YouTube has announced that video channels must get views averaging over 10,000 prior to the video platform placing ads on such content. The video platform has said the move is aimed at punishing those who break the rules.
YouTube’s decision follows an advertiser backlash which was sparked after ads were placed on videos containing objectionable content. While the development is likely to be reassuring to some advertisers, it is likely to antagonize content creators.
The online video streaming giant revealed that the policy had been in the pipeline since November last year and it is also intended to block channels which engage in copyright infringement in order to earn revenue.
Though YouTube won’t reveal the number of accounts that will be affected adversely by the action, estimates show that approximately a little over 164 million channels or about 88% of the channels will be affected since the number of views on these channels averages below 10,000. This is according to Pex, an internet data firm. Those channels, however, represent only about 5% of YouTube’s all time views.
For a long time, YouTube has let most creators of video who applied to have ads run on their content and this allowed advertisers to get access to users who were on the fringes of the internet. Content creators on the other hand benefitted from earning some revenue when they uploaded their work to the online video platform. Some of these content creators have amassed a huge following catapulting them to near-celebrity status where they are able to pocket millions of dollars in revenue annually.
Easier policing
The open system has however had some downside too. This includes the fact that some ads end up being placed on videos showing objectionable content such as racist or terrorist-themed stuff like happened recently forcing advertisers to withdraw their spending. After promising to police content more effectively after the advertiser backlash, YouTube is hoping that by concentrating on accounts that have managed to get at least 10,000 views, the goal will be easier to achieve.
“This new threshold gives us enough information to determine the validity of a channel. It also allows us to confirm if a channel is following our community guidelines and advertiser policies,” a blog post from YouTube read.
It, however, remains to be seen whether this will work since some of the videos with objectionable content have garnered the threshold number of views.
