Cenk Uygur #35 - Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media 2018
The host and creator of The Young Turks doesn’t just get credit for the pioneering digital video platform, he also is a leading voice of progressives fighting back in the same manner that some of their political opponents do. Let’s call them the “fighting left” and Cenk Uygur is their patron saint. Nearly every night Uygur offers strategic and passionate opinion that targets not just Trump and his minions, but also shares little patience for what he deems to be corporate shills on the left. It’s been a big year for Cenk — whose TYT empire boasts a quarter billion monthly views on YouTube — and his audience and influence is only certain to grow.
Roku expands its free streaming channel with entertainment and live sports
By: Sarah Perez
Roku’s ad-supported free streaming channel is expanding. No, not to more platforms — it already did that. But rather, it’s expanding its content lineup. While before the channel offered free-to-stream movies and news, it will now feature live and linear sports and entertainment content, the company says.
As of earlier this year, The Roku Channel added live news from ABC News, Cheddar, Newsmax, Newsy, People TV, Yahoo and, most recently, The Young Turks, from the TYT Network.
It will now add entertainment content from partners including TMZ, AFV, FailArmy, People Are Awesome, Pet Collective and more. As with the channel’s other offerings, none of these streams will require a subscription.
Meanwhile, the channel will also begin to stream live sporting events from the Adventure Sports Network, COMBT GO, EDGEsport, Stadium and Wham Network, among others.
The additions come on the heels of Roku’s Q3 earnings, which saw the company beat Wall Street expectations on hardware, but saw platform revenue falling short — causing the stock to drop.
The company has been trying to move beyond being only a hardware device maker selling TVs and streaming players, to grow its platform business and advertising revenues. A key part of that strategy is The Roku Channel, which opens up Roku’s platform to a wider audience, and allows the company to sell ads against content.
The plan may work in the long run, but it’s taking time to ramp up, it seems.
However, Roku did report a growing user base with 23.8 million active users, streaming 6.2 billion hours in the quarter. That was ahead of expectations of 23.1 million users and 5.8 billion hours.
"On YouTube, the top publishers were legacy broadcasters although The Young Turks broke through to take the #4 spot"
By: Carla Marshall
As America went to the polls on November 6th 2018, the world tuned in to witness the midterm results in real time on Facebook and YouTube. After months of canvassing from both the Republicans and the Democrats, these midterm elections were the first opportunity for US citizens to determine the color and direction of both the Senate and the House of Representatives after the Presidential election of 2016, as well as vote on a huge number of crucial local issues.
Using exclusive data, we can confirm which broadcasters and digital first publishers won the race for live-streamed views and engagements on midterm coverage between the 1st and 6th of November (original post updated to include this new information)
Legacy broadcaster Fox News took the lead with 4.7M views of their live coverage on YouTube, and 2.7M views of their Facebook live-stream. In fact, 5 of top 10 live-streamed videos across the two main social video platforms between the 1st and 6th of November were from Fox News channels. CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, and The Young Turks all generated over a million views on their live-streamed coverage of the elections during the first 6 days of November.
1.Fox News (4.7M views) 2.CBS News (3.1M) 3.NBC News (1.8M) 4.The Young Turks (1.1M) 5.The Washington Post (395K) 6.ABC News (161K) 7.Sky News (129K) 8.TIME (107K)
Cenk Uygur Just Might Be the Future of Liberal Media
By: Amanda Whiting
Cenk Uygur Just Might Be the Future of Liberal Media
Establishment liberals mourn bipartisanship. The Young Turks host thinks Washington is still too chummy.
When I ask Cenk Uygur to send me his favorite clip of him at his most fired-up, loud-mouthed, truth-talking best, the kind of performance he couldn’t get away with back when he was auditioning for cable news, he picks the “biggest” night of his summer—the night Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took down Joe Crowley. “If she wins, you have no idea how ballistic I’m going to go,” he tells the Young Turks’ online audience. With half the votes counted, he lands the People’s Elbow on his glass-topped anchor’s desk. And when it’s all over Uygur slams that desk over and over screaming, “God, who would’ve thought that? Who would’ve thought that? We got ‘em!”
It’s a nice clip. But, as anyone who’s been tuning in to watch America’s most pugnacious hard-left talk show host knows, it’s nowhere near his most Not Safe For Network News. There was the time in 2012, for example, when Uygur called religious opponents to abortion “neanderthals.” Or the time he went berserk over coverage of the Iraq War, spittle-screaming that “everyone of these editors in every major newspaper, in every major magazine, in every major television news organization, should be fired today.”
EXCLUSIVE: TYT Network Expands Reach with Native Android App
By: Matt Lopez
Nearly 50 Percent of TYT Network’s Mobile Access Derives from Android Users
The Young Turks (TYT) Network is launching its mobile app, TYT Plus, on Android. The company, which has over 4 million subscribers to its YouTube page, says that nearly half of its network’s mobile access comes from Android, making the expansion on to the device a natural next step for the network.
In addition to member content, which starts at $4.99 per month, the app will provide access to Video-On-Demand clips from new shows like, “#NoFilter” with Ana Kasparian and “The Damage Report” with John Iadarola. It will also allow fans to listen in to TYT’s new podcast shows including, “We The People with Nina Turner” and “Touré Show with Touré.”
The Young Turks launching audio business
The Young Turks (TYT), a progressive video-based media commentary and news company, is expected to launch an audio business that will combine new shows with existing ones that will be reimagined under TYT Network’s audio umbrella.
Why it matters: It’s TYT’s biggest bet on audio-driven content to date and a new business line for the company. Up to this point, TYT has relied mostly on video advertising through YouTube.
TYT Debuts 24-Hour News and Entertainment Channel on YouTube TV
By: A.J. Katz
When former MSNBC Live host and The Young Turks founder and CEO Cenk Uygur launched TYT’s digital video product in 2005, his vision was to eventually transform it into a 24-hour news and entertainment digital channel. This is even before the existence of OTT. Uygur’s vision is now being realized, starting today.
The progressive, millennial-focused media company has launched TYT Network on YouTube TV, a 24-hour channel which can be viewed on the YouTube TV app on mobile, tablet, computer and TV, and through apps built for Roku, Apple TV, Xbox One, Android TVs and Samsung and LG smart TVs.
“Arriving on YouTube TV is a monumental step for TYT and a fantastic partnership for both sides,” TYT chief business officer Steve Oh said in a statement. “OTT platforms like YouTube TV are the perfect solution for cord-cutters and cord-nevers, the very same people who make up a huge percentage of TYT’s enormous fanbase.”
The Young Turks’ Ana Kasparian Can’t Pretend To Be Neutral – 30 Under 30 | Forbes
By: Forbes
As co-host and producer, Ana Kasparian has helped develop The Young Turks into one of the largest online daily news and politics shows in the world. Kasparian also teaches journalism at California State University, Northridge.
Political News Outlet Young Turks Raises $20 Million After Viewership Gains
The media’s “Trump Bump” is starting to get the attention of investors.
The Young Turks Network, the left-leaning, YouTube-driven political news outlet led by outspoken activist Cenk Uygur, has raised $20 million, which it plans to use to double the size of its newsroom and business operations.
The funding round is being led by newly formed growth equity fund 3L Capital, with additional backing from venture capital veterans Greycroft Partners and e.ventures, as well as Jeffrey Katzenberg’s recently launched WndrCo.
“News is red hot right now and being positioned on the progressive side of the coin has put us in a very good place,” Mr. Uygur said.
He said the company currently has about 70 staffers and 30 freelancers but plans to use the investment to increase its staff to about 200 people. Part of that expansion will be in creative talent, but Mr. Uygur said it would also entail building an ad sales team and bolstering its paid subscription offerings.
Progressive media outlet The Young Turks has raised $20 million in venture-capital funding and plans to double its staff
The Young Turks, one of the longest-running progressive digital video outlets, announced a major round of funding on Tuesday. The firms 3L Capital, Greycroft, E.ventures, and WndrCo, which is led by the business executive and Democratic Party kingmaker Jeffrey Katzenberg, will invest $20 million in the progressive media company, which for a decade has live-streamed hours of video content with a progressive perspective.
"We've got the content side figured out pretty well, ranked No. 1 in the news vertical in all the rankings, but it's time to build out the rest of the business," Cenk Uygur, a cofounder and host, said in an interview with Business Insider.
The Young Turks Are Beating Major Media Operations—on YouTube
By: Laura Flanders
They sat down with Laura Flanders to discuss the future of progressive media.
Anyone questioning the vitality of progressive media in the United States needs to check out The Young Turks. This online video channel claims 80 million unique views a month. This puts it in the same league as The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Founder and host Cenk Uygur launched The Young Turks as a radio show in 2002 before taking it online in 2006. He joined MSNBC as a contributor in 2010, but left the network a year later over editorial differences. (See Mark Hertsgaard’s article in this issue for Uygur’s version of his clash with the corporate bosses at NBC.) Currently, The Young Turks streams live for two hours every Monday through Friday, starting at 6 pm Eastern time, and is hosted by Uygur and Ana Kasparian.
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