Hollywood makeover for YouTube1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteGoogle is deepening its ties with Hollywood by enlisting top stars to supply original content for YouTube in a bid to boost profits and user engagement at the company’s online video site.
Google has been making the rounds of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, outlining plans to create a network of channels based around specific themes or niches, such as fashion, food and video games.
It is offering stars cash advances against future advertising revenues in return for lending their name to these channels and overseeing the content, according to people familiar with the plans. It is unclear how many stars or production companies have signed up.
Google declined to comment although other people briefed on the situation stressed that YouTube, the world’s biggest online video site with more than 2bn views per day, was not seeking to move away from its roots as the home of user-generated content.
