CANVAS BUSINESS MODEL - YOUTUBE

YouTube – one of the most popular video hosting platform now, which serves people
worldwide. It’s one of the famous for its flexibility, innovation and user friendly interface.
Having or not an account in YouTube now, you can access billions of different video without
any payments. These are the things that make YouTube the most famous video platform now,
it’s open to those who wants to upload their own contents and also to delivered them to the
others users that need them. This is the main reason why I chose this company and also it’s
interesting personally for me to find out a new knowledge about this company.

The Business Model Canvas is a model which gives us a business structure – plan, it
consists from 9 parts, and all of them are separated in 4 blocks. Each blocks answers to some
specific questions:

1. WHO are our customers and what are the interaction channels and how do we
establish our interactions with our customers by these channels?

2. WHAT can we propose to our customers?

3. HOW do we realise interaction with customers and partners

4. HOW MUCH and what kind of costs and revenues do we have from our activities?

Above are the fourth main blocks on the Canvas Business Model, and I would like to
present YouTube company through them further.

The first block:

Customer Segments: YouTube is oriented to all internet users, but mainly to some big
segments: the first one – users which can be individual users and corporation. They have
possibilities to upload-download, to watch, to like/dislike and rate all existed videos in
YouTube, the second segment includes users which are not registered, they have more limited
possibilities to YouTube contents, they can only watch and download video materials, and the
last segment, but also very important is segment which includes advertisers and developers.
All existed company from small to big corporations can benefit from the advertiser services
provided by YouTube, but only for contents which respects specials standards. As well as we
know YouTube’s revenue is largely represented by money received for advertising, it is doing
by selling to different advertisers its users, more exactly by placing in users’ contents (video)
these adds, and also paying to the users a part of amount received from the advertisers.

Channels: As well as I said before and also we know, YouTube is a video sharing
platform and its activity is possible only by using the web environment. All YouTube’s activities
take place on the following website youtube.com. YouTube has also an app avaible for all kind
of operation system for the phone.

Customer Relationships: YouTube is trying now to be as close as possible to its

customers. Because it’s an online platform the direct contact is almost impossible, but it is not
so much needed in its case. On the other hand, YouTube can be contacted via its website and
special department “HELP”, also by phone and by email.
 The second block:

Value Preposition: It represents in YouTube’s case its special and strategic

characteristics of the platform, like flexibility, dynamicity and easy access to the video contents
on the platform. YouTube gives to the people a lot of possibility on its user friendly platform. A
regular user can upload-download, watch in the best quality video materials, and also some of
users can receive money from adds placed in its videos. On the other hand, YouTube offers
possibility to do a Live Events Streaming (Gaming Events, Cultural Events, Economic Events
etc.) and also to watch them.

The third block:

Key Resources: The key of YouTube’s success is uniqueness. It doesn’t exist now a
more advanced online platform for video sharing than YouTube. It is the second most visited
web-site in the world, because it allows you to do all kind of actions related to video content. It
opens for the users the most innovative and progressive web environment, having a lot of
videos in an accessible format and best quality, also video 3D and video with 4K resolution.

Key Activities: All YouTube’s activities are directed to remain on a good position
worldwide, to continue to make happy its customers and also to make this YouTube accessible
absolutely worldwide. For these reasons YouTube is working now very intensely on its
platform, marketing aspects and product development.

Key Partnerships: Such a big company like YouTube can’t exist alone, it has a lot of
cooperation partners. The biggest YouTube partners is also and its “parent” Google LLC, the
biggest Multinational Technology Corporation. YouTube cooperates with a lot of others
company and media corporation like BBC, Vevo and Hulu.

The fourth block:

Cost Structure: YouTube bears a lot of expenses related to the good functioning and
developing of the platform. Also a lot of costs are paid for storing and distribution of its
contents – for hosting, legal costs and taxes.

Revenue Streams: The main part of YouTube revenue represents money from
advertisement placed on the video, also money received from users for Premium Account and
Monthly Paid Subscription.

In case of revenue was a very interesting situation in 2009, some of the biggest
analysts said that it was a big trouble when Google bought YouTube in 2006, because in 2009
Google recorded a loss of 470 million of dollars on the video-sharing only. Also, YouTube was
criticized for its free access to the video materials, about that said in 2009 magazine “Time”:
“YouTube and its fellow user-contributed sites really did change the world. Too bad nobody
could find a way to pay for it.” And now in 2019 we can say that it was a bad opinion about
YouTube’s future, because YouTube’s revenue has reached 10 billion dollars annually and it’s
increasing by as much as 40% per year. The growth makes YouTube one of the strongest assets
fundamentally on the internet today.
COMPANY NAME: YouTube

WHAT BUSINESS IS THE COMPANY IN? Video hosting service

WEBSITE: https://www.youtube.com /

CANVAS BUSINESS MODEL

WHO
1.-CUSTOMER SEGMENTS
There are some big segments of YouTube customers: the first - main segment are YouTube users
(Individuals and Corporations), the second - unregistered users and the last, but not the least –
advertisers (from the small corporations to the biggest corporations) and developers. YouTube serves
to the entire worldwide area, excepts some blocked countries.
2.-CHANNELS
The main and the only one channel used by YouTube is online channel (Internet) on the following
website youtube.com, because it can reach all kind of customers presented above only by this way.
The Internet is the most important resource in the existence of this online platform.
3.-CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
The way in which YouTube communicates, supports and deals with existing customers is web area -
online area. Also for all users they have a special support service, they can be contacted by a free call
to a special number, by email address or Support Department directly on the website.
WHAT
4.-VALUE PROPOSITION
The most flexible and easy accessible video-sharing platform is YouTube now, it offers a lot of
possibility to its users, starting with watching, uploading-downloading in the best quality video for
registered users and ending with earning money. For the other users, it offers possibility to watch a
lot of existed video without registration. One of the main part of all customers – advertisers, for them
also YouTube offers a lot of possibility, like a good price, newness and the most important, flexibility
in content they need and an easy access to the final customers.
HOW
5.-KEY RESOURCES
The essential thing on YouTube success is the modern, flexible and innovative platform which allows
users to upload their own materials in different field of interest in a good format and quality and also
to watch a lot of video materials, to rate and to like/unlike them. At the same time all this content
serves like a base for the future advertisement, that’s one of the main reason why YouTube
encourages its users to upload, to watch and generally to be active on the platform.
6.-KEY ACTIVITIES
The first activity which YouTube is doing now are activity oriented to be anywhere and anytime on
the internet, this means to be in trend. They are in continue developing of its platform to be able to
attract new audience and to manage them all.
7.-KEY PARTNERSHIPS
The biggest part of the partners of YouTube are other companies, internet platforms and media
corporations. Some of these companies are: Google Company - the main partner and BBC, Vevo.
HOW MUCH
8.-COSTS STRUCTURE
 The Cost Structure of YouTube contains a fixed and variables costs. The biggest part of all costs are
for maintaining and developing the platform, very important are and salary payments, legal costs for
all the legal issues and also taxes.
9.-REVENUE STREAMS
The main part of YouTube revenues is from advertisements and dealing with advertisers, the second,
but very important, from Premium and Special options which are selling to users for using certain
exclusive possibilities.
Sources used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube

https://slate.com/technology/2009/04/the-high-costs-of-running-youtube.html