YouTube rival Vessel secures $57m funding

Δημοσιεύθηκε: 17 Απριλίου 2015 - 15:00

Vessel, the "curated" online video service that aims to lure viewers and star performers from YouTube, has sealed its second multimillion-dollar fundraising in less than a year, in an investment round led by Institutional Venture Partners - the Silicon Valley venture firm that backed Snapchat, Twitter and Dropbox.

People familiar with the fundraising said Vessel raised $57.5m, adding to the $77m it secured in June 2015 from Benchmark, Greylock Partners and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Bezos Expeditions.

Vessel, which is led by Jason Kilar, the former chief executive of web video company Hulu, is one of the newer entrants to a crowded field of providers looking to tap consumers' appetite for video on-demand. YouTube is preparing its own subscription video offering, and Netflix recently topped 60m global subscribers.

US adults now spend an average of one hour and 16 minutes a day watching digital video, according to researcher eMarketer - more than double the 36 minutes in 2012.

Vessel is trying to court content creators with a two-tiered model that offers them a cut of both subscription and advertising revenues, as well as a premium environment for their work. YouTube's forthcoming ad-free service will also offer video creators a share of subscription fees.

Subscribers to Vessel's $2.99-a-month service are able to watch exclusive videos before they are released to a wider public. There is also a free tier that carries content similar to YouTube, but unlike Google's mass market service, video creators must have their work accepted by Vessel.

Both tiers carry advertising, and Vessel is offering content owners 70 per cent of the ad revenues, compared with YouTube's 55 per cent.

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Vessel will use its new funding to secure more deals with content creators to premiere their videos on its service. It has already signed up Discovery Communications, A+E Networks, Vivendi's Universal Music and Warner Music Group. In addition, it will feature YouTube personalities including GloZell Green, who recently interviewed US President Barack Obama, and a reality show with actor Alec Baldwin.

Vessel's launch has come as media groups experiment with new models to encourage consumers to pay for digital content.

Jay Z, the hip-hop star, recently teamed up with a slate of high-wattage musicians to relaunch Tidal, a paid digital music streaming service where artists can offer fans exclusives, such as recent videos from Beyonce and Rihanna.

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