- YouTube (GOOG +0.5%, GOOGL +0.7%) is producing more than 40 original shows and movies in the coming year, and bumping its spending on paid service YouTube Red, it's set to announce as part of NewFronts.
- That will include a half-dozen original series available for free on YouTube, and it's a step up in strategy as competition grows in quality online programming.
- “We’re working with YouTube stars and big celebrities that we know have global appeal, advertiser appeal and are largely established on the platform,” YouTube's Susanne Daniels tells Bloomberg.
- More high-quality programming in the mix vs. user-created videos also offers the chance to mitigate blowback like that the company suffered last month, when advertisers found their ads streaming next to extremist videos.
- New content will include shows from Ellen DeGeneres and comedians Kevin Hart and Rhett & Link. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is sponsoring Best.Cover.Ever, a Ryan Seacrest music competition program.
- Now read: Mega-Tech Market Cap Swells To $2.75 Trillion
Original article