No Fail Here: Maker Studios Gets Powerful Viral Video Partner in Jukin Media

What's This?

A scene from one of Jukin's "fail" videos.

By Josh Dickey2014-04-24 13:00:04 -0400

Maker Studios just acquired a powerful new viral partner in Jukin Media, the video entertainment network that specializes in licensing and distribution of viral video clips – like last week’s train-kick-in-the-head selfie – on the fly.

Under the new strategic partnership, Maker and Jukin will collaborate to manage and monetize their channels and videos on YouTube. Among Jukin’s more than 30 viral video channels is the high-profile FailArmy brand; as a part of the new partnership, Maker will develop and launch Jukin’s FailArmy website, hosting its videos on its proprietary web platform and video player.

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The studios also plan to co-produce shows using Jukin’s library of video clips, featuring Maker talent for distribution both online and TV platforms.

“Our goal is to bring the best content to our audience on a global scale and Jukin Media boasts one of the most viral and compelling video libraries in the world,” said Maker chief audience officer Chris Williams. “The FailArmy brand has a massive footprint, and we look forward to working with the Jukin team to create exciting new content and platforms to deliver it to an even broader audience.”

It's just the latest power move for the massive Maker, which was recently acquired by Disney for a deal that could be worth nearly $1 billion — one of many YouTube multichannel networks to make a high-profile deal in recent months.

“Maker clearly has the best expertise and collection of resources for helping us grow our business and brands both on and off YouTube,” said Jukin founder and CEO Jonathan Skogmo. “This was an obvious alliance for us and we’re very excited to get started.”

Jukin has the viral game down: it quickly reached out to Jared Frank after the 22-year-old Canadian published his "train-kick" video, making a licensing deal that could reportedly land the unfortunate tourist $30,000 to $250,00 in revenue for taking the boot to the head while traveling in Machu Picchu, Peru.

Topics: Entertainment, Jukin Media, Maker Studios, Television, Video, viral video, YouTube