The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2017
Disney ended its partnership with YouTube's biggest star over nine videos
Nine videos over six months: Disney's Maker Studios ended its affiliation with PewDiePie, and YouTube canceled Scare PewDiePie's second season.
Disney · Maker Studios · YouTube · 2017-02-13
What happened
On 13 February 2017 Disney's Maker Studios ended its affiliation with PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg), the platform's biggest creator, with more than 53 million subscribers and reported earnings of over $14 million a year. The move also terminated Revelmode, the joint venture the two sides had formed in 2014.
The decision followed a Wall Street Journal investigation that found nine videos posted over the previous six months containing antisemitic jokes or Nazi imagery — including one with a 'Death to All Jews' sign and another with a man dressed as Jesus saying 'Hitler did absolutely nothing wrong'. Maker's statement read: 'Although Felix has created a following by being provocative and irreverent, he clearly went too far in this case and the resulting videos are inappropriate.'
The next day YouTube canceled the second season of Scare PewDiePie and removed his channel from its premium advertising program, though the channel itself stayed online and kept standard display ads.
Why it happened
- The investigation gave the partners a documented paper trail: nine dated videos made 'we didn't know' unavailable, so the exit had to be immediate and public.
- Disney and YouTube priced the same conduct differently: Maker ended the relationship and the venture; YouTube kept the platform but cut the show and the premium ads — two partners, two bills.
- Revelmode and Scare PewDiePie were product bets on one person's brand: when the content became the liability, every product built on the person became a liability at once.
The lesson
A creator's content is the balance sheet of a creator business: nine videos over six months ended a Disney joint venture and a YouTube series within 48 hours, because both products were the person.
Aftermath
PewDiePie kept his channel and its standard advertising revenue, and remained the platform's biggest creator. The episode became the standard reference for 'creator risk' in influencer and multi-channel network deals.
Sources
- The Guardian — Disney's Maker Studios ends affiliation with PewDiePie, 13 February 2017
- The Guardian — YouTube cancels Scare PewDiePie season 2 and cuts premium ads, 14 February 2017
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