The YouTube Original Channel Initiative was a $100 million program funded by Google in 2012 to bring original content onto YouTube.[1][2] The original channel initiative was also meant to kick start Google TV.[3] The channels are collectively known as "original", "premium" or "YouTube funded" channels.
Most created channels through their production companies. Madonna is a partner with the dance channel DanceOn, while O'Neal plans the Comedy Shaq Network.
History
In September 2012, twenty of the 100 original channels started getting at least 1 million views a week.[4]
In October 2012, it was announced that YouTube introduced 60 new original channels.[5] Google invested $200 million into the original programming as well.[6] The top 25 original programs also averaged around 1 million views per week at the time of the announcement.[7]
In November 2012, YouTube ended funding for more than 60% of the 160 or so channels it financed as part of the initiative.[8] After cancellation, YouTube kept all incoming revenue from these channels that failed to recoup their initial investments.[8]
In November 2013, it was reported that the landing page for the original channels had become a redirect to a 404 error page, seemingly as a way for Google to remove any reference to the original channel initiative.[9]