Wes Davis is a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020.
Netflix and other streaming platforms are stepping up efforts to sign YouTubers, which could mean big streaming deals for sports channel Dude Perfect or former NASA engineer Mark Rober, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal writes that streaming platforms’ creator-signing ambitions have “shifted into overdrive” in response to the success of MrBeast’s Beast Games. Amazon has made “at least $100 million” in profit from the show and is apparently already working out deals for two more seasons. Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, is apparently asking over $150 million per season to renew.
Rober and Dude Perfect have each been approached by Netflix, writes the Journal. But Netflix “doesn’t usually allow for sales promotions in shows that it pays to make” — something that has apparently “been a sticking point” in its talks with Rober, who sells robotics kit subscriptions through his channel. That sort of thing is more in line with Amazon’s business, making it a “particularly attractive” option for creators like Rober, the article says.
Still, Netflix is no stranger to signing YouTubers. Its 2016 deal with Colleen Ballinger Evans, aka Miranda Sings, resulted in one of the first YouTuber-made scripted comedies to make the jump. More recent examples include Netflix’s live-streamed Jake Paul boxing match with Mike Tyson and its deal with Ms. Rachel, who has made a name for herself with kid-friendly educational content on YouTube.