Happy Birthday To You(Tube)!

Looking back a couple decades from where technology stood back in 2005, it turned out be a momentous year.

We take it for granted now, but it was the year when many cities – San Francisco and Philly included – announced plans to provide metro-wide WiFi service.  Interestingly, New Orleans is the first big city to do it, following Katrina that year.

2005 was a breakout year for social media.  Facebook was storming across college campuses.  And the platform would become available to the rest of us one year later.

For Jacobs Media, it was the launch of our first Techsurvey, as well as our blog.  Clearly, there was something in the air in 2005.  And that’s because the biggest tech story of the year turned out to be the launch of YouTube.

Originally started by three PayPal employees in February, 2005, Google swooped in and bought YouTube in November 2006 for $1.65 billion.  At the time, that may have been considered a speculative purchase.  (Remember, Rupert Murdoch purchased MySpace in – yup, 2005 for $580 million  He later sold it six years later for just $35 million).

YouTube turned out to be a much wiser acquisition for Google, and the platform continues to provide parent Alphabet with continuing sources of revenue and media impact.

A story in Variety last month by Todd Spangler focused on where YouTube has been, and more importantly where it’s going.  It focuses on CEO Neal Mohan (pictured), an upbeat flag bearer for YouTube.  Rather than showing growing pains, the platform continues to expand and has become an influential force in the worlds of media and entertainment.

Mohan describes the YouTube community as movers and shakers “becoming the startups of Hollywood.” Gone are the crude video creators were making in their basements.  Today, we’ve become accustomed to watching professional grade media content on Facebook.

And here’s a surprising fact:  more people watch YouTube on TVs than on computers, tablets, and mobile phones.  And when we think of television viewing on connected TVs, streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video comes to mind.  But the Nielsen data clearly shows is that YouTube’s piece of the pie is the biggest – by far.  Note the pecking order running down the right side of “The Gauge,” Nielsen’s snapshot:

For YouTube, Nielsen notes that 11.1% share of streaming television by YouTube this past December is a record, especially impressive when you consider this period included holiday viewing and high volume TV watching days.

How is YouTube knocking down these high-flying numbers?  It’s the confluence of many viewing trends.  Variety’s Spangler lists highly successful content shops – including “Dude Perfect” in Texas and French influencer Inoxtag.  From sports programming to documentaries, producers are cranking out popular hits.  Mohan lists a series of YouTubers opening up studios all over North America to make content for the platform.

In fact, Mohan says more than half of the channels raking in a minimum of ten grand are making their money not with ads or YouTube Premium but through influencer shopping recommendations and memberships to their channels.

After watching independent filmmakers produce “Anora,” the surprise of this year’s Academy Awards, it’s not a stretch to imagine how consumer-generated content could become an even bigger component of YouTube.

More and more viewers are using multiple screens while consuming content on the platform – watching YouTube on a television while using a tablet or smartphone to make a comment or make a purchase.

In the works is a feature called “Watch With” that enables creators to include live commentary and real-time responses to content, particularly sports and entertainment programming in much the same way users interact with Twitch.

Mohan calls YouTube “the epicenter of culture,” noting north of 45 million checked it out on Election Day in November.  To that end, President Trump’s interview with Joe Rogan racked up 55+ million views on YouTube alone.  These numbers totally blow away other streaming video streaming platforms and broadcast TV outlets.

So, why don’t more radio stations and shows put up YouTube channels, given how many are now producing quality video, while likely having archival material that can attract viewership?

I won’t name names, but I was surprised by how many radio broadcasters don’t have a YouTube channel.  Maybe even worse is how much radio station content has been posted by random Internet users by people who don’t own it.

There are now companies like SourceAudio that help broadcasters reclaim their YouTube content utilizing “Content ID,” a system that identifies copyrighted material.  Steve Wall and Doug Reed are the masterminds behind SourceAudio, a way to better monetize YouTube video content.  You can contact them here.

So, what kind of money can be made?  YouTube’s Partner Program lays out the myriad ways creators can generate revenue from running ads to amassing subscribers.

A great inside/outside radio example is Adam Reader a.k.a. “The Professor of Rokc,” now syndicated in a partnership with Hubbard and SkyView Networks.  When I interviewed Adam for this blog last July, Adam was proud of his one million subscribers – a truly impressive number that makes him a solid content creator but nowhere near superstar YouTubers like Mr. Beast (369 million), but also channels aimed at kids, like Vlad and Niki for preschoolers, now sporting 135 million subscribers.

In radio, it’s erratic – to say the least.  A major syndicated show like Bob & Tom is nearing the 200,000 subscriber mark.

Many other shows haven’t put up a channel, but their videos are all over YouTube, thanks to overzealous fans.

Public radio and Christian radio are all over the map, some aggressively using YouTube, while others pretty much ignore it.  Buffalo Toronto Public Media benefits from having a portfolio of both radio and television.  Their YouTube channel has 37,000+ subscribers – and growing.  The organization’s CEO, Tom Calderone – an alum of MTV and Vh1 – thinks visually.

For many broadcasters, this could be an area of revenue opportunity in a year where any financial “gravy” would be welcome.  Jacobs Media’s digital revenue specialist, Chris Brunt, can answer questions and help broadcasters get involved.  Reach out to him here.

By the way, in the seven months since I interviewed Adam Reader, he’s attracted an additional 200,000 subscribers to his YouTube empire.

There’s a lot here to consider in radio’s ongoing digital transformation.  “See you” on YouTube.