ITV takes a minority stake in YouTube network Channel Mum
ITV announced it has taken a minority stake in the YouTube network dedicated to mothers, Channel Mum.
The deal is expected to create sponsorship and branded content opportunities for the channel which has already struck deals with Panasonic and Pampers.
The venture was launched in January this year by Siobhan Freegard, founder of parenting website Netmums, and features a group of mothers sharing their experiences and advice on many aspects of motherhood.
It developed as an alternative to web based forms which have served as a major resource for young mothers. The channel signed 10 of the most popular mum vloggers and brought them together to post new videos every weekday.
Freegard said she was “pleased” that ITV saw the potential of the channel and recognised “millennial mums as an important and growing demographic.”
ITV’s managing director of online, pay, interactive & technology, Simon Pitts, said he was “delighted” to be working with Freegard and the team behind Channel Mum and praised them for their “brilliant understanding of content, advertisers and mothers”.
The move is part of ITV's strategy to invest beyond TV production companies and follows on from investments in US video content companies Believe Entertainment, Indigenous Media and Zealot Networks.
Channel Mum illustrated its ability to work with leading advertisers when it collaborated with Panasonic, selecting a hundred mums to receive peer mentoring, £1000 cash as well as digital camcorders and a kit so they could vlog.