Opinion
Rea: The r/videos subreddit serves as frontline for internet virality
“Reddit videos, at least at the time, and still to this day can be a sort of frontline for what's going to go viral on the internet.”
Insight
Rea: YouTube's algorithm prioritizes videos getting sudden external traffic surges
“And the algorithm, the YouTube algorithm, when you suddenly and massively just get an influx of views from an outside source, it's going to prioritize you in the algorithm.”
Disclosure
Rea: Babish pays on-screen creators a percentage of their video ad revenue
“And the way that we've been compensating our talent is via percentage, which I'm not familiar with any media brand doing that where our talent and our creators are paid commensurately with what ads are placed on their videos and how well their videos do.”
Disclosure
Rea: Babish partnered with Sohla El-Waylly to test transparent talent compensation
“We had an idea of how we could fairly compensate our employees and our talent, and we wanted to try it out, and, you know, I make it a habit not to speak ill of my contemporaries but We saw a free agent a creative who needed a new home and somebody who we coul…”
Disclosure
Andrew Rea: First Babish Video Was Made Specifically for Reddit's Food Subreddit
“And I made the video specifically for Reddit, for the food subreddit, because I had been posting there.”
Assertion Supported
Rea: Friends Moist Maker video generated 600,000 views in first week
“And I think in, in its first week, it pulled down about 600,000 views, if I remember correctly.”
Disclosure
Rea: Direct brand integrations surpassed YouTube ad revenue for Babish
“And then, you know, it became for a minute was the lion's share of our income, but then that was superseded by integrations.”
Disclosure
Andrew Rea: Babish Culinary Universe operates with only six employees
“As of right now, we're six employees strong, myself included and our expenses are extremely low, and our revenues... Are extremely high because they're based off of just the sheer number of viewers that we've been able to generate.”
Assertion Supported
Andrew Rea: Babish Videos Have Never Said 'Like and Subscribe'
“You might also notice that I've never ever said like and subscribe, which is a very common YouTuber trope to say, to finish, begin and finish a video with, hey guys, like and subscribe. And I've never said that.”
Disclosure
Rea: Took month-long hiatus in April 2022 after complete breakdown
“I took a month off back in April of this year. I disappeared from the channel. We put out a little notice, and it was because I had had a just a complete breakdown.”
Disclosure
Rea: Binging with Babish was sparked by Parks and Recreation burger episode
“As I was fiddling with that, I was watching Parks and Rec for, you know, probably the fifth or sixth time, and watched a scene that I had seen a dozen times, because it's from a great episode where there was a burger cook-off, and they were discussing some pre…”
Disclosure
Rea: Binging with Babish was not monetized for its first year
“Because I didn't monetize any videos for a year. So I would continue to make This show as a hobby for a year after its inception.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Rea: Simple Babish episodes require at least 20 hours of production
“I mean, I'd say at the very least, an episode from front to back, if it's super simple and easy, will take about 20 hours.”
Disclosure
Rea gave 70 days notice in June 2017 to pursue Babish full-time
“It was June of 2017 that I gave 70 days notice to my employer, because they're dear friends, still are and decided that I was gonna
Do this gig full-time.”
Disclosure
Rea: Squarespace was Babish's first brand sponsor with a three-episode deal
“And the first partner that we worked with, who we still work with today, is Squarespace. They did a three-episode deal with us, and that was enough for me to, like, get champagne for me and Sawyer.”
Insight
Rea: Showing amateur mistakes drove audience loyalty on YouTube
“That's why I made it as patently obvious as I possibly could that I was an amateur, and that meant showing my mistakes, that meant, you know, having a laugh if I spilled something or burnt something, that meant being very, very honest with the audience, and I …”
