Casey Neistat, 35, one of YouTube's fastest growing, interesting, creative minded individual has been acquired by CNN along side his company Beme and his employees who made an unsuccessful media platform for $25 million.
Casey, originally a traditional filmmaker who made his debut with a short film in 2003, 'iPod's Dirty Secret' which challenged Apple with the fact that their iPod devices batteries stop working after a year of use and can't be replaced. Then later with his HBO show (which sold for $2 million) 'The Neistat Brothers' in 2010, has been brought by CNN for a role as a creative leader in the company who will use his talent to develop a new media platform for them.
The reason that CNN wanted Casey in particular even though he has exclaimed a hatred for traditional film-making and TV in his Vlogs is because he knows exactly how to pull-in a demographic to content and then keep it this way. His internet videos have become an international success with people of all age being interested in his daily life and opinions on subjects. His channel currently has a total of 1.3 billion views and 6 million subscribers which is considered incredible since a large number of his audience is young even though he is 35 but living an exciting, high profile lifestyle.
CNN are interested in developing a platform for news and with Casey on board, it could mean a wealthy and successful brand in the near future for the company. However, Casey has generated a loyal fan base who are now are exclaiming their thoughts on the acquisition since he has now stopped his daily content and will focus on his CNN job.
Overall, it looks like big institutions have recognised the power of individuals on social media platforms such as YouTube and in a lot of cases, YouTuber's have more power than traditional media because they can reach masses of audiences daily so it is a tactical move by CNN to do this.
No comments:
Post a Comment