The Economics of Online Video

The biggest challenge facing brands and publishers looking to monetize online video is the economics of the ad-supported model—according to former Head of Content Strategy at YouTube Michael Rucker. As production costs grow, “the views that [you] need to generate on an ad-supported model alone are difficult to justify,” Rucker tells GLG. More than ever, content creators must think beyond a single platform (e.g., YouTube) to reach a wider audience and keep their edge. Michael Rucker sits down with GLG to discuss online video monetization, cross-platform content, and the future of virtual reality.

Michael Rucker is the owner and COO of OmniVirt, a virtual reality advertising startup. From 2014 to 2016, he was the CEO of the independent consultancy MR Advisors. Prior to that, he was Head of Content Strategy at YouTube, where he led content strategy across the company’s five main verticals: entertainment, music, sports, news, and education. In addition to building a content classification system to improve talent discovery, Rucker also designed content segmentation and prioritization to steer YouTube’s marketing and commercialization activity. Rucker started at YouTube in 2009 as Regional Marketing Manager for Asia-Pacific. From there, he spent two years in product management roles, leading YouTube’s co-marketing efforts with device manufacturers and major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners. Rucker received his Master’s degree from Stanford University is a graduate of Yale University.