All this talk about CPM

[TigerXtrm]

So I just want to clarify all this CPM talk for myself, because I see a lot of claims that either make no sense or appear incorrect.

1. When people talk about the CPM of a network being good or bad, don't they actually mean the SHARE of the CPM?

2. If no, how does the network influence the CPM at all?

3. If yes, why do people always refer to a good or bad CPM when they should be talking about a good or bad revenue split?

4. I've heard people say that certain networks put better ads on your videos. I'm very inclined to believe this is complete b******t and ignorance on the same level as the 'networks that bought gaming rights' that way too many people still believe to be true. But I could be wrong. Anyone have some factual evidence to back this up?

5. Has anyone ever heard of a single network who sells adspace directly on their partners videos? If so, again, I'd love to see it.

 

[GafferGames]

So I just want to clarify all this CPM talk for myself, because I see a lot of claims that either make no sense or appear incorrect.

1. When people talk about the CPM of a network being good or bad, don't they actually mean the SHARE of the CPM?

2. If no, how does the network influence the CPM at all?

3. If yes, why do people always refer to a good or bad CPM when they should be talking about a good or bad revenue split?

4. I've heard people say that certain networks put better ads on your videos. I'm very inclined to believe this is complete b******t and ignorance on the same level as the 'networks that bought gaming rights' that way too many people still believe to be true. But I could be wrong. Anyone have some factual evidence to back this up?

5. Has anyone ever heard of a single network who sells adspace directly on their partners videos? If so, again, I'd love to see it.

I'm pretty sure CPM is what you get after they split the RPM, correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

[MrPie]

1. When people refer to CPM they mean how much they are looking to get per X amount of views. The 'share of the CPM' that you are talking about is most likely the split percentage between the YouTuber and the network which is Separate.

2. Honestly i don't think Networks have much control. I'm not sure what the process is for the networks to buy ads to put on their Partners channel and i sure as hell don't know if that even happens. What i do know is that some networks have a Set CPM. So no matter what, you would earn a fixed rate. For example, Machinima had a $2 fixed CPM. So you'd only get $2 per 1000 views. I think that's changed now.

3. I guess it's just something to add to the Pros of joining a Network

4. I was part of a community my job was to moderate the chat, at one point i saw what options the network had in terms of control over the ads. They basically had categories, like Gaming, Gambling, Movies, Music and such that they could activate to show on their Partners videos. I'm assuming that most other networks have the same type of control but this might not be the case. I'm assuming the MCNs (Maker, Bent Pixels, Big Frame) will be the one buying the ads.

5. I haven't no.

 

[Tarmack]

Networks use Adsense just like everyone else. It is the basis for all advertising on YouTube. However, Adsense by default only uses Adwords and some limited YouTube direct advertising as inputs. Networks have access to the additional feature set of inputting ads not involved in the Adwords process. This is how they influence the CPM because these ad sales are direct.

So no, a good or bad CPM is not only the revenue share. A network selling superior ad space could result in a good CPM even with a bad revenue share. The factual evidence comes from channels who partner with networks and see their CPM go up. It defies logic to assume that a 100% revenue share with Adsense could go up when you are giving away a piece to your network, unless that network is increasing the rate of pay as well. This is not the same thing as the gaming rights issue.

As to selling ad space right on the videos, I would suspect that networks do handle some negotiation for partners, but I doubt that it is required. Erock on YT for example advertises his strings and pickups, but he was probably approached directly, or did the approaching himself.

 

[Daniel]

1) When people refer to CPM, they could mean one of two things. Gross or Net CPM. Gross CPM is total revenue before any cuts (both Google's and your networks.) Net CPM is after Google's and your networks cut. When people refer to a good CPM, they could be quoting both. But a higher net CPM would mean you would earn more. Lot's of network's do quote Gross CPM, so you do have to take that into consideration and how much you would make after the cuts.

2) Network's have their own ad-sales team. Some of these sell ads at a higher rate then adsense, so their CPM is higher.

3) Because a higher CPM would generally be better to talk about. Splits are a factor however and should be taken into consideration.

4) Most talk about network's have such licenses is often wrong. Most licenses in particularly gaming is covered under fair-use, and a network will often advise a person what they can and cannot monetize. Some networks do have licenses, for example Fullscreen has a media distribution license to allow their partners to monetize cover songs published by UMG, that deal was sealed back in February I believe.

5) Not that I have heard of, but some network's do have target ad's which relate to your content.

 

[Flammy]

5. Has anyone ever heard of a single network who sells adspace directly on their partners videos? If so, again, I'd love to see it.

Yes, I know for a fact my network will sell ads specifically to a channel or group of channels of similar content. It requires significant number of views of the network (both # of views and % of network views) to have this happen as it requires man hours and needs to be worth it for the network.

I'm talking about the number of views having to be at least 5 million + in order for them to even consider this.

Larger networks generally require a larger number of views in order to do so.

Note not all networks even sell ads themselves. They just serve 100% adsense filled ads and still take a cut of the action - All networks sell a mix of adsense ads and 'premium' network sold ads. (the value of premium often is very similar to adsense)