YouTube introduced a variety of initiatives designed to draw extra TV advert {dollars} to its platform at Brandcast, its annual Upfront occasion for advertisers. Notably, the Google-owned video service is increasing its relationship with the NFL and plans to solely stream the NFL’s first Friday sport of the 2025-2026 season. It’s additionally making ready to pilot a brand new approach for creators to achieve the viewers that watches YouTube on TV by simply organized and bingeable TV exhibits.
The latter was first introduced at YouTube’s Made On YouTube occasion final September, the place CEO Neal Mohan defined that creators making a majority of their income on TV screens was up greater than 30% year-over-year. A brand new function being provided to pick out creators within the pilot program will permit them to prepare their content material into seasons and episodes — similar to a “actual” TV present.
In addition to new efforts round “shoppable TV” and instruments that permit advertisers goal main cultural moments like awards season or The PGA Championship, as an illustration, the corporate is as soon as once more sending a message to advertisers that it’s not simply an internet video service, it’s really the brand new approach folks watch “TV.”
As a part of its NFL deal, YouTube says it’s going to solely stream the primary Friday sport hosted in São Paulo, Brazil, to a worldwide viewers. This marks the primary time that YouTube has served as a reside broadcaster for the NFL, it notes. (In the U.S., the sport can be out there to YouTube TV subscribers.) The firm identified that customers final 12 months watched over 350 million hours of NFL content material on the platform, in response to its inner knowledge, and had pulled in over 6 million reside views when it streamed the NFL’s Super Bowl LIX Flag Football Game. Its expanded take care of the NFL will see it streaming that Flag Football sport over a number of years to return.
For creators, YouTube’s pitch focuses on bringing their content material to the lounge.
Hundreds of creators can be part of the preliminary pilot, anticipated to launch within the U.S. this summer time, that can permit them to prepare their content material right into a viewing expertise designed for the massive display screen. Creators like Michelle Khare’s Challenge Accepted and Good Mythical Morning with Rhett & Link will use the brand new instruments to show their content material into “seasons” and “episodes,” to make their content material extra bingeable on TV.
The firm can also be rolling out methods to buy from YouTube with QR codes and different send-to-phone performance, and can look to Gemini AI to match adverts to common, related content material.
During Brandcast, YouTube featured varied case research from manufacturers like Volvo, Inspire Brands (Dunkin’), Hilton, and State Farm, which have used its advertiser instruments to achieve their audiences. It additionally reminded entrepreneurs that YouTube has been No. 1 in streaming watch time within the U.S. for greater than two years, placing it forward of Netflix, Disney, and Prime Video as of March 2025. The firm additionally touted its more moderen deal with podcasts, the place it now sees over 1 billion month-to-month lively podcast customers.
