Producers got $10 per 1,000 views if they talked nice about Battlefield 4.
We’ve seen a lot of Battlefield 4 videos on YouTube from popular video producers, showing gameplay, tips, and more. Now it’s been revealed that EA not only paid some of them to promote Battlefield 4 during launch, but specifically forbid them from taking negatively about the game, such as mentioning any glitches they might find.
According to a contract that was leaked by one of the video producers, EA’s program, called “Ronku”, paid YouTube producers up to $10 per 1,000 views if the videos included Battlefield 4 footage and talked about the new Levolution feature.
However, as mentioned before, the contract specifically states to YouTube producers: “Do no make videos that focuses on glitches in the game”. Which must have been hard when the game launched, because it was full of glitches and bugs.
EA released a statement confirming that they paid YouTube producers to post Battlefield 4 footage and talk favorably about the game. An EA spokesperson added that “The program requires that participants comply with FTC guidelines and identify when content is sponsored”.
The revelation comes just days after it was revealed that Microsoft has paid Machinima YouTube partners to post Xbox One gameplay footage. As with EA, Microsoft specifically said that it was not allowed to say anything bad about the Xbox One.
You can find a screenshot of EA’s Battlefield 4 YouTube contract below:
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We’ve seen a lot of Battlefield 4 videos on YouTube from popular video producers, showing gameplay, tips, and more. Now it’s been revealed that EA not only paid some of them to promote Battlefield 4 during launch, but specifically forbid them from taking negatively about the game, such as mentioning any glitches they might find.
According to a contract that was leaked by one of the video producers, EA’s program, called “Ronku”, paid YouTube producers up to $10 per 1,000 views if the videos included Battlefield 4 footage and talked about the new Levolution feature.
However, as mentioned before, the contract specifically states to YouTube producers: “Do no make videos that focuses on glitches in the game”. Which must have been hard when the game launched, because it was full of glitches and bugs.
EA released a statement confirming that they paid YouTube producers to post Battlefield 4 footage and talk favorably about the game. An EA spokesperson added that “The program requires that participants comply with FTC guidelines and identify when content is sponsored”.
The revelation comes just days after it was revealed that Microsoft has paid Machinima YouTube partners to post Xbox One gameplay footage. As with EA, Microsoft specifically said that it was not allowed to say anything bad about the Xbox One.
You can find a screenshot of EA’s Battlefield 4 YouTube contract below:
More...
