TORONTO – YouTube says it’ll close the company’s only permanent Canadian studio later this year as it changes strategies for how it reaches its creators.
The media giant sent an email on Thursday to its online creator community outlining plans to replace its Toronto studio with temporary “pop-up” locations that’ll roll out in different regions of the country.
It says the move will help YouTube’s production assets reach Canadians in cities where they wouldn’t otherwise have the resources.
YouTube Space Toronto opened at George Brown College in spring of 2016 amid a boom in the growth of the creator community.
The 3,500-square-foot facility was accessible to YouTube personalities with over 10,000 subscribers. The more popular their channels were, the more access they had to studio time. It was also a hub for workshops and launch parties.
The closure comes as YouTube moves away from occupying properties that aren’t owned and operated by its Google parent.
The company also plans to close another YouTube Space in Mumbai, India, that operates on the grounds of a school, though locations in other cities, including New York, London, Paris and Los Angeles will stay open.
Mark Swierszcz, manager of the Toronto space, said in a statement that YouTube is looking into options for a different kind of permanent Toronto facility for local creators and “will have more to share very soon about a future home.”
A recent study by Ryerson University found there are about 160,000 YouTube creators in Canada.
Source: Read Full Article