YouTube buys FameBit, matchmaker for videos and sponsors

[SAN FRANCISCO] Google-owned YouTube on Tuesday announced it has bought FameBit, a marketplace where video makers can connect with brands interested in sponsoring their creations.

YouTube did not disclose financial terms of the deal to buy FameBit, which it described as a technology platform that helps creators and brands make matches leading to sponsorships or paid promotions.

"We believe that Google's relationship with brands and YouTube's partnerships with creators, combined with FameBit's technology and expertise, will help increase the number of branded content opportunities available," YouTube product management vice president Ariel Bardin said in an online post.

The end goal is to bring more revenue to the community of online video creators that are central to YouTube.

Nine years ago, YouTube launched a "partner program" designed to help video creators earn advertising money and gain viewers. In the past year, the top 100 advertisers have increased the amount spent on YouTube video ads by 50 per cent, according to Mr Bardin.

"As we look to the future, we want even more creators and brands to come together and realise the benefits of these creative collaborations," Mr Bardin said.

Southern California-based FameBit will continue as a standalone operation for now, co-founders David Kierzkowski and Agnes Kozera said in a message posted on its website.

"With Google's relationship with brands large and small, and YouTube's partnership with creators around the globe, we hope to connect even more brands to creators, engage more audiences, and make brand marketing more creative and authentic than ever," the FameBit co-founders said.

AFP