevo from Pandora, will be responsible for defining and executing the company’s long-term growth strategies.
Jackson’s hire follows Vevo’s appointment last month of Kevin McGurn, a former Hulu and Fullscreen executive, as its chief sales officer.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Will Jackson to Vevo in this critical role,“ CEO Erik Huggers said in a statement. “Will’s broad digital media experience and expertise in aligning organizations around achieving ambitious long-term goals will be integral to our ability to deliver on Vevo’s growth potential in 2017 and beyond.”
Jackson previously served as VP of corporate strategy and international development at Pandora, and held a similar role at Intel for its Internet TV efforts.
Vevo, which is owned by Universal Music and Sony Music and counts 21 billion monthly views — largely thanks to its presence on YouTube — has explored several expansion strategies in recent months. A planned subscription service, however, for which the company was looking to raise $500 million in order to launch, was put on hold last month while Vevo eyes international growth and additional original content.
Filed under: Vevo by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Vevo Names Former Pandora Exec Will Jackson SVP Of Strategy And Operations
