Ex-YouTube Exec Susanne Daniels On ‘Cobra Kai’ & Original Content

YouTube will pivot back to original content according to former exec Susanne Daniels. She spearheaded the platform’s stunted move into original fare with the likes of Cobra Kai, before exiting the Google-owned platform in 2022 when it moved away from having its own programming. But the veteran exec and YouTube alum said she anticipates a full-circle moment for the Google-owned platform.

“Neal Mohan was very averse to it… but now that he’s [CEO and] running YouTube, I think he’ll come around to it,” Daniels said, citing the deal for rights to the Academy Awards as evidence it is in the market for content. YouTube outbid ABC and others and has rights to the biggest night in film, starting 2029.

Originals are, however, complicated for YouTube, as Daniels recalled. If YouTube is purely a distribution platform for third-party content, it avoids, in some jurisdictions, the regulation and checks on broadcasters and entities that originate, broadcast and publish content.

“The distinction is that they claim they’re just a platform, and that was one of the problems when I ran original content for YouTube,” she said. “In Europe it caused an issue for YouTube/Google because we were no longer able to hide behind the ‘we’re just a platform’ strategy because we were making original content.”

She added: “Europe does a better job of regulating the industry in general than the United States. I think YouTube should be regulated, absolutely.”

Her comments were timely, coming a day before the UK government revealed a social media ban for under-16s. As with Australia’s ban, the UK legislation will include YouTube, alongside the likes of X, TikTok and Facebook.

Daniels was Global Head of Original Content at YouTube for more than six years. She now has several board positions and teaches at UCLA where she is an adjunct professor.  She explained that she wanted to buy Karate Kid-inspired series Cobra Kai in the room. She secured the series, but said it did not fulfill its potential because YouTube “didn’t know what to do with original content.”

Daniels explained: “I was very frustrated when I launched Cobra Kai, because I knew this was a very special show, and it had the potential to break through. Our testing showed that too, but I couldn’t get YouTube/Google to use the show in ways that I thought would help it. For instance, giving exclusive rights to Google phone [users] to premiere seasons early, or giving the living room team exclusive access.”

Cobra Kai moved to Netflix after two seasons on YouTube.

Daniels was speaking at the ongoing Monte-Carlo TV Festival where she is chairing the event’s digital jury.