YouTube, a video sharing website owned by search engine Google, reportedly plans to invest further in content producers on its network, according to news provider Advertising Age.
The company will provide a second round of funding to 30% to 40% of the original start-ups which received $100m, after an announcement last year, Advertising Age said.
Jamie Byrne, Global Head of Content Strategy, was quoted by advertising age, as saying: “Our biggest objective was to kick-start the ecosystem, to bring in great creators, to deepen our relationships with advertisers and to grow viewership.” Its top 25 channels now average more than a million views a week, Advertising Age said.
Producers have to pay back YouTube’s investment before they can sell their own advertising.
YouTube itself was venture funded, before being sold to Google for $1.65bn in October 2006.