A sponsor is “a person, firm, organization, etc., that finances and buys the time to broadcast a radio or television program so as to advertise a product, a political party, etc.”

Although some YouTube channels go without sponsorship, there are many channels that have made deals with sponsors. These deals are settled outside of YouTube and just between the sponsor and the sponsee.

Some examples of sponsored YouTube channels include:

• Carmilla-Kotex
• Grumpy Cat-Friskies Cat Food
• Dude Perfect- Bubble Wrap

Recently, YouTube (Google) is speaking out against brand-sponsored videos (see article here). Their argument is based on the fact that Google should receive compensation for the companies advertising as sponsors for videos. “Video overlays of sponsor logos and product branding are no longer allowed — unless the sponsor pays Google to advertise on that channel.”

The site has changed their policies to deter advertisements such as the one in the image above unless the company buys a media package through Google. This will likely be difficult to enforce due to the plethora of videos uploading each day and the amount of existing sponsors. YouTube will mostly rely on users to flag the videos that violate this new rule.