Vimeo brings exclusive Machinima content to its self-distribution ‘On Demand’ platform

Video-streaming platform Vimeo has announced a content development and distribution deal with Machinima, the popular video site dedicated to fandom and gamer culture, that will see exclusive content arrive on Vimeo’s self-distribution platform.

Machinima’s 30,000-plus community of creators will be guided over to Vimeo On Demand, where they will be encouraged to offer their original programming.

Vimeo has been ramping up its efforts to in recent times to differentiate itself from YouTube, with a focus more on creators and filmmakers. Vimeo lets them sell original TV shows and movies through Vimeo On Demand, which launched back in 2013. The New York-based company announced back in May that it would be getting into the original content game itself too, funding six new episodes of the web series High Maintenance, a previously self-funded 13-show series that had already proven itself on Vimeo.

This is a notable partnership, given the size and scale of both companies. Vimeo often lives in the shadows of YouTube, but it has 30 million registered members and sees north of 170 million people arrive on its site each month. Machinima is also among the largest video platforms in the world, with 430 million subscribers,170 million monthly viewers, and 3.7 billion monthly video views.

With this latest deal, Vimeo On Demand will not only become the go-to transactional platform for Machinima users, but Vimeo will be directly integrated into Machinima’s internal talent-management system in the coming months. Machinima’s creators will also receive “significantly” discounted subscriptions to Vimeo Pro accounts.

Today’s news comes just a few days after Warner Bros. invested $24 million in Machinima, taking its total funding to $53 million to date.