German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 buys 20% stake in YouTube network

ProSiebenSat.1, a German broadcaster, is buying a 20 percent stake in U.S.-based online video company Collective Digital Studios to gain more viewers on websites such as Google Inc.’s YouTube. The deal lets ProSiebenSat.1 participate in a content network that attracts almost 1 billion views every month for shows such as “The Annoying Orange,” “Epic Meal Time” and “Video Game High School,” according to the Munich-based broadcaster. Spokesman Matthias Bohlig declined to give financial details.

Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 has acquired a 20 percent stake in the YouTube multi-channel network Collective Digital Studio, also known under the much simpler moniker The Collective. There’s no official word on the exact numbers, but I’ve heard that it’s in an eight figure deal. The Collective is best known as the production company of Freddy Wong’s YouTube hit series Video Game High School, and has also been working with the Annoying Orange and Epic Meal Time. Altogether, the Collective is responsible for more than 600 YouTube channels with close to a billion views per month. The deal with the German media giant was handled by Red Arrow Entertainment, a ProSiebenSat.1 subsidiary that functions as an umbrella for 15 international production companies.