Nine Entertainment Co are in discussion with Google over how to better monetise their videos on Google’s YouTube platform. This comes after Nine had received 1 million subscribers to its YouTube channel but views being much lower than if they were to only have these episodes uploaded to their 9Now streaming service.
For example, the major investigation which was undertaken by its mastheads, Sydney Morning Herald and the Age combined with its current affairs show, 60 Minutes, into Crown Casino’s Money laundering investigation received only 700,000 views on YouTube within the first week. It is currently at 894,102 views just after 2 weeks.
The show though reached 100,000 views on its catch up service, 9Now, while it had views of 780,000 through its free-to-air channel.
“60 Minutes stories do have huge interest … to an Australian audience but it’s a whole new audience from overseas [on YouTube],” 60 Minutes executive producer Kirsty Thomson has said.
Nine Managing Director of Partnerships Lizzie Young has said that Nine Entertainment and Google are now working together to find a solution to ensure views are more lucrative on the video platform after the issue was first raised 18 months ago.
“We’re not there yet,” Ms Young said. “We have found ways to be able to monetise some of our content on the platform but it does still have its challenges.”
Nine have highlighted that the cost per thousand views is much lower through YouTube than what Nine charges through its TV channels and catch up app. For YouTube content owners are not fully aware of the details affecting the algorithms that determine when and which ads run.
“That’s a bit of a dark art and unlike our own platforms, where we can monetise every single video stream, when you’re on the YouTube platform you’re not in control of that and an ad doesn’t fire every time,” Young stated.
Google currently has a partnership with Nine Entertainment Co which is predominantly through its publishing mastheads like The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and online services, but it has also been part of a group of broadcasters that signed lucrative deals with Facebook in August to use their content on the social media platform.
Ms Young has said that Google’s management both locally and offshore were “well aware of where we would like this to go and where we would like this conversation to be”.
“We are working together, we do all want the same thing – a sustainable ecosystem,” she said.
“I’m really confident we will get there it just takes a long time for everyone to learn what works and how to monetise it.”
Given that the government is currently in the final stage of considering recommendations from the ACCC’s inquiry into the impact of the digital giants on local media companies. Final suggested recommendations included new powers to scrutinise the algorithms used by services like Facebook and Google, with additional reforms recommended to help level the playing field also being considered.
How this will affect Nine Entertainment Co and the social media giants like Google and Facebook are yet to be seen, as is how this new partnership will work. How do you see it going?
A ’60 Seconds’ story getting such a low interest should tell Nein how poorly the public regards the show, and how not news politicians screwing over the Law is.
Doubling down on the YouTube ads will only serve to drive what viewers the show can muster, away.
I’d watch The Block episodes after they air, through Youtube. I don’t get YT ads anyway because of my sub. Whereas I’d never watch anything on the Nine catchup services because you can’t access them without a login, and I am not doing that for them.
You’ll get more money if you put more ads in but that will drive people away. If a video ever comes up in the middle of something on YouTube, I’m out straight away.