From PC Mag: YouTube is reducing its original programming division following the departure of Global Head of Originals Susanne Daniels.
Launched in 2016, YouTube Originals began life as a subscription service streaming ad-free series and films. However, faced with an already-crowded video-on-demand field, the Google-owned video platform soon changed tack.
In 2019, YouTube all but wiped its $12-per-month Premium slate clean, offering up several projects to other outlets; Cobra Kai landed on Netflix, On Becoming a God In Central Florida was acquired by Showtime, and Step Up aired on Starz. Instead, the company pivoted to original—free—unscripted content like music, celebrity and creator-focused originals, and educational programming.
Even those are ending soon, though, according to YouTube's Robert Kyncl. In a Tuesday tweet, the chief business officer announced the end of YouTube Originals and its "award-winning" slate—save for a handful of in-progress programs. "YTO played an integral role in growing the YouTube creator economy," he wrote, adding that more than $30 billion has been paid to creators, artists, and media companies over the last three years.
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