Enchufe.tv, one of the biggest YouTube channels in the Spanish-speaking world, announced last week that it had been sold in December. The sketch comedy channel has 19 million subscribers — more than Logan Paul and bigger than the YouTube presence of BuzzFeed. Its sale follows the acquisition of YouTube’s 13th most-viewed channel, Little Baby Bum, in July. And they may be just the beginning.
Read MoreThese acquisitions suggest there are more to come, says Ian Shepherd, chairman of the London-based Business of Influencers, an industry body. “I would expect to see more channel sales like this in the coming months,” Shepherd says. Buyers who are able to juggle the jobs required to run big channels are attracted by the guaranteed ad revenue from their huge, highly engaged audiences.