Details on YouTuber’s Date Deal

After a well publicized but not immediately consummated first date at YouTube’s offices in San Bruno, Brandon Fletcher, who traveled across the country to try to get featured placement on the site, returned to his home of New York to release his online dating reality show titled Date: Unknown. Last week the young independent producer hooked up with the company in a revenue-sharing deal, joining a few dozen featured partners already in the program.

After releasing a series of episodes on schedule, Fletcher got an offer to participate in the program. “I think they waited to see if I was committed and how consistent I would be with the episodes,” he told us in response to emailed questions. The latest episode, number six, features Evan and Jocelyn, MySpace friends meeting in Sacramento (embedded above).

Fletcher declined to discuss details like the split on the revenue share or CPM rates, saying that the program was in “the beta stage.” (Variety reported the share split to be 50-50 in April). Currently the channel and video pages don’t contain third-party banner ads, and YouTube has yet to roll out its video advertising tests in full.

He did get to talk to YouTube staffers after dropping by their office, and said he has received gotten advice from the company, though not about production. In terms of promotional support from the company, he wrote that while he hopes the editorial team takes notice and gives the show prime placement, it is a “completely separate division” from the one he dealt with regarding partnership.

I asked if there were any special conditions for his show, such as obscenity guidelines or limits on promotional activity. He confirmed that only the basic terms of service applied to his program, suggesting he’s being given no more or less lattitude than other creators. His account status on the site will remain as a YouTube “Director.”

Fletcher’s experience paints a picture of how the relationships between producers and YouTube will work beyond just the financial details. And while he may not have gotten what he wanted out the day he crashed the company’s offices, in the long run his moxie and dedication to production were rewarded.

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