YouTube to expand its original family entertainment and learning content
YouTube is set to expand YouTube Originals – its section for original content that works with creators and partners – with more focus on the family entertainment and learning categories.
The company has announced it is seeking someone to head up the division, in a job posting discovered by Re/code.
According to the ad, “the head of family entertainment and learning will lead YouTube Original’s efforts in supporting the next great storytellers in filmed entertainment, from action to romance to horror, sci-fi and beyond, connecting deeply with millions of viewers worldwide.”
Based in LA, the head of the department would help create series, specials and features, while providing appropriate allocation of financial resources between genres and format.
Expected to lead all efforts in conjunction with top creators to develop and produce family entertainment and learning programming, including research, casting, script development and production, the ad suggests that when the position is filled, there will be a big leap into the family entertainment category by YouTube.
A spokesperson told Re/code: “For years we’ve seen a lot of traction across both YouTube EDU and family entertainment. This role will help us further build out these offerings.”
It is not the first channel to make this move: Amazon Instant Video already creates original content for children, while Sesame Street and Disney have large audiences on YouTube itself.