Crew member Arthur Hong holds a clapboard while filming holiday movie trailers at the Maker Studios in Culver City, Calif. The $100 million investment by YouTube in 96 new channels starting in October has sparked a flurry of activity in Hollywood’s independent producer community. At companies like Maker Studios, which received money for three new channels, the funds have turbo-charged an already teeming operation.By RYAN NAKASHIMA
CULVER CITY, Calif. – YouTube is enlisting Hollywood’s help to reach a generation of viewers more familiar with smartphones than TV remotes.
The online video giant is aiming to create 25 hours of programming per day with the help of some of the top names in traditional TV. The Google-owned site is spreading its wealth among producers, directors, and other filmmakers, using a $100 million pot of seed money it committed last fall. The fund represents YouTube’s largest spending on original content so far.
YouTube believes it is laying groundwork for the future. While the number of traditional TV watchers has leveled off in recent years, more and more people are watching video on mobile phones, tablets and computers, especially the 18- to 34-year-old age demographic that advertisers covet.
The idea is to create 96 additional YouTube channels, which are essentially artists’ home pages, where viewers can see existing video clips and click “subscribe” to be notified when new content goes up.