YouTube's post-Hollywood era

Hi, it’s Mark Bergen in Los Angeles. After a decade of courting and challenging Hollywood, YouTube is moving on. But first...Today’s must-re [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi, it’s Mark Bergen in Los Angeles. After a decade of courting and challenging Hollywood, YouTube is moving on. But first... Today’s must-reads: • Elon Musk’s lawyers have subpoenaed [the Twitter whistle-blower]( • WhatsApp is [rolling out a shopping product]( in India • Y Combinator has tapped Garry Tan as its [new president]( YouTube makes its own celebrities now Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s chief business officer and its first ever hire in Hollywood, is [leaving the company](. His exit is the latest sign that YouTube has tossed aside the traditional Hollywood playbook for media programming. Kyncl was critical to convincing the traditional entertainment industry to bring its content onto YouTube, a tough sell in the company’s early years. In the latter half of his tenure, he helped turn the platform into the undisputed leader of the creator economy. “[W]ithout him,” Susan Wojcicki, YouTube’s chief executive, wrote in an email about Kyncl’s departure, “the term ‘YouTuber’ wouldn’t be a mainstream term.” That’s partially true. Kyncl joined YouTube from Netflix Inc. in 2010, when YouTubers were already influential cultural forces, if not commercial ones. Kyncl spent his first few years courting movie studios, TV networks and record labels. At the time, Alphabet Inc.’s Google thought that was YouTube’s best shot at making its business work. YouTube decided to borrow Hollywood's model and fund certain video producers directly. Kyncl led YouTube’s first stab at financing channels in 2011, when he tried recruiting celebrities like Madonna and Tony Hawk to the platform. That mostly failed. Some critics wondered if Kyncl had placed Hollywood’s interests above those of the scrappy, independent creators already on the site. One former YouTube manager described the project as “an attempt to shoehorn a mini-Netflix onto YouTube.” Kyncl’s defenders argued that the effort, while unsuccessful in converting celebrities into YouTubers, converted YouTube into a worthwhile destination for Madison Avenue. “He got the advertising community awake and legitimized what was not a legitimate platform,” said Brian Robbins, a former digital studio chief who now runs Paramount Pictures. During Kyncl’s tenure, TV networks began placing more and more of their clips on YouTube, and the music industry agreed to put their artists there (albeit not [without hiccups](). Then in 2014, YouTube awoke to the power of its own celebrities. Kyncl launched a program to fund original shows starring marquee creators, taking Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hollywood head on. That strategy immediately hit a wall with a [series of creator scandals]( and fiascos over extremist videos. During the worst of the crisis, as advertisers pulled spending, YouTube told creators to brace for the possibility that it might be unable to split ad sales with them. You can read more about the company’s crisis in my book, [Like, Comment, Subscribe](, excerpted [Tuesday in Bloomberg Businessweek](. Eventually, the company brought marketers back. And YouTube [began investing]( more resources in its own creators—although many of these efforts, like merchandising and channel memberships, were areas where YouTube takes a commission but doesn’t give upfront funds. Kyncl decided to nix YouTube’s originals program, bowing out of the competition in the streaming wars. Instead, the company has funneled resources to live shopping and Shorts, a service to rival TikTok. YouTube is still courting Hollywood, but now with a more Google-like approach: It’s investing in tech to host cable networks on YouTube TV and [put other streaming services]( right in its app. The company announced that Kyncl would be replaced by Mary Ellen Coe, a ten-year Google veteran. Coe is based in northern California, not Los Angeles. —[Mark Bergen](mailto:mbergen10@bloomberg.net) The big story Salesforce and ServiceNow are suffering as more companies put off making software deals. Workday, Zoom and Splunk also warned investors that [customers are getting more cautious](. What else you need to know US lawmakers are seeking information from fintech Credova Financial on buy now, pay later [gun sales](. A major Zendesk investor wants to nix a proposed takeover, [and oust the CEO](. Peloton delayed its 10-K report to sort out accounting tied to [restructuring efforts](. Join Bloomberg Live in London for the [Bloomberg Technology Summit]( on Sept. 28 to see Europe’s business leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors explain how they’re adapting to this new environment—and discuss solution-based strategies. Follow Us More from Bloomberg Dig gadgets or video games? [Sign up for Power On]( to get Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more in your inbox on Sundays. [Sign up for Game On]( to go deep inside the video game business, delivered on Fridays. Why not try both? Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights.​​​​​​​ You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Fully Charged newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](