Digital video network Broadband TV and Huffington Post have launched Outspeak, an online journalism network where citizens can speak their mind.
The Vancouver-based multi-channel network and the online news journalism site have invested in a multi-million dollar online space for video content creators to develop and upload their own videos, and earn ad revenue from ads sold on their videos.
The move is part of a larger video strategy at Huffington Post, which is owned by AOL, to significantly increase video content on its site. The company plans to make video content 50% of its site content within the next 12 months, says Nathan Brown, SVP and GM, video at Huffington Post.
The move is driven by two factors, accordion to Brown. “People are consuming video much more than they used to, and over half of our site’s traffic is consumed on mobile.” Because video content can be delivered so effectively on mobile, the parallel upward moving trend of video and mobile consumption is responsible for HuffPo’s video play.
The company will begin with signing on several hundred online content creators to upload their own content, and will separately develop partnerships with some creators to create original HuffPo content.
Arianna Huffington said in a release that the partnership perfectly encapsulates the news’ site video strategy, and will enable the site to work with content creators who will help build Huffington Post’s presence on YouTube. Through this partnership, the content will be available on YouTube as well as on Huffingtonpost.com.
The publisher’s partner in this venture is looking forward to capture more of the millennial demographic through Outspeak.
Broadband TV runs a network of 32,000 creators and has 4.5 billion monthly views. Its MCN helps creators manage their growing channels as well as understand the revenue formulas that help that grow. The network provides tools and solutions that help creators optimize their revenue and grow their viewership.
Outspeak offers brands opportunities to target video-consuming millennial audiences through BBTV’s scalable tech services, and publisher-led opportunities. For the moment, the focus is on developing content partners. And while pre-roll sales will be an integral part of the monetization strategy – because they’re so compatible with mobile as well, there are many more opportunities for brands. Once content partners are in place, Outspeak will be able to offer far more integrated, sponsored and native content ad options, says Brown.
“It’s a very disruptive time in a lot of ways,” he says about the fast moving changes on the buy and sell side of the business. Because of their flexibility and entrepreneurism, Huffington Post and its partners are well placed to experiment, and to lead the way. “The buy side is looking at us to provide them with best case practices, and whats working, and we’ve seen that as being very effective with our brand partners.”
From a creator’s point of view, Outspeak offers a chance to grow their fan bases. Many video creators are currently developing web series and growing fan audiences on YouTube’s network, which allows them to earn dollars off ad revenue generated by fan traffic to their content.
Through its more selective branding of creators around specific beats – entertainment, news, lifestyle and politics, for example – Huffington Post is enticing creators to their site by offering ease-of-access through its established brand name. Ad revenue will be split in a variety of combinations between Broadband TV and Huffington Post, and the creators depending on whether there is investment from the partners, and on individual arrangements with content creatures.
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