YouTube to Stop Making Most Original Shows

YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl announced the changes today in a statement on Twitter. The Company will cut a notable portion of YouTube Originals, which produced original content, that includes educational videos, scripted series, and music and celebrity programming.

Going forward, YouTube will only fund originals on the YouTube Kids Fund and the Black Voices Fund, a program started in 2020 that committed $100 million to "amplify" Black creators on the platform.

"With rapid growth comes new opportunities and now our investments can make a greater impact on even more creators when applied towards other initiatives, like our Creator Shorts Fund, Black Voices Fund, and Live Shopping programming to name a few," statement reads.

Over the years, YouTube Originals has changed focus. Created in 2016 and directed by Susanne Daniels, it started with creator-focused scripted shows and movies, like the comedy-thriller series Scare PewDiePie. In 2017, YouTube said that the first season of subscriber-only originals racked up 250 million views. YouTube began pivoting toward ad-supported content featuring celebrities like Katy Perry and Kevin Hart, free to access for users without a subscription.

But for six years, YouTube created a few titles that looked like big hits. And in the end, it was unclear what was strategically providing original programming to a service that is already one of the most popular video destinations in the World.

Today's statement also announced that Daniels will be leaving the company in March, which also contributed to the decision to downsize the division. New original shows were announced last year, that includes a series with Will Smith and Alicia Keys. YouTube says it will honour existing commitments for ongoing shows and will reach out to creators in the coming days.