YouTube to Open Free Production Facility for NYC-Based Creators

YouTube wants a bite of the Big Apple -- and, by consequence, handier access to the humming fashion, media and advertising industries that call New York City home.

On Nov. 6, the company will unveil YouTube Space New York -- a 20,000-square-foot production facility of sorts located in downtown Manhattan that will give top creators access to camera equipment, sets, editing facilities and various production classes, reports The New York Times.

All of these resources are free to creators, who must count at least 5,000 subscribers on their channels and be members of YouTube’s partner program in order to participate.

YouTube operates similar facilities in London, Tokyo and Los Angeles. But until now, the Google-owned company has largely been perceived as a West Coast enterprise, where a dynamic community of creators and budding multi-channel networks commingle with top Hollywood studios.

Related: AT&T, Chernin Group Buy Majority Stake in Leading YouTube Network

In New York, however, YouTube is seeking to bolster creator relations on the East Coast. After all, the company takes a staggering 45 percent cut of all ad sales, according to the Times. Therefore, the thinking goes, heightened production efforts will hopefully spell more viewership and, in the end, more sales. It will also put YouTube in close proximity to Madison Avenue’s famed advertising titans. 

A new facility isn’t the only way in which YouTube is foraying into uncharted territories today. After its roughly $1 billion acquisition of leading YouTube network Maker Studios in March, Disney is now continuing to blur the lines between new and old media.

For the first time, Maker Studios will produce television specials that will air on two of Disney’s television channels. The so-called “Maker blocks” will feature both new and previously aired YouTube content, reports Bloomberg, and will be co-hosted by Disney stars alongside top YouTubers.

Initially, a Halloween-centric episode will air on the Disney Channel and a prank-themed show will air on Disney XD in coming weeks. Additional concepts are currently in development, the company said.

Related: YouTube Paying Millions to Keep Its Biggest Stars From Looking Elsewhere