Chinese internet company ByteDance, Inc. has announced a global licensing deal with Studio71, the media company and multichannel network of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group. The deal brings content from top YouTube creators to ByteDance's entertainment video platforms. The content, which will be subtitled into Mandarin Chinese, will also be featured on the global app, TopBuzz, among other ByteDance, Inc. properties.
“We turned to Studio71 for content because they can deliver some of the most exciting creators in the world to our TopBuzzand Toutiao app platforms,” said Tina Zhao, SVP of ByteDance Inc. “They understand the millennial audience and have a track record for producing quality premium content.”
In September, ByteDance Inc. announced they would allocate $150 million dollars over the next year to fund creators in creating high-quality short-form content on its global platform.
“China is a very important market for our creators, so the ability to extend their reach via China’s leading news and entertainment content app, Toutiao, and global app TopBuzz is an exciting opportunity. It will enable them to reach both the domestic Chinese audience as well as the millions who live abroad,” said Adam Boorstin, EVP of Global Digital Distribution at Studio71.
Founded in 2012 by CEO Zhang Yiming, ByteDance Inc. is headquartered in Beijing. With more than 66 million users, investors include Sequoia Capital, and Digital Sky Technologies (investors of Facebook, Apple, Google, Instagram, Youtube, etc.).
Representing some of the top digital talent from around the world, Studio71’s creators currently generate 5 billion video views per month. It’s roster of creators includes Vitaly Zdorovetskiy (9.2M subscribers), Epic Meal Time (7M subscribers), Matthew Santoro (5.6M subscribers), Tana Mongeau (2M subscribers), and Logan Paul (13M FB followers).
