Why is YouTube scared of the big bad Vessel?

YouTube Music Key
The poachers are out, and YouTube's not happy about it

You might think YouTube is confident on its throne of web broadcasting dominance, but apparently that's not the case.

Hulu exec Jason Kilar is working on a rival called Vessel, and the service is allegedly offering up some rather tasty deals to lure over a number of YouTube's biggest stars.

Sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal say that YouTube has been "in a fire drill" attempting to keep a hold on its star performers with the promise of lucrative bonuses, while Vesell has been aggressively pulling them the other way.

Vlog off

Vessel is believed to be launching by the end of the year, which obviously doesn't give it very long. The service has allegedly told creators that it'll offer a better environment for their content than YouTube currently does.

It'll also offer up money to vloggers in advance, the sum of which will depend on the star's popularity on YouTube.

But it's not the only one on the prowl for talent. YouTube's actions are also a response to Facebook, which too has been trying to poach stars from the broadcast giant in recent months.

We're in the process of contacting a number of sources regarding the matter, and we'll update when we learn more. Google refused to comment on this story.

Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.


Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.