YouTube celebrated its 20-year anniversary this week in Paris with a large bash that introduced collectively greater than 1200 individuals on the Opera-Comique, a 18th-century landmark, and a lineup of main audio system from Banijay, Mediawan in addition to LVMH, alongside a few of YouTube’s greatest native stars, Squeezie (Lucas Hauchard), Hugo Décrypte (Hugo Travers) and Andie Ella.
The occasion kicked off with YouTube’s managing director in France and Southern Europe, Justine Ryst, who unveiled key figures highlighting the platform’s impression on the native financial system and viewing habits. YouTube contributed greater than €1 billion to France’s GDP in 2024 and created 24,000 full-time equal jobs in France, in keeping with Ryst, who additionally identified that 43 million French individuals watch YouTube each month, and spend a mean of 52 minutes per day on the platform. Globally, greater than $100 billion has been paid to creators, artists and media corporations over the previous 4 years.
In opposition to that backdrop, France’s prime manufacturing homes — Banijay and Mediawan — took middle stage to stipulate how they working intently with YouTube skills to create new income streams and attain youthful viewers, who’ve largely abandoned linear TV and at the moment are now discovering world codecs, native exhibits and new expertise on YouTube first. Banijay France boss Alexia Laroche Joubert and Justine Planchon, Mediawan Prod president (who handles all unscripted and documentary productions for the group) outlined their respective technique tapping into the creator financial system throughout a dynamic 10-minute dialogue.
Laroche Joubert talked in regards to the firm’s new Leisure Creators Lab which was launched in partnership with YouTube in June and was unveiled at Mipcom. The initiative noticed 5 YouTube skills who’ve revealed at the very least two movies to 100k views reinvent among the firm’s flagship leisure codecs for the platform’s digital-native viewers. Every of those 5 skills obtained as much as €50,000 to provide their pilot.
“Our obsession was to search out out what we may supply the creators of the brand new financial system,” Laroche Joubert stated, noting that Banijay’s greatest manufacturers, “Survivor” and “MasterChef” have traveled to twenty territories and at the moment are accessible on YouTube along with linear TV. “We’ve got a treasure trove in our IP, our codecs. The aim was to search out codecs that may curiosity them — typically codecs that they had seen after they have been youthful. We gave them these codecs and advised them: You may adapt them for YouTube.” The manager stated the initiative “was an amazing success as a result of it allowed (the corporate) to match artistic individuals from the world of tv with these creators.”
Mediawan, which simply introduced its three way partnership with LuckyChap in Europe, has equally embraced YouTube expertise, stated Planchon, who talked about current collaborations together with Squeezie’s documentary “Merci Web” for Amazon and Lena Conditions’ red-carpet internet hosting the Oscars ceremony for Disney+. Mediawan has additionally experimented a hybrid launch mannequin with Orelsan, the favored French rapper who was the star of a documentary collection “Orelsan: Don’t ever present this to anybody” whose season 1 debuted completely on YouTube, whereas Season 2 was launched on Amazon Prime Video.
“This new era brings hope, but it surely additionally brings experience,” Planchon stated, noting that Mediawan’s partnership with YouTube dates again to the corporate’s creation 10 years in the past and now totals 57 million subscribers and 5 billion views throughout its channels. “Working with Squeezie, I’ve discovered loads, and we’ve loads to be taught from these new generations, simply as they’ve loads to be taught from us.”
Whereas they’re each diving closely within the intersection of social media and content material creation, Mediawan and Banijay have a distinct method to constructing manufacturers. Planchon says Mediawan is named the “home of expertise.” “With out Brad Pitt, we couldn’t have made “F1;” with out Jonathan Cohen, we couldn’t have made La Flamme; with out Camille Cottin, we couldn’t have made ‘Name My Agent.’” That philosophy now extends absolutely to digital creators,” she says.
Laroche Joubert, nevertheless, stated Banijay was extra eager to put money into IP’s quite than expertise. “IP’s are much less native, much less risky and extra moveable than expertise,” she stated.
Laroche Joubert went on to element Banijay’s 3 ways of working with creators on YouTube. The primary pillar is monetizing the corporate’s huge catalog: “We’ve got 600 channels world wide, two billion subscribers and we monetize. For that, we’ve YouTube to thank, as a result of it’s one of many platforms that shares income with us,” she sais. The second is hybrid content material created upstream, downstream and round conventional packages, developed in partnership with creators. The third is supporting creators as they transfer towards conventional media or scale their codecs internationally. “Banijay is a worldwide group and the expertise are native, so we may help them take a broader view as a way to exploit their format. They may expertise what we skilled 25 years in the past — taking their format globally,” Laroche Joubert.
Planchon stated the group has launched an in-house occasion referred to as Meet the Content material Creators, the place digital skills pitch their concepts to Mediawan producers, who then put money into their improvement. The banner additionally producing unique content material for YouTube, akin to a devoted “Miraculous Ladybug” collection that may later air on different broadcasters. Lastly, Mediawan is conserving present manufacturers alive by means of YouTube, whether or not by means of catch-up viewing — as with “C’est à Vous,” its in style primetime speak present — or by giving older IP like “Un Gars et une Fille” (a short-form comedy with Jean Dujardin and Alexandra Lamy) a second life on-line, on YouTube. “It’s the cycle of life,” she stated. “It by no means stops.”
Like Banijay, Mediawan can be spinning off its IP’s throughout totally different codecs, together with stay. Planchon cited the “Monte Cristo” franchise for instance, comprising a characteristic movie (“Rely of Monte Cristo” which bought greater than 9 million admissions in France in 2024), a world collection (directed by Bille August and starring Sam Claflin), a cinema live performance and an upcoming journey recreation on M6. Mediawan can be adapting LeBron James’ premium U.S. collection “The Store” for the French market by means of a model partnership.
Requested whether or not YouTube is revolutionizing the way in which audiences devour content material, Laroche Joubert agreed. “YouTube is inventing a brand new constructing block for creation and a brand new constructing block for consumption,” she stated. She famous that Banijay and Mediawan, traditionally B2B corporations promoting packages to broadcasters, at the moment are remodeling into B2C gamers. “We convey you the perfect IPs on the planet, unbelievable manufacturing experience, and model security, which is necessary for manufacturers,” she stated.
The YouTube celebration in Paris culminated with a fiery stay efficiency by Santa who sang “Popcorn Salé,” amongst different hits, and obtained the complete viewers on their ft clapping.
