Revver from Best YouTube Alternative

Created in 2004 and launched in 2005, Revver does not qualify for being among the best streaming sites, but had a strong position of one of the best video hosting services and was the first to introduce payment to the creators for the content, monetizing the traffic through ads. The content is purely generated by users, which are then rewarded with a share of the revenue from advertisements. Revver is also a platform that allowed other sites to use the pattern and create unique “Revverized” services. In 2007 the company announced that $1 million was paid to the creators for their content through the ads system. Due to the poor management and issues with payments the site was eventually shut down in 2011.

Since the introduction, Revver was quick to generate a buzz around the business model and it was easy to drag new creators of quality content with the promises of stable payments. The tags system was groundbreaking and became the highlight of the service. Soon, the agreements with V CAST were signed and Revver users got the opportunity to watch content offered by that service. The project was sold to LiveUniverse in 2008 and that is when the problems emerged. Many issues of payments not being made were registered and the major creators started a fight with the company, demanding large sums, owed them. The problem escalated quickly and many creators have switched their focus on YouTube and transferred their content, quitting Revver and taking a fair share of visitors with them. The decrease in views became more and more staggering and soon there was no other choice but to shut down the whole site, as it was no longer profitable to maintain.