Comedy creator Druski just signed a multi-year deal to produce content exclusively for Netflix—starting with Collect and Praise, a “semi-scripted” comedy series based on his viral megachurch sketch.
Why it matters: As creators have more ambitious ideas for scripted content, the platforms willing to fund production will win distribution rights.
Collect and Praise is the second comedy series Netflix has picked up from a YouTube video in the past month, following American High’s Minimum Wage. This trend points to how important acquiring internet-native IP has become for Netflix.
So, what does this mean in context with the streaming wars?
Last week, Nielsen reported that 15.8% of all TV time is spent on YouTube, compared to Netflix’s 7.7%. But without insight into how this time on YouTube is spent (i.e. top genres, channels, or formats), we won’t truly know how much “premium content” is being watched on the platform.
While there are reports that YouTube is paying creators to stay exclusive to YouTube, the promise of brokering brand deals may not be enough for creators looking to make something with a bigger budget.
Big picture: YouTube is losing YouTube-exclusive creators to platforms that will help fund their projects. But if the best thing platforms can do for creators is to help fund their ideas—and as YouTube passes 150M premium subscribers (up 20% from last year)—is there a future for narrative scripted content on YouTube?
Do you think YouTube will launch an original programming arm?
