Arcade, the management company behind The Sidemen, and creator funding company Viewture have launched Creator Access in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), a platform enabling direct ad sales alongside YouTube content.

Creator Access integrates with YouTube to allow brands and advertisers to secure reserved delivery of video ads on creator content through direct deals. The platform offers brands access to Creator Access’s talent roster with guaranteed ad placement on their videos.

The platform debuts with The Sidemen, Arcade’s flagship creator partnership with more than 130 million YouTube subscribers. Participating brands can advertise directly on The Sidemen’s YouTube channel through the new service.

The initial roster also includes established and emerging creators Arlette Amuli, Ian Bick, and Elle Swift. Additional creators will join the platform as it expands.

“Creator Access is a major step forward for the creator economy, putting creators at the centre of the media ecosystem,” Sam Uwins, co-founder at Arcade, said in a statement. “Now, brands can place advertising alongside premium YouTube creator content on Creator Access’s roster with the same confidence, control, and sophistication typically employed by broadcasters and major media owners.”

Uwins adds that the platform will “make a huge difference in helping advertisers benefit from the reach and engagement achieved by today’s leading content creators, who are rapidly evolving into culture-defining brands in their own right.”

Partnership Builds on Multi-Year Collaboration

The launch represents the latest development in a partnership between Arcade and Viewture that began in September 2022. Viewture initially served as a brand partner, sponsoring the Sidemen charity match after-party and later the Creator Lounge at the Sidemen Arena Experience at London Stadium.

“Our partnership with Arcade is rooted in a shared belief in empowering creators,” said David Page, founder and CEO at Viewture. “By combining capital, technology, and premium inventory access, we are proud to help creators scale their ambitions while offering brands a new, high-impact route into digital entertainment.”

The platform marks a step in Arcade’s strategy to build a creator-led platform across content, community, and consumer sectors.

Source: Advanced Television