Advertising and Content Differentiation

Evidence from YouTube

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9703728
AutoresAnna Kerkhof (University of Munich, ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich & CESifo , Germany, autor correspondente)
Ano2024
Volume134
Fascículo663
Páginas2912-2950
Data de publicação2024-09-17
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Economic Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0013-0133 • E-ISSN: 1468-0297
EditoraOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ej/ueae043
OpenAlexW3121988977
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas39

Many media outlets depend on advertising revenue to finance their operations, but the effect of advertising on media outlets’ content choices is largely unexplored. This paper exploits two institutional features from YouTube to show that an exogenous increase in the feasible amount of advertising induces YouTubers to differentiate their video content from their competitors. A plausible mechanism is that YouTubers avoid competition: viewers typically perceive advertising as a nuisance and therefore as an implicit price they have to pay; thus, they could switch to a competitor if a YouTuber increased her advertising quantity. This is less likely, however, if the YouTuber differentiates her content from the mainstream and moves to a niche

Advertising · Business · Content (measure theory · Multimedia · Computer Science · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Mathematics · Media Influence and Politics