YouTube as the best way to monetize video content and the main competitor of TV channels and websites

On Tuesday, September 19, under the aegis of KYIV MEDIA WEEK 2017, a workshop from FILM.UA Faculty (joint education initiative of FILM.UA and Media Resources Management dedicated to various stages of film and TV production) was offered under the following title: "How to make digital content work for you in 2018?"

During the event, there were reports from FILM.UA Group creative producer Anna Eliseeva, Starlight Digital commercial director Mykola Fayengold, Starlight Digital creative director Vitaliy Chyrkov, director of YouTube brand promotion department at AIR Vira Slyvinska, founder of UaMaster agency Yevgen Shevchenko, and Megogo marketing director Ivan Shestakov.

The workshop was mostly dedicated to promoting content via YouTube, different ways to monetize own-produced content, and also prospects of VoD platforms in Ukraine.

The event was opened by Anna Eliseeva who demonstrated a successful FILM.UA case, Back to Basics project which wasn’t only broadcast at Eurovision 2017 but also sold to Amazon. Presently a special TV project is being prepared based on the series of these short videos.

Eliseeva also noted that now YouTube is among the most profitable platforms for monetizing video content; this was also supported by other workshop participants. Olena Slyvinska pointed out that YouTube brings not simply advertising revenues but enables to integrate brands, use sponsorship and product placement, involve partner links, use merchandise, donations and crowdfunding, open auxiliary channels, and also initiate subscription to earn from one’s own content.

In their turn, Starlight Digital representatives shared their own strategy of content monetization. According to Vitaliy Chyrkov, YouTube is the main competitor of own channels and websites, as monetization through one’s own platforms brings much more revenues. That is why Starlight Digital uses the strategy of dividing monetization from Ukrainian and international users; knowing that the biggest hype around a new project is observed within the first 48 hours from the moment of its publication, during this time the company bans access to this content via YouTube for a local user, counting on its own website, and also bans access to channel content for international users, monetizing this audience via YouTube. Vitaliy Chyrkov also announced the company’s intention to enter the Indian market in the nearest future and told about the benefits of using the so-called “second screen” as an interactive instrument for better audience engagement.  To do this, the company developed Teleportal, a special app.

Besides, Yevgen Shevchenko presented a successful case of #Oschadbankdiye project, and Ivan Shestakov shared information about the latest successful projects at Megogo, described the platform structure and also noted that subscription is in his opinion the only accessible way to scrape up the budget for producing own content.