YouTube takes back its spot as VidCon’s title sponsor at this year’s conference, which will take place from June 21 to June 24 in Anaheim, California.
This puts the Google-owned platform back in the spotlight during one of the biggest annual conventions following two years of TikTok as the title sponsor. TikTok initially took over the throne in 2021, after YouTube held the title sponsorship from 2013 to 2019.
This is big news considering YouTube’s revenue decrease, which fell by 2% in the last year. YouTube’s short-form video feature Shorts is just one way the Google-owned platform is catching up to TikTok and take back its former glory. Shorts’ monetization scheme will begin on February 1 and allow revenue from ads displayed during Shorts features to be shared among eligible creators on the app.
While it is unclear why TikTok’s role as title sponsor at VidCon ended after only two years, it may have something to do with its current reputation in the US, which remains under fire due to cybersecurity issues. State policies have been altered to ban TikTok from government devices. A growing number of public universities have even forbidden using TikTok on school computers and mobile devices.
However, this doesn’t mean that TikTok has lost its presence at VidCon. Many TikTok-based celebrities will be presenting at the creator-led conference, including Drew Afualo and Spencewuah. Whether YouTube will be able to catch up on the creator market post-VidCon remains to be seen.
