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As part of the global distribution and sales company’s investment in the creator economy, Filmhub has inked a partnership with talent management company UnderCurrent.
Filmhub’s goal with the partnership is to help digital
creators expand their distribution reach — whether that’s by licensing their content to VOD platforms or helping them negotiate original film and TV deals — with a special interest in those working in supernatural and true crime spaces.
“The digital creator space has always been one that we wanted to expand into,” Filmhub CEO Alan d’Escragnolle says. “Our partners finally woke up.”
He explains: “The advertising-based services that are not traditionally seen as homes for creator content are now becoming homes of that creator content, and that’s where we are uniquely positioned as someone with those relationships in place to help drive that monetization and syndication of their content.”
Under the new deal, Filmhub works exclusively with creators repped by UnderCurrent, like Kelsi Davies, who makes paranormal content for her 3.2 million YouTube subscribers; Jimmy Here, who creates reaction-style comedy videos for his nearly 2 million subscribers; and horror documentarian Nexpo, who has nearly 4 million subscribers.
“It’s been years of just creating everything that I’ve built with my brand. It’s basically my baby,” Davies says. “Handing it over, it’s kind of like handing over part of me. I always want to make sure it goes in the right hands and that it’s someone trustworthy. I feel like Filmhub really advocates for creators. They don’t see us as just a brand; they see us as a creative and a person who has built something so special.”
Through Filmhub, creators like Davies are looking for ways to “revive” their preexisting content and reach a larger audience.
“I’ve spent so long working on all this content that goes to YouTube and then dies down. It [eventually] gets off the algorithm,” she says. “Most creators just want to expand as much as they can, and if they’re not hopping on the train, they’re going to be left behind.”
So far, Filmhub has launched a FAST channel on Roku for Davies, representing VOD rights for her over 150 hours of content. Davies has also launched her videos on the ad-supported service Tubi, with a six-episode series coming soon that she’s directing, producing and editing.
“It’s honestly almost overwhelming because of how fast they’ve been moving,” Davies says. “But it’s the best overwhelming feeling to have. I’m really anticipating things expanding more and more in the next few months.”
Another challenge Filmhub recognized they could help fix is that content and digital creators may not be used to reading contracts or the rights required for film or TV shows.
“We have to have patience with creators in getting them to understand that,” d’Escragnolle says. “That’s where we can be helpful and actually a true partner.”
While digital creators like Davies are used to securing brand deals with major companies like Sony and Universal for short videos on social media or YouTube, the Filmhub partnership opens the door for those to take a new form.
“I’m interested to see what happens when brands start wanting integrations on streaming services,” Davies says.
Filmhub also aims to help the creators maintain control over their IP. “We’re also an interesting shop in that we don’t necessarily believe in exclusivity. We’re here to allow creators to really own and maintain their rights,” d’Escragnolle adds. “Many distributors solely think in terms of, ‘We want 20-year exclusive rights and licensing.’ That’s a very different business model than we think about.”
That perspective has been refreshing for a creative like Davies, who has seen other companies overstep those bounds.
“[Filmhub] just adds a lot of value to everything that I’ve already built. And it’s been cool because they’re not taking over everything,” she says. “They’re not trying to own a part of me or anything like that. We’re all like, ‘Let’s build something together and see what we can do.’”
