YouTube announced 100 original channels were coming to the video-sharing platform last fall, and now it is following up exactly one-year later with the launch of new channels coming from France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“From local cuisine, health and wellness and parenting to sports, music, comedy, animation and news, this new lineup of original channels will have something for everyone,” revealed YouTube on its global blog. “They are backed by some of the biggest producers, well-known celebrities and emerging media companies from Europe and the U.S.”
Along with the news about upcoming channels, YouTube also revealed a few statistics on the success of its one-year-old initiative:
- Our top 25 original channels are now averaging over a million views every week
- 800 million of your are watching 4 billion hours every month, that’s up from 3 billion hours earlier this year
- The number of people subscribing has doubled y/y
- And partners this year are reaching the 100k subscriber mark 5x faster than they were just two years ago
The Washington Post elaborated on YouTube’s venture to Europe and reported it is extending the original programming initiative into Europe with at least 60 new channels from BBC, FreemantleMedia, Endemol, and more.
“Like the pre-existing American offerings, the European channels will have a mix of celebrity-oriented, niche, and established programs,” explained the newspaper.
The Guardian further reported Bigballs Films— a seven-year-old, London-based content producer with a portfolio of online and on-TV content— is launching an original sports channel on YouTube, too.
“With a heavy emphasis on directly involving football fans, BigBalls will be producing Copa90, an interactive football lifestyle and original content channel via YouTube, which will include, at launch, eight different shows,” added The Guardian.
Last but not least: The Hollywood Reporter said American producers David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel will announce at some point today that they are creating a pair of YouTube channels with partners that include Sarah Silverman, Adam Carolla, etc. According to the report:
The two channels, one called Jash and the other called Video Podcast Network, will come from HaChaCha, a newly formed production company founded by Daniel Kellison, who co-created The Man Show, was the original producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live and was a producer of Late Night With David Letterman and The Late Show With David Letterman.
For more information on YouTube’s new channel lineup, check out its Original Channel page.
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