In this series of posts from Reportlinker, we review the latest TV biz news, with one big statistic per news item. All you need to know, in figures!
In YouTubers, Snapchatters & Viners, the internet has created a new kind of star. What makes these content creators so popular? Let’s look at the numbers.
$8.47 million: That’s how much Swedish YouTube sensation Felix Arvid Ulf Kjelberg, known online as PewPieDie, earns annually for his comedy and video-game channel. That makes him YouTube’s highest paid star. The next highest-paid is comedian Germán Alejandro Garmendia Aranis (username HolaSoyGerman), who makes $3 million annually. Kjelberg and Aranis are among several YouTube stars who earn more money than traditional television stars. Source: TV Guide
10m: The number of followers fashion vlogger Zoe Elizabeth Sugg, known as Zoella, reached on YouTube this month. Still, she has a long way to go to reach the same followership as Kjelberg, who has 42 million followers. Zoella and PewPieDie are among the 1,500 YouTube channels with more than a million followers. A survey from Variety found YouTube stars are considered more relatable, reliable, intelligent and engaging than mainstream celebrities. YouTube stars achieve this image by connecting with fans and portraying a “I’m no different than you” persona. Source: The Guardian
6m: The number of views, called loops, that teenage comedian and Vine star Lele Pons has surpassed. She is the first Vine star to pass that milestone. She also was the first Vine user to surpass 1 million loops. She has nearly 10 million followers, gaining 300,000 in December alone. Pons and many other Viners use endorsement deals to generate funds. Meanwhile, Thomas Sanders, winner of the 2014 Favorite Vine Celebrity contest, had 259 million loops in December. Source: Reelse
1.5m: The number of Vine loops daily, which is amazing considering Vine has garnered 14% of U.S. Internet users. Despite a small membership, 8,300 videos are shared daily, 100 million videos are watched monthly, and half a trillion are looped annually. Vine is growing fastest among teens: 71% of its users are millennials. Source: Digital Stats/Gadgets
30m: The number of active users on Snapchat, most of which, 71%, are under the age of 25. Three of the top Snapchat users, Chris Carmichael, Jerome Jarre and Shaun McBride, have a combined two million fans. Like on other content sites, top Snapchat users have snagged endorsement deals. According to Time, the top performers earn as much as $100,000 weekly. Jarre says he prefers Snapchat because word-of-mouth traffic is fantastic. He had 6 million followers on Vine before switching to Snapchat in June 2014. By the next month, he had gained 1.3 million Snapchat followers. Source: Social Times
Take a deep dive into the world of YouTubers, MCNs & other digital stars at the MIP Digital Fronts, at MIPTV next month! More info…
Melina Druga is an author and freelance journalist.
Top image: via Jerome Jarre’s YouTube channel
