Oprah may be a media machine who recently helped Twitter go mainstream, but she runs a YouTube channel that suffers from a flesh-eating virus. At 55,000 subscribers, we’d expect to see her average video fetching at least 10-25,000 views.
But her last 20 videos average just 6,750 views each. If you remove the two most popular, the average is 3,690. That means fewer than 10% of her subscribers are watching her videos.
Her subscription base of 55K was primarily due to a surge when YouTube and her television show promoted the channel… and has grown only moderately since.
What explains Oprah’s grand success in television and publishing, but failure online? For starters, her audience may be moving online but the money isn’t. She likely makes more for a one-page ad in O magazine than she’s made on YouTube to date.
She’s also seemed to delegate her online-video strategy to some poor temp who studied communications undergrad, hoping to be the “next Oprah.” I’m not kidding- Sophomore year I switched majors from communications to psychology because three people said that’s why they chose the major.
We do love our Oprah. Her warm smile, her self-depricating humor, and her knack for tapping the American psyche. But instead of vlogging via her channel (maybe showing us who she is off set) and communicating with her audience, she’s dumping trailers on it… mostly commercials for the show.
But, sorry Oprah. I think the engaged online-video viewer was hoping for more. Until the monetization model works for you, we’ll just have to get used to “flesh eating virus” promos.
Oprah just said on her show that she actually does write her own twitters, which is why she hardly ever twitters. She’s just too damn important to take the time.
This is part of the reason I found the hysteria when she first ‘arrived’ at YouTube so hilarious. It was really only justification to do a television show about YouTube itself. Even when the channel was first unveiled the content unapologetically told you to go to Oprah.com ‘for more’. And if you did go to Oprah.com, you were bombarded with tips on fashion make overs and book selections for clubs and money tips. At the time you couldn’t breathe on that site without being subjected to half a million ads (banner ads, prerolls – mostly for Target – and the like) but looking at the site now they seem to have toned that down quite a bit.
I think it’s safe to assume neither Oprah nor Dr. Oz are losing any sleep over this… (Meanwhile if I had a dollar for everytime you recycled that zombie picture!)
Kevin, Oprah said she sent you an e-mail last week. In it she wants you to quit your job and manager her career full time.
I predict that my sister will soon totally flip out and either kill me and mom or destroy my laptop. Today was mondo scary. It’s been nice knowing you.
(Blank stare) O…? Sorry…
@4 Tell her that the meat man is waiting in the garage, when she takes the bait lock the door and call the cops.
I watched Oprah a couple weeks ago where she had a lady telling women they should talk to their daughters about masturbation. The women were all shocked and freaked out. That made me giggle.
I can see it now… “Happy 10th birthday little girl! Enjoy your new vibrator!”
not a fan of Oprah. I’m an Ellen girl myself.
@4 If she kills you, can I star as you in the E Hollywood Story? And please get some footage.
HECK of a fine title for a blog thread. You’re learning, Kev.
@5
I DID talk today to the District Attorney who prosecuted her for assault on the elderly (momma). He said that of all the cases he’s tried, my sister Beth stands out as most likely to end up in a mental institution.
Thanks for the meat man reference!
@8
After I’m disemboweled, you can do whatever you like with my bones. Today mom and I were terrorized for 5 solid hours. I can’t call the cops because mom always denies assaults and threats against her life making me look goofy.
As far as footage, lately I’ve just been phoning it in.
That Oprah. What a loser.
I have a Youtube video entitled ‘Borocho.’ If you listen carefully to the words, it explains EVERYTHING.
I hope you were being sarcastic when you wrote, “We do love our Oprah. Her warm smile, her self-depricating humor, and her knack for tapping the American psyche.” I’ve always been appalled that people like her and Dr. Phil are able to draw and maintain audiences. It really makes me feel pessimistic about the potential of human society! It’s one thing to be a comedian with dumb material (that works), but when you carry on a serious discussion without a single intelligent thing to say and people sit there and listen as if you’re a prophet? That’s truly dumb!
^ We are a nation of dumbasses, a bonfire of the vanities.
You are so right. If she did vloggs or showed us behind the show more people would watch. Also most of her subscribers probably made their accounts just to subscribe to her and probably do not log on to youtube that much. (However that is just speculation). What is true about YouTube is we like interaction. If we thought Oprah was running her channel I am sure it would be more of a success