According to industry sources, YouTube will partner with Awesomeness TV to produce the new films, which will be premiered around the world in the next two years. YouTube, not surprisingly, is talking about “a new distribution paradigm,” meaning using the leverage of their huge global audience. “New distribution” in this form means a full range of media marketing options across multiple platforms, as well as their own.
YouTube is also branching out into new comedy series, including names like The Fine Brothers, Pranks vs. Prank, Joey Graceffa, and Smosh. Speculation about budgets for the new shows indicates these may be minor production events, rather than high value major product ventures.
YouTube is also making a quality statement in the new movie productions. It’s using its top creators for the new films, and are investing in “ambitious” projects from their top of the line content creators. This is a departure from the traditional image of YouTube, Hollywood rather than backyard production values.
Interestingly, no actual budget figures for production have been mentioned. It’s unclear to what stage actual negotiations for production budgets have progressed, and not even a ballpark figure has been disclosed at this point. In the film industry, where budgets equate to bragging rights, that’s unusual, with apparently not even a rumor available for the industry sites.
