By Joe Flint
Without some amateur video, "Sharktacular" was looking less than
spectacular.
So, with the clock ticking, producers of the TV program--a
preview of sorts for Discovery Channel's annual summer ritual known
as "Shark Week"--placed a desperate call to Jukin Media, a small
company that aims to corner the market for supplying user-generated
video and getting permission from creators to air it.
Jukin had what they needed. "All the crazy wacky stupid viral
videos people shoot, they had it and they had it cleared," said
Craig Piligian, chief executive of Pilgrim Entertainment, the
production company behind "Sharktacular," which aired last
month.
Among the videos selected was one of a scuba diver cameraman's
reactions after he finds himself swimming next to a huge whale
shark and another of a paddle boarder being checked out by a great
white shark.
"We discover stuff before it goes viral," said Jon Skogomo,
Jukin's co-founder and chief executive officer.
In earlier days, clip shows relied primarily on submissions from
viewers. The explosion of social networks and online video sites
changed all that.
Mr. Skogmo, a former clip hunter for shows such as "Country
Fried Home Videos," which he described as a "redneck version of
'America's Funniest Home Videos,'" saw an opportunity to create a
stock footage house of viral videos that could serve as a one-stop
shop for media platforms and a business manager for rights
holders.
Clearing user-generated content for use is becoming increasingly
critical, not just for TV networks but a range of online publishers
and news sites scouring the Web in search of content to plug into
their work, from surfing wipeouts to a dog climbing a wall to a
piece of citizen journalism shot in Syria.
Jukin's competitors include Storyful, an Ireland-based startup
that News Corp, parent company of The Wall Street Journal, acquired
in 2013 for $25 million and British-based Rightster Group PLC.
Based in an industrial Los Angeles neighborhood, Jukin was
started in 2009 out of Mr. Skogmo's West Hollywood apartment. It
has grown to almost 100 employees from 22 employees two years ago,
and has amassed a library of over 20,000 clips.
Backed by investors including Bertelsmann Digital Media
Investments and Maker Studios, the company says its annual revenue
is around $10 million.
On a typical day, a Jukin researcher will look at more than 400
videos in the hopes of finding gold amidst the garbage that is most
user-generated content. There are 10 internal full time employees
looking for videos and freelancers around the globe. The
researchers look on YouTube, Reddit, Dig, Twitter, Daily Pics and
Flicks as well as Twitter, Facebook and other sites. They license
an average of 150 clips a week.
At a recent staff meeting, Jukin's researchers showed off their
videos the way a fisherman might boast of a big catch. On this
particular day, the big gets were "Chicken Attacks Girl" and "Fat
Boy Breaks Trampoline."
While finding the content is easy, getting clearance isn't. Mark
Bracco, executive vice president of programming at Dick Clark
Productions, said partnering with Jukin on "World's Funniest," an
amateur video show that will start its second season on Fox this
fall, "took one of the hardest things about doing the show off the
table."
Tracking down the origins of a video, particularly one that has
landed on multiple sites can be akin to a mouse in a maze looking
for cheese. "Just follow the trails," said Jukin Research Director
Kyle Andrew.
Once Jukin finds down a video's owner an offer is made for
anywhere from $100 to $5,000, depending on the quality. Jukin
offers rights holders their choice of an outright sale or a revenue
split.
"Hero Cat," a home video of a cat rescuing a little boy from an
attacking dog, generated millions of views after Jukin snagged the
rights and NBC's "Today" aired it. Roger Triantafilo, the father of
the boy and owner of the cat, estimated that the video has
generated between $25,000 and $30,000 for his family so far.
After Jukin has licensed a clip, it can put it on one of its
YouTube channels and sell it elsewhere.
Other shows that have tapped Jukin for content range from ABC's
"Good Morning America" to Comedy Central's "Tosh.0" and MTV's
"Ridiculousness."
Jukin also owns popular websites such as FailArmy, which has 7.7
million subscribers. It syndicates clips as well to several sites
and portals including Yahoo, which has a Jukin feed in the U.K.
"Their content is very sticky and shareable," said Yahoo Media
communications director Becky Auslander.
Madison Avenue is now turning to Jukin in search of amateur
content that could be used for commercials, such as a clip it
licensed of a Subaru towing a police car that had been stuck in the
snow. Subaru licensed the clip to use as advertising. Jukin also
has licensed clips for use in ads by Nestlé, Pizza Hut and Del
Taco.
"TV used to be the only revenue stream, now it is the last
revenue stream," said Mr. Skogmo.
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