Battle for Video Talent Poses New Test for YouTube

Jason Kilar, former head of Hulu and founder of Vessel. Photo by Bloomberg.
By
Tom Dotan

The growing number of companies vying to become distributors of short-form video content is upping the ante for YouTube, even as the Google unit takes new steps to remain the favored platform for video producers.

The latest competition comes from Vessel, the video streaming startup from former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar. Executives behind the yet-to-be released platform have been offering sweetened terms to creators, sometimes paying big for a guarantee of temporary exclusivity.