YouTube is tapping Kevin Hart, Ellen DeGeneres and other big-names to make original shows

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Kevin Hart

NEW YORK — YouTube plans to produce a slate of original video programs to air on its website, as the Google-owned company seeks to retain its audience amid competition from the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Facebook.

During a presentation at New York’s Javitz Center on Thursday, YouTube boss Susan Wojciki showcased some of the new programs, which she said were something that YouTube advertisers had been asking for.

The shows will feature big-name celebrities like Ryan Seacrest and comedian Kevin Hart, and will be available exclusively on YouTube’s free, advertiser-supported website, and not on the company’s subscription-based premium service, YouTube Red.

YouTube is the world’s most popular video streaming website, but much of the content is unpolished, created by amateurs and occasionally offensive — a problem that has come to the fore in recent months as advertisers discovered that their ads appeared alongside violent and racist videos. More than 250 brands reportedly pulled their spending.

“We apologize for letting some of you down,” Wojcicki said on Thursday. “We can and we will do better.”

The effort to bankroll high-quality original programming for the site marks the YouTube’s third-attempt and underscores the challenge of finding the right formula for success in video streaming. YouTube initially spent more than $100 million in 2011 to help launch channels anchored by big names like Madonna and ESPN. That initiative was not entirely successful, and YouTube took another shot a few years later, this time relying on home-grown YouTube stars instead of celebrities. 

Now it appears that YouTube has reversed course yet again, and believes that celebrity talent will be the key to success.

When describing why YouTube was undertaking this initiative now, YouTube’s business chief Robert Kyncl said it was because completely ad-supported series were “becoming more and more rare.” He said increasingly more premium video was going to subscription services, and that YouTube sees these shows as a way to partner with advertisers to “buck this trend.”

In total, YouTube announced 6 new original shows with stars including Demi Lavoto, Ellen DeGeneres, comedy duo Rhett & Link.

Here is the descriptions of the shows, from YouTube:

• Ellen’s Show Me More Show: Like nothing Ellen has done before, Ellen’s Show Me More Show is a twice-a-week series built just for YouTube, giving fans behind the scenes access to some of the biggest stars and her favorite moments.
• Good Mythical Morning: Worldwide YouTube superstars—and hosts of YouTube’s most popular daily show—Rhett & Link will go to new heights in a long-form expansion of Good Mythical Morning, giving fans even more of what they crave: larger-than-life stunts, zanier challenges, and over-the-top laughs.
• Kevin Hart: What the Fit?: Kevin will team up with celebrity friends and YouTube stars each week as they attempt to master a different trending, grueling and sometimes ridiculous workout routine.  
• I Am: Demi Lovato: Global music sensation and social advocate, Demi Lovato reveals a yearlong personal journey of music reinvention and deep discovery as she dives into the writing and recording of her new album in her new series, I Am: Demi Lovato.
• Best.Cover.Ever.: From Ryan Seacrest Productions and Endemol Shine North America, Best.Cover.Ever. is a cutting-edge talent competition series hosted by Ludacris where emerging talent from across the globe submit covers to YouTube to vie for the ultimate prize: an opportunity to perform a duet with a superstar artist. Submit your cover now at thebestcoverever.com.
• The Super Slow Show: YouTube stars The Slow Mo Guys will test the latest in technology to reinvent the way we look at celebrities, music, pranks, comedy sketches and more, giving a one-of-a-kind glimpse into what the world looks like in slow motion.
• Katy Perry Live Special: It’s real. It’s raw. It’s Katy Perry. Live on YouTube, The Katy Perry Live Special will take you inside of her world, revealing the experiences and emotions she poured into her all-new soul-baring music on the eve of her highly anticipated album launch. With unique access, global reach and surprise fun packed along the way, Katy will break it all down in this album listen-along, and if you stick around long enough, there might just be fireworks.

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