Undoubtedly, the kind of reach an audio visual content gives in a short time is incomparable with any other content format.  Videos are easier to remember, and anyone watching a video can grasp information more readily than reading lengthy textual content. That’ why we remember every scene in the movies we see days ago but forget what was written in a textbook that we read a day ago.

Videos are everywhere. From marketing, entertainment, to online learning, they have made an inseparable connection with the audience and so do the popular video platforms. Who doesn’t know YouTube, Netflix, Vimeo, or Hulu?

Out of all the popular video platforms, YouTube has a very special category with over 1.8 million monthly users. This platform is neither different from Netflix or Hulu, nor it is the same in many senses. Just open YouTube and see if there is a single niche that YouTube does not cover. The particular platform has everything to attract the audience, brands, businesses, creators, advertisers, and probably aliens from Mars as well.

Why YouTube is so special? Is it a great idea to start a video sharing platform like YouTube in 2019? A videos sharing platform like YouTube, which gets over 1 billion hours of watch time daily has to be a special one.

To understand that, we have to consider the trends associated with video content format, video sharing platforms, video content creators, and the businesses that rely on videos for marketing and brand education. Below are 8 reasons why a videos sharing platform like YouTube is a sagacious businesses idea in 2019.

1.    The popularity of on-demand video content

The growth and acceptance of YouTube by the masses are because of the video and acceptance of Video content format by the same mass. Today, the VOD content has a worldwide market of over $30.5 billion and it is expected to grow over $37.4 billion by 2023. As compared to 2018, there has been an upsurge of 4.7% in the total number of worldwide consumers of VOD content. It’s 1,773.3 million with a penetration rate of 24.1% to be exact.

When something is in such great demand and is being accepted insanely by the masses, it takes no time to deduce that just YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon prime are not enough to cater the demands. The market has got enough space for many more VOD platforms that can cater to worldwide consumers.

If you still think, VOD is not very popular then be advised that a YouTube user is 3X more likely to watch a video tutorial than reading the textual content about the same. Who does not know the famous video on YouTube, “Gangnam Style”. This video became so viral that its upsurge literally broke YouTube’s video’s view counter.

In short, the main content format on YouTube, VOD, is itself a great content format capable of attracting the entire globe. A platform like YouTube would definitely be a great idea for VOD content publication.

2.    Acceptance of live gameplays streaming

Live streaming on YouTube is still an infant feature, which they introduced in 2016. Within a very short span of time, the particular video content format penetrated the masses like a virus. As a result, the year of 2016 recorded an upsurge and 81% of the entire internet was seen watching more live videos as compared to 2015.

Today, live streaming has become one of the major content formats on the video-sharing platforms that support both VOD and Live content. Out of all kinds of live content on video sharing platforms, breaking NEWS makes the most with 56%, where events and concerts make up 43%.

In all this, a new genre of live video gameplays is flourishing. YouTube and Twitch are the most popular platforms to watch live video games. It does not mean, a new platform with the same niche cannot make a good profit. For your knowledge, even Facebook and Vimeo have started streaming live gameplay. At any time, You would find millions of people watching games on YouTube and Twitch.

Not just that, new platforms like IGTV of Instagram and Nimo TV are gradually grabbing a fair share of viewership. Twitch has grown to become a multi-billion company in just the gaming niche. You should know that the majority of the viewers in the live gaming niche are the millennials. There is no better businesses idea than offering live gaming on your video sharing platform today.

3.    Growing fame in label-less video production

YouTube allows general users to create channels, build audience-base through free channel subscriptions, and share video content with anyone on the platform. YouTube is not just any platform but a social media network that uses video to connect. When one-third of the internet is watching videos, there could be a no better option to connect them.

That’s where a platform like YouTube gives equal opportunities for everyone to create, share content, and become famous within a massive community. We have seen YouTube-base creators making it to the mainstream media after the grown fame.

The platform gives an ability to create independent content without relying on a label. You don’t have to be a video production company to upload videos on YouTube. This public availability of the platform is the biggest reason for its success. It is a perfect inspiration for building a similar platform that offers a similar level of access to everyone. If you still doubt, gaming is not a good niche to start your platform, be advised that 5 out of the top ten YouTube stars in 2018 are gamers.

4.    Recognition of video marketing and Video Ads

When something is as big a YouTube and the majority of the internet is available on it, it’s obvious that it would attract marketers and Advertisers. The major section of revenue for YouTube comes through ads only.  It offers various types of Ads that get immense traction.

It uses both banner Ads and video ads to maximize the chance of a conversion. It also uses special Ads combined with both Banner and video-based targeting. Just check out the following Ads from YouTube, you would comprehend the kind of Ads you need to incorporate on your own video sharing platform like YouTube.

There are mainly two types of Ads which are further customized to fit into various scenarios -YouTube Banner Ads and YouTube video Ads. Here are few of the Ad customizations, which will give your own video sharing platform better ways to make money:

In-roll Video Ads (Only Videos) :

YouTube Hybrid Ads (Banner Video + Top Banner):

YouTube Hybrid Ad (In-roll video Ad + Embedded Banner)

Today, YouTube has doubled the number of Ads it shows. This single revenue model is making trillions for the company. Marketers are being attracted to video Ads as even they know that video is the future. More brands and companies these days have separate plans for video advertising. It’s a perfect time, to launch your video sharing site like YouTube, and claim the massive Ad revenue.

5.    Escalation of brand collaboration with creators

Brands are taking a keen interest in the independent creators on YouTube and other video sharing platforms like Twitch, Nimo TV, Vimeo, Daily Motion, etc. They know these creators have some massive follower’s base and they can influence their buying decisions.

The same influence can also be used to promote a certain brand, which encourages businesses to connect with as many famous creators. These famous independent creators have a much stronger hold on their audience, and they have actually proven useful to the brands. As a result, more and more brands are connecting with them.

This upsurge in the connection with brands through paid partnership, collaboration, and sponsorship is encouraging new creators to join the league.  In short, the entire mechanism is boosting the growth of video creation as a career and the need for more video sharing platforms in different niches.

6.    Evolution of web development technologies

One of the major factors that make a website like YouTube an accessible business idea is the grown ease of website development. With technologies like clone scripts, the entrepreneurs today don’t need to develop the websites from scratch.

The clone scripts have eliminated the need for re-inventing the wheel by offering ready-made websites and other applications. With this readiness, the clone scripts cost 100 times lesser than the development from scratch.

If you want to develop the complete suite of YouTube-like website, it would cost you around, $100,000, about, 6 months, and a team of at least 10 experts on various technologies. On the other hand, a typical clone script comes priced as low as $500 for the website and $1500 for the whole suite with mobile apps. Moreover, it takes only a few hours to set up your platform using the clone script.

Today, you don’t have to ask anyone how to set up a website like YouTube. You can simply purchase a YouTube clone script and set it up according to your needs. The best YouTube clones come as open-source code and with self-hosting capabilities. They give you complete control over your platform across all the channels.

In short, the cost of platform development has grown too low. You don’t have to spend a fortune anymore. If you don’t believe me, check out my article I have written about “how to set up a website like YouTube at low cost”.

I have explained how YouTube works, how it earns, and how you can develop a similar website like YouTube with all revenue channels intact. Having said that, YouTube’s Revenue model is also a big reason for its success, and it is still a perfect model to start your own YouTube-like site.

7.    The popularity of Hybrid video revenue model

YouTube uses its Hybrid Revenue model to make money. You already know it uses Ads, but there are some more channels that make a significant share of YouTube’s total earnings.  So if, you think you can run a business like YouTube, including the following three revenue model is a must-

• Ad Revenue: We saw back in the previous points the kind of ads YouTube uses. So it shares the Ad revenue with the creators.
• Subscription Revenue: YouTube also runs subscription plans to make extra revenue. What’s special is it uses two types of subscription revenue. One is from the users to use the platform without seeing any Ads. While other is channel wise subscription for creators, where their subscribers purchase their memberships to support their favorite creator.
• Transaction Revenue: in addition to the free Ad-based and premium subscription-based content, YouTube also offers some extra-premium content. These are separate individual paid content. It lets users pay only for what they want to watch if they don’t want to subscribe to the premium plan on YouTube Red.

The hybrid model is a whole in itself. It incorporates the positive aspects of all popular revenue channels and makes a balanced use to attract every kind of user. This is one of the top reasons for YouTube’s success in all age group, nations, and kind of consumers.

We have seen many new platforms becoming successful with this same model. For example, twitch. There is both free and premium content on Twitch.

8.    YouTube is growing sterner to make money

Started with a controversy erupted after Logan Paul’s infamous dead body filming incident, YouTube took a bitter turn post removing the creators from its Preferred ad program. Google made it clear that it’s not going to monetize every other content on YouTube, and from now on, it would be going to be tough to make money. It introduced stricter monetization policies, which made many creators lose their already acquired monetized status.

In short, YouTube is no more as accessible for creators as it used to be. This has made many creators looking for alternative ways to make money. While few of the biggest creators have started their own video streaming platforms, many are still looking for new platforms to extend their income.

In all this, your own YouTube-like website might come as an advantage, and there is a higher chance that it would gain some enjoyable traction with a correct approach.

To Conclude: It’s a Huge Market

You might ask if YouTube is already this popular, how your site would compete with it to get traction.

Here is the thing. You don’t have to and you should not compete with YouTube. The online market for video streaming is full of various other platforms as well. However, still, they are making some great profit. For example, despite the fact that gaming on YouTube is also quite popular, Twitch is still performing exceptionally well.

Key is not competing with the giants but offering what they are not offering. Don’t be YouTube, be what it’s not. Even YouTube has an array of drawbacks if you look carefully. You can capitalize on these drawbacks and devise and unique business plan. For example:

• If monetization on YouTube has become strict, you offer a more flexible monetization.
• If YouTube lacks a niche, you start a platform in a particular niche. Example, cooking, art, etc.
• If YouTube is full of various Fake and unethical content, you can offer a more curated platform.
• If YouTube is too big to track everything, you start with a small platform first.

There are business opportunities in the drawbacks of your biggest inspiration. You just have to identify your own set of opportunities and offer a platform that addresses them. Users today are not limited to entertainment alone. There are infinite niches to focus on and cater to the consumers. If you still think, you can’t survive when YouTube is already there, think how Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, BHO, and others are co-surviving. Pick a niche, build your site, and start uploading today. Our YouTube Clone script will get the website development part covered for you.