5 tv shows that started online
I read this great article on Bloomberg.com this week titled Five Reasons to Be Optimistic About the Entertainment Business, and this quote prompted me to have a dig around my BFF Google to see which shows have actually taken that successful voyage from YouTube to land a deal with a Network or Broadcaster - and you know what, I could hardly find any. Which has really made me think hard about what’s happening right now in the world of TV biz. If you’re wondering, I haven’t got the answer - yet, feel free to sign up to this blog and watch this space !!
“I don’t buy into the idea that young people are watching short form so they don’t watch film and TV,” says Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer. “If you have the right stories that connect with younger audiences, they love those titles and they are passionate about them.” People spend as much if not more time watching CoComelon on Netflix as they do on YouTube, Bajaria says. Netflix also uses YouTube to promote upcoming shows with trailers and teasers. “We do compete with YouTube for time and attention, but our services also feed off each other.” - Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s COO (Source : Bloomberg.com)
Mr Beast
MrBeast has a total of 59.4 Billion views on their channel & 317 Million subscribers. In 2024 he filmed his first traditional TV series for Amazon MGM Studios: a competition described as “the biggest reality competition series in television history.”
Cobra Kai (YouTube Red)
The new season of “Cobra Kai” debuted as Netflix’s most-watched TV show of the week (July 2024).
Matt Rife
Rife released his first Netflix special, Natural Selection, which amassed 10 million views in its first two weeks.
CoComelon
This is an animated kids program built around nursery rhymes. It has 189 billion views & 181 million subscribers. In 2022, Netflix began airing Cocomelon as a Netflix Original.
Drunk History
In 2007, Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner produced six short sketches for Funny or Die called Drunk History. A few years later, Comedy Central would pick it up as a series. It ran for six seasons and 70 episodes and was nominated for 17 Primetime Emmys, winning one for Outstanding Costumes in a Variety Sketch Series.