The Business of YouTube

A weekly strategic lens for senior leaders into how YouTube is reshaping the business of technology, sports, music, entertainment, and culture.

Welcome!
To your favourite newsletter, The Business of YouTube, brought to you by Paola Marinone and Bengü Atamer, founders of BuzzMyVideos and previously at YouTube and Google. We are bringing our exclusive insights from 20 years of experience leading strategy at YouTube and Google.

⚡ Industry Highlight: Bundesliga on YouTube

Big shift in sports media, the Bundesliga has granted UK rights to YouTube streamer Mark Goldbridge and Gary Neville, marking the first time platform-first channels (via “That’s Football” & “The Overlap”) joining broadcasters like BBC, Sky, and Amazon Prime Video in a rights package.

A very good breakdown provided by Nick Meacham on LinkedIn summarises how this will play out:

On Friday nights, live matches will be split across four separate channels, three of which are on YouTube.
- That's Football – led by Mark Goldbridge (🔔 ~1.5M subscribers)
- The Overlap – led by Gary Neville (🔔 ~1.3M subscribers)
- Bundesliga’s official YouTube channel (🔔 ~5.3M subscribers)
- Plus, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport site 🎙️(biggest sports media audience available in the UK)

A crucial, underlying strategy here is the Bundesliga's experiment to establish Friday as a major free-to-air football night. They are executing a three-pronged distribution model, simultaneously pushing content through:

• Traditional broadcasters.

• The league's official YouTube channel.

• Key YouTube channels to engage their dedicated communities.

This multi-platform approach is a significant test of a new media distribution play and an international audience growth strategy.

Streaming Rights is definitely on a trend, as we have seen last week, the French streamer Zack Nani acquired Saudi Pro League rights for France, paying a six-figure sum to stream up to three matches per match week, free, to his YouTube and Twitch audience.

What This Means for Clubs & Leagues

• Strategic shift: Rights holders should evaluate YouTube not just as a marketing tool, but as a core broadcast partner, especially for expanding reach among younger, digitally-native global/international audiences.

• New monetization models: Ad-supported streaming, creator partnerships, and hybrid watch-alongs can unlock value in unexpected ways, without paywalling content.

• New Direct Relationship with the Fans: This represents a major shift in media strategy, where the league is expanding its own YouTube channel as a direct point to connect with its audience. This move allows them to own the entire viewer experience.

Need help navigating this new terrain? 

We are happy to chat!

• Design YouTube-first strategies that balance accessibility, engagement, and revenue.

• Navigate digital-first distribution strategies.

• Identify the right creators whose audience aligns with your club.

Inside the Future of Our Newsletter

We’ve been breaking down YouTube channel strategies week after week from UFC’s game plan to which clubs are making the smartest moves on YouTube, now we’d love to hear from you.

This week, we’re pausing the deep dive to ask: what do you want to see more of in this newsletter?

Also, here’s a quick look back at the most-read issues:

📈 Top Reads:

1. The Champions of YouTube: Liverpool FC

2. Want to become the YouTube MVP? Steal this strategy

3. 174M Views in just 30 days... find out how Wimbledon Tennis ace YouTube 🤔 | A Breakdown

4. YouTube secrets from La Liga | A breakdown

If you missed any, they’re worth a revisit.

_{No Business of YouTube podcast this week, so let’s dive into an episode from the Football Biz Formula, our chat with Lewis Wiltshire, Senior Vice President and MD of Digital - IMG}

A must listen for sports media stakeholders!

Brought to you in partnership with SFS – Social Football Summit, this series is dedicated to spotlighting the minds shaping tomorrow’s game, today.

✅ YouTube Shorts rolls out its ‘Effect Maker’ tool for creators

✅ YouTube’s adding another way for Shorts creators to make money from their content, with an expansion of Google partnership ads to app campaigns, which will enable creators to display app promotions in their clips.

✅ YouTube Taps Former NFL Player Cam Newton and Creator Deestroying for Chiefs-Chargers Brazil Game