As another turbulent year comes to a close for the media and technology industries, VIP+ analysts are revisiting their predictions for 2024 and what they got right and what they got wrong. In this episode, Robert Steiner looks back at the year in which the creator economy became mainstream without the approval of the entertainment industry’s traditional guardians.
Back in May, YouTube CEO Neil Mohan penned a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter calling for the online video platform’s creators to be properly recognized at the Emmy Awards. “Creators are defining a new era in entertainment, and they deserve the same praise as other creative professionals,” he wrote.
I also agreed with Mr. Mohan’s opinion. If there’s ever a time when YouTubers can lay claim to an Emmy nomination, it will be in 2024. Aside from the fact that YouTube is now big enough to consider Netflix a direct competitor, the internet’s top online creators are now making millions of dollars from online content alone, allowing them to start entire production companies. It has become. But it looks like the online creator will have to try again next year with his campaign for an Emmy nomination, and both Mohan and I were proven wrong.
However, that doesn’t mean 2024 will be a big deal. In fact, this year more than ever before, online creators have come out on top in their own unique ways. Right now, winning an Emmy is probably more of a side quest than a primary goal for the online world’s biggest players.
Between Kai Senat hanging out with Serena Williams and Michael Bay chilling out with the “Skibidi Toilet” guy, there have been a number of milestones that will bring the creator economy to the mainstream in 2024. Here are just a few of the things I’ve covered on VIP+ over the past year.
YouTube: From “broadcast yourself” to “broadcast everything all the time”
When Mohan wrote his THR op-ed in May, YouTube had just reported $8.1 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2024, following a record high of $9.2 billion in the previous quarter. We got very close to that number again this third quarter.
But somehow these numbers aren’t the best example of YouTube’s overwhelming dominance in entertainment over the past year. The July issue of the Nielsen Gauge Report says YouTube is the first streaming company to surpass 10% of TV viewership in the US.
The following month, YouTube was the most-watched streaming platform on American TV screens, ahead of Netflix, Disney+ and other traditional SVOD hubs, until the Olympics propelled NBCUniversal to the top spot.
This feat exemplifies how far YouTube has come from its days as a website for uploading home videos. And in a victory lap, the company announced some major updates to its TV app, making it, frankly, more like Netflix. It’s the same strategy of adaptation and improvement that it deployed against TikTok and Twitch when it seemed like it was time to diversify. It dominates that portfolio and dominates another corner of the industry. All of this suggests that we can expect YouTube’s foray into the traditional SVOD space to be far from over.
Hollywood trades late-night couches for hot wings
“Deadpool & Wolverine” was not only one of the biggest box office hits of 2024, but its promotional rollout was a textbook example of a modern Hollywood press tour.
Late-night TV was once the go-to for big-name stars to promote their movies, but Deadpool and Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have turned to television for shows like Hot Ones and Chicken. He spent significantly more time appearing on online-only shows. Shop date. ”
The split in views and engagement across the Deadpool & Wolverine press tour between online shows and late-night TV clips on YouTube reflects traditional TV’s cultural visibility and utility in reaching relevant audiences. This indicates a decline in sexuality. But no show made for the Internet captures that reality better than Hot Ones, a popular interview series that regularly books celebrities and racks up millions of views per video. There’s nothing to tell.
In addition to a passionate online audience and a budding deal with Netflix, the show’s production company, First We Feast, just spun off after an $82.5 million acquisition from Buzzfeed. It’s clear that the people behind “Hot Ones” have ambitions to evolve into a household brand bigger than any talk show, and if they continue to bring Hollywood’s finest to the spotlight. Chances are you’ll get it done.
Horror and YouTube: A match made in hell (in a good way)
October had a positive impact on the traditional entertainment industry. The same weekend that Joker: Folie à Deux was released and immediately collapsed at the box office, a self-released documentary by ghost-hunting YouTubers Sam and Colby released quietly and only made about Earned $2 million. 350 screens nationwide.
Sam and Colby aren’t the first horror-oriented YouTubers to break onto the silver screen. Released last year, the critically acclaimed debut film “Talk to Me,” written and directed by husband and wife duo Danny and Michael Philippou, better known as Rackalaka, followed the Best Picture winner “Everything Everywhere All.” It became A24’s third highest-grossing film to date, behind “At Once” and summer blockbusters. “civil war.”
Still, these are just the latest examples of a horror genre thriving on YouTube and finding mainstream appeal in a history almost as old as the website itself. YouTube also continues to be a testing ground for the next generation of horror creators, given that online horror creators like Curry Barker and Ken Parsons are currently collaborating with Hollywood veterans to produce future projects.
Kai Senat invites Hollywood to Suboxone
Kai Cenat is probably a familiar name to younger viewers. As VIP+ covered in July’s special report on SVOD and social video, live streaming is rapidly emerging as the entertainment of choice for Gen Z and Gen Alpha viewers, and the 22-year-old is one of the industry’s most He is one of the most influential influencers. That moment.
But Cenat’s month-long “Mafiathon 2” subthon wasn’t the only thing worth noting, as it racked up a record-shattering 728,535 Twitch subscribers and earned $3.6 million. The stream attracted mainstream media attention as many celebrities stopped by, including Lizzo, SZA, Snoop Dogg, Serena Williams, and science guy Bill Nye. The list goes on.
Senat’s Suboxone was the first major example of Hollywood catching up to what the music world already understood: live streamers can quickly and effectively influence key demographics. Just as the mainstream film and television industry has turned to online video to reach viewers who are moving away from broadcast TV, Cenat and other companies are gaining more views and staying on top. The same change may come to live streaming as we continue to make friends.
Skibidi Toilet (and Michael Bay) will rule us all
Finally, the creator economy’s biggest crossover success this year was “Skibidi Toilet.” This is probably the most perplexing, polarizing, and popular thing to have ever come out of the internet.
The surreal and violent YouTube animated series is strange to most viewers over the age of 14, but thanks to director Michael Bay and former Paramount Pictures president Adam Goodman, the toilets that rule the world are getting their big-screen treatment. Now you can
You might not like the timeline in which concept art for the movie Skibidi Toilet exists, but don’t be surprised. Show creator Alexei Gerasimov, aka DaFuq!?Boom!, has amassed more than 18 billion views in less than two years. In fact, since announcing the news of the “Skibidi” movie deal in July, the channel has only received 17 billion total views. .
At one point, DaFuq!?Boom!’s monthly viewership exceeded that of YouTube’s current king, MrBeast, who had just premiered his $100 million competition show on Amazon Prime. If the show exists and has a good chance of success, even if it’s becoming increasingly controversial, then “Skibbidi Toilet” has a similar chance of being successful, even though it provokes derision from older viewers. You’ll have enough gas to accomplish the feat.
The Skibidi Toilet Cinematic Universe probably won’t win any Oscars, but it has billions of views, millions of devoted fans, and all the possibilities in the world. , who would need an award?
Other VIP+ 2024 retrospectives…
• Tyler Aquilina reflects on his first year in the media business in a post-streaming wars world.
• Released December 27: Kaare Eriksen revisits 2024 domestic box office forecasts – which films didn’t meet expectations?
