Author Archives: John G. Doe

#YouTubeRewind: Celebrating what you watched, shared, and created in 2016

2016 was the year of the challenge. You did the running man, you caught ‘em all, you took a moment to stand still, you layered … and layered … and layered. We think it’s fair to say, you crushed it.

Now 2016 is coming to an end, and you know what that means … it’s time for #YouTubeRewind.

This year, more than 200 YouTube stars from 18 countries accepted our Ultimate 2016 Rewind Challenge to pay homage to the biggest videos, memes, channels, songs, and pop culture moments of the year. Keep an eye out for some pretty epic surprise guests. Oh, and we got Major Lazer to help us out with an original mix too.



Feel like a YouTube expert? Take our Rewind quiz to see how many trends and creators you can spot.

It's also time to announce the top trending videos and music videos from 2016, according to time spent watching, sharing, commenting, liking and more. From Japanese comedy and European soccer to big celebrity moments and some of YouTube's most popular faces, this year’s top trending videos represent the amazing variety of creativity shared on YouTube every day.

Collectively these 10 videos have 550 million views and were watched for over 25 million hours. The channels behind them collectively have more than 40 million subscribers who tune in regularly to watch the funny, insightful, entertaining things they create.
  1. Adele Carpool Karaoke
  2. Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen/PIKO-TARO
  3. What's inside a Rattlesnake Rattle?
  4. Nike Football Presents: The Switch ft. Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Anthony Martial & More
  5. Grace VanderWaal: 12-Year-Old Ukulele Player Gets Golden Buzzer - America's Got Talent 2016
  6. Water Bottle Flip Edition | Dude Perfect
  7. Channing Tatum & Beyonce's "Run The World (Girls)" vs. Jenna Dewan-Tatum's "Pony" | Lip Sync Battle
  8. Donald Trump: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
  9. THE $21,000 FIRST CLASS AIRPLANE SEAT
  10. Brothers Convince Little Sister of Zombie Apocalypse
In music, 2016 seemed to be all about "work," with Fifth Harmony landing the year's top music video (and more than a billion views) and Rihanna scoring the biggest audience in the first 24 hours for a YouTube music video in 2016.
  1. Fifth Harmony - Work from Home ft. Ty Dolla $ign
  2. Calvin Harris - This Is What You Came For (Official Video) ft. Rihanna
  3. Hasta el Amanecer - Nicky Jam | Video Oficial
  4. The Chainsmokers - Closer (Lyric) ft. Halsey
  5. Rihanna - Work (Explicit) ft. Drake
  6. Mike Posner - I Took A Pill In Ibiza (Seeb Remix) (Explicit)
  7. Sia - Cheap Thrills (Lyric Video) ft. Sean Paul
  8. ZAYN - PILLOWTALK
  9. Coldplay - Hymn For The Weekend (Official video)
  10. twenty one pilots: Heathens (from Suicide Squad: The Album) [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
For even more end-of-the-year awesomeness, check out the YouTube Rewind channel.

Kevin Allocca, Head of Culture & Trends, and the YouTube Rewind team, recently watched "Ultimate 2016 Rewind Challenge."

Source: YouTube Blog


Drumroll, please … the top YouTube ads of 2016

What do cultural relevance, empowerment and mobile all have in common? Each is a prominent theme throughout the 2016 Year-End YouTube Ads Leaderboard - our annual look at the most watched and engaging ads of the year globally. Once again, advertisers delivered spots that took us on a rollercoaster of emotions, ranging from laughter to inspiration to “awwww...,” compelling viewers to both watch and share.

As we reflect on this year’s list, we see ads like Mountain Dew’s #puppymonkeybaby that added to the cultural conversation (because who doesn’t love puppies, monkeys and babies??), while spots from Always and Pokemon evoked a “can-do” spirit.

Mobile proved to be a key platform for viewers again this year. In fact, across the five Super Bowl ads on our Year-End Leaderboard, 81 percent of watch time came from mobile devices, with over 205 million combined mobile views.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the top 10 ads of 2016 on YouTube:

  1. Official Mobile Strike Super Bowl 50 TV Commercial | Arnold's Fight [EXTENDED Edition]
  2. Knorr #LoveAtFirstTaste
  3. Nike Football Presents: The Switch ft. Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Anthony Martial & More
  4. Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge: Official Introduction
  5. Clash Royale: Theme Song (Official TV Commercial)
  6. Mountainn Dew Kickstart: Puppymonkeybaby | Super Bowl Spot
  7. Always #LikeAGirl – Keep Playing
  8. The Chase – Hyundai Super Bowl Commercial | The 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  9. #Pokemon20: Pokémon Super Bowl Commercial
  10. Skittles: "The Portrait" w/ Steven Tyler. Super Bowl 50 Commercial

Meredith Argeris, YouTube Marketing, recently watched “John Lewis Christmas Advert 2016 - #BusterTheBoxer.”

Source: YouTube Blog


A billion reasons to celebrate music on YouTube

Last year was a bright one for music—after several tough years of declining revenues, the industry started growing again, spurred in large part by the growth of music streaming subscriptions. This year, the industry has even more reasons to be optimistic. Even as music subscriptions have been growing faster than any other subscription type, advertising is another powerful driver of revenue. In fact, in the last 12 months, YouTube has paid out over $1 billion to the music industry from advertising alone, demonstrating that multiple experiences and models are succeeding alongside each other.

And this is just the beginning. As more advertising dollars shift from TV, radio and print to online services, the music industry will generate even more revenue from ads. In the future, the music business has an opportunity to look a lot like television, where subscriptions and advertising contribute roughly equal amounts of revenue, bolstered by digital and physical sales. To achieve this, there is a lot of work that must be done by YouTube and the industry as a whole, but we are excited to see the momentum.

At a time when there’s never been more competition for attention, fans can’t get enough good music. It is clear that this creative industry has two strong engines of growth -- subscriptions and advertising -- and we are honored to be a part of it.

Robert Kyncl, Chief Business Officer, recently watched "The Hamilton Mixtape Performance Live Stream."

Source: YouTube Blog


4K live streaming: Live has never looked so good

Back in 2010, we enabled 4K video support for the very first time. Since then, millions of videos have been uploaded at that eye-popping resolution, making YouTube’s the largest library of 4K videos online. Today, we’re proud to say that we’re taking 4K video one step further with the launch of 4K live streaming for both 360-degree videos and standard videos.

Supporting this new format will let creators and partners stream incredibly high-resolution video, and let viewers enjoy the clearest picture possible when watching a live stream on 4K-supported devices. The image quality is just mind-blowing on screens that support it, and in 360 degrees … the clarity can truly transport you. If you want to experience it for yourself, make sure to check out the Game Awards tomorrow, December 1 at 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST on YouTube. The entire show will be live streamed in 4K resolution.



4K video isn’t just a little different from HD video; it’s a giant leap. It shows 8 MILLION pixels total, with an image that has four times more image definition than even 1080p video. What does this mean in real world terms? Live streams look better, show a more detailed, crisper picture, and aren’t as blurry when there’s fast action on screen. Basically, 4K makes everything better to look at. And because we support 4K at up to 60 frames per second, creators can make content that looks silky smooth, and more realistic than ever before.

For creators this means the ability to take advantage of an incredibly clear picture for recorded and now streaming video. It’s the kind of thing that can help to push their hardware (and their talent) to create the most beautiful or just plain crazy-looking images and videos possible. And with 360 4K live streams, the sky is (literally) the limit. Get ready for 360 concert and event streams that look sharper, cleaner, and brighter than ever before. If you want more information on how to stream in 4K, just check out this Help Center article.

Today’s an exciting day, and we can’t wait for everyone to experience the beauty of 4K live streams from their favorite creators.

Kurt Wilms, Senior Product Manager, recently watched “BABY PUG LIVESTREAM!”

Source: YouTube Blog


More parental controls available in YouTube Kids starting today

Since we launched YouTube Kids less than two years ago, we’ve seen families across the globe download the app tens of millions of times and rank it consistently among the top 5 apps in the App Store and give it an overall 4+ ranking on Google Play.

Along the way, we’ve also received helpful feedback from parents on how we can make the app even better. Parents have told us they want more control over how their kids watch content in the YouTube Kids app. Today, we’re rolling out a new feature that continues to put parents in the driver’s seat so they can decide what content is right for their family.

Let’s say you don’t want your little one watching a DIY video that shows them how to make gooey slime, or maybe you want them to take a break from watching certain sing-a-long videos. Well, now you can block videos or channels from their experience by signing into the app.

Block videos using the 3 dot menu next to any video or channel



To sign in you will be asked to send yourself a parental consent email.



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And the best part is that because you’re logged in, the videos and channels you block in YouTube Kids will remain consistent across all your devices. And as a parent, if you change your mind, you can unblock all restricted videos or channels at once. It’s that easy! This update will be available in: the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malaysia, Philippines, India, and Singapore.

This new feature follows other ways families can already customize their YouTube Kids experience:
  • Learn how the app works: When parents open YouTube Kids, we explain upfront how our systems choose and recommend content and how to flag videos. We also prompt you to make a choice about how broadly you want your child to explore—turn search on to access millions of family-friendly videos, or turn search off to restrict your child’s experience to a more limited set.
  • Timer: Let the app be the bad guy with a built-in timer that lets you limit kids’ screen time. The app alerts your child when the session is over, so you don’t have to.
  • YouTube Kids on the big screen: Watch YouTube Kids as a family on your big screen. Now YouTube Kids is available on your TV, using Chromecast, Apple TV, game consoles or a smartTV.
  • Age-based customization: When you first open the app, you can select from three general age groups (preschool, school age or all kids) making the initial home screen reflect videos that may interest children in that age range.
Stay tuned for more to come and in the meantime happy viewing!

Balaji Srinivasan, father of two girls and YouTube Kids Senior Software Engineer, recently watched "Hexaflexagons."

Source: YouTube Blog


YouTube VR: A whole new way to watch… and create

We’re inspired every day by the videos people share on YouTube. The idea that anybody, from any part of the globe, can create something that all of us can watch, laugh at, cry to, or relate to. Not only has this turned YouTube into a home for just about any idea imaginable, it’s made it the place where new video formats, new ways to connect, and new ways to tell stories are born.

We want to continue to provide you with new ways to engage with the world and with your community, and we believe virtual reality will play an important role in the future of storytelling. More than just an amazing new technology, VR allows us to make deep, human connections with people, places and stories. That’s why we’re committed to giving creators the space and resources they need to learn about, experiment with, and create virtual reality video. In fact, we’ve already started working with some awesome creators, recording artists, and partners who are producing VR videos across a wide variety of genres and interest areas on YouTube.

Want to spend some time with beauty vlogger Meredith Foster? Check out an immersive tour of her apartment. More of a foodie? Tastemade’s VR cooking videos breathe new life into learning new recipes. Rooster Teeth reimagines their gaming comedy “Red vs. Blue” for some fresh laughs. You can even watch breaking news in VR from HuffPost RYOT.

We’ve also been working to allow you to have experiences or visit places you might not be able to (or might not dare to!) in real life. Go swimming with sharks thanks to Curiscope, get a first-hand look at a living, breathing dinosaur at the Natural History Museum in London, travel to Belize with StyleHaul, hike a trail a thousand miles away with Daniel and Kelli at Fitness Blender, or watch Tritonal in concert no matter where you are.


And today you can experience all of this amazing content in a more immersive way with the brand new YouTube VR app, available first on Daydream. This new standalone app was built from the ground up and optimized for VR. You just need a Daydream-ready phone like Pixel and the new Daydream View headset and controller to get started. Every single video on the platform becomes an immersive VR experience, from 360-degree videos that let you step inside the content to standard videos shown on a virtual movie screen in the new theater mode. The app even includes some familiar features like voice search and a signed in experience so you can follow the channels you subscribe to, check out your playlists and more.


YTVR-Watch-Spherical-Player.jpg

We can’t tell you how inspired we all are after watching the amazing VR videos made by creators on YouTube. We can't wait to see what you dream up next!

Erin Teague, Product Manager, and Jamie Byrne, Director of YouTube Creators, recently watched "Tour of Man At Arms: Reforged Shop in 360° - The Forging Room!"

Source: YouTube Blog


Download your ad revenue reports through the YouTube Reporting API service

With the launch of the YouTube Reporting API last year, we introduced a mechanism to download raw YouTube Analytics data. It generates a set of predefined reports in the form of CSV files that contain YouTube Analytics data for content owners. Once activated, reports are generated regularly, and each one contains data for a unique, 24-hour period. We heard that you also wanted more data to be accessible via the YouTube Reporting API service.

So today, we are making a set of system-managed ad revenue reports available to content owners. Previously, this data was only available via manually downloadable reports in Creator Studio. The system-managed reports released via the YouTube Reporting API maintain the same breakdowns as downloadable reports, but the schema is optimized to align to other reports available via this API.

These new reports are generated automatically for eligible YouTube Partners. Thus, if you are an eligible YouTube partner, you don't even need to create reporting jobs. Just follow the instructions below to find out whether the reports are available to you and to download the reports themselves.

We also want to let you know that more reports will be available via the YouTube Reporting API service in the coming weeks and months. Please keep an eye on the revision history to find out when additional reports become available.

How to start using the new reports

Check what new report types are available to you

  1. Get an OAuth token (authentication credentials)
  2. Call the reportTypes.list method with the includeSystemManaged parameter set to true.
  3. The response lists all report types available to you. As you can’t use the new report types to create reporting jobs yourself, their systemManaged property is set to true.

Check if system-managed jobs have been created for you

  1. Get an OAuth token (authentication credentials)
  2. Call the jobs.list method with the includeSystemManaged parameter set to true. This will return a list of the available reporting jobs. All jobs with the systemManaged property set to true are jobs for the new report types.
  3. Store the IDs of the jobs you want download reports for.

Download reports

  1. Get an OAuth token (authentication credentials)
  2. Call the reports.list method with the jobId parameter set to the ID found in the previous section to retrieve a list of downloadable reports created by that job.
  3. Choose a report from the list and download it using its downloadUrl.

Client libraries and sample code
Client libraries exist for many different programming languages to help you use the YouTube Reporting API. Our Java, PHP, and Python code samples will help you get started. The API Explorer lets you try out sample calls before writing any code.

Posted by Markus Lanthaler, Tech Lead YouTube Analytics APIs, recently watched “Crushing gummy bears with hydraulic press” and Mihir Kulkarni, Software Engineer, recently watched “The $21,000 first class airplane seat.”

True colors: adding support for HDR videos on YouTube

We believe in the power of video at YouTube. It’s what allows for the creativity, connection, and fun that brings together our community of creators and viewers. And over the last 11 years, we’ve worked hard to push the boundaries of online video. We’ve added product features and made new video and audio formats available to everyone, from HD to 4K video, live streaming, 3D, 360-degree video, and spatial audio.

Today we are adding support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) videos on YouTube. HDR videos have higher contrast, revealing precise, detailed shadows and stunning highlights with more clarity than ever. Support for wide color gamut means colors are more vibrant. Simply put, HDR unlocks the most spectacular image quality we've ever streamed.

hdrsim.jpg

Simulated SDR vs HDR comparison (seeing true HDR requires an HDR display)

Starting today, you can watch YouTube videos in HDR on supported devices, such as HDR TVs with the new Chromecast Ultra, and soon on all 2016 Samsung SUHD and UHD TVs. If you're using a device that doesn't yet support HDR, don't worry, videos will still play in standard dynamic range. As more HDR devices become available, YouTube will work with partners to enable streaming of the HDR version.

And if you want to watch some amazing content in HDR today, we got you covered. We’ve worked with YouTube creators like MysteryGuitarMan, Jacob + Katie Schwarz, and Abandon Visuals to bring you great content in HDR.

Starting today, any creator can upload HDR videos to YouTube. You can learn more about uploading HDR videos here. To make sure creators can tell awesome stories with even more color, we’ve been working with companies across the industry. We’ve worked with the DaVinci Resolve team to make uploading HDR just as simple as SDR videos to YouTube. We’ve also outfitted the YouTube Spaces in LA and NYC with all the gear needed to produce great HDR content.

HDR adds a whole new dimension of creative freedom and visual spectacle, and we've barely scratched the surface of what this means for storytelling. We can't wait to see the amazing videos you're going to make with HDR.

Steven Robertson, Software Engineer, recently watched “History of Japan,” and Sanjeev Verma, Product Manager, recently watched “Flaming Wire Wool.”

Source: YouTube Blog


Google and YouTube can help keep you informed on Election Day

Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog

It’s Election Day Eve, the day before before millions of people across the U.S. will head to the polls and cast votes for their elected officials. But before you get to the ballot box -- and head out with that sticker! -- check Google to get the information on where to vote and election results.

Starting when the polls close on Election Day, you will be able to find U.S. election results integrated right into your Google searches in over 30 languages around the world. You’ll also be able to see detailed updates and results of the Presidential, Senatorial, Congressional, Gubernatorial races as well as state-level referenda and ballot propositions.

Election-Video.gif


For the past several months, Google has helped people find information about the democratic process: our search results have helped voters register and explained the voting process with information on how to vote, who’s on their ballot, and how to find their local polling place in both English and Spanish. Since releasing these in-depth search results, we've seen millions of people engage with these tools on Google -- there's even been a startling 233% increase in traffic for "how to vote" compared with 2012. In addition to “how to vote,” Americans are actively searching for “where to vote” -- particularly in battleground states, as depicted in these county-by-county breakdowns:

WheretovoteFL.png



Over the past few weeks viewers spent over 20 million hours watching - and rewatching - the presidential debate live streams on YouTube. Tomorrow, YouTube will be live streaming election results coverage from more news organizations than ever before. Starting at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 8, tune in to live coverage from NBC, PBS, MTV, Bloomberg, Telemundo and The Young Turks to keep up with all of the action as it happens. Complex News will also be delivering live coverage during a special election event from YouTube Space NY. And to close out YouTube’s #voteIRL campaign, creators and fans have been posting their #voteIRL selfie to mark that they’re going to vote. And tune in to some special voting reminder PSAs starring POTUS and some familiar-looking furry friends.

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Whether you voted early, plan to head to the polls tomorrow, host an Election Night watch party, or live stream the victory speech from America’s new President-Elect, we’re here to help. From the ballot box to tomorrow’s late-night returns, we hope Google’s tools help guide you through Election Day in a simple, clear and informative way.

And one last thing: don’t forget to vote. It matters.

Posted by Shashi Thakur, VP Engineering, Google Search

Source: YouTube Blog


The Clash Royale King’s Cup, live on YouTube Gaming

Sound the horns! The King has declared a tournament to host the most skilled Clash Royale players in the land. Who among you can beat his champions and take the King’s Cup?

We are proud to present the King’s Cup Live on YouTube Gaming, a first-of-its-kind major tournament event featuring the second largest mobile title on YouTube this year, Clash Royale. The tournament will take place on Sunday, November 6, live in Los Angeles with a prize pool of $100,000.

Competitors from all over the world will attend this open event to qualify to play against eight of the top Clash Royale creators from YouTube. Come sharpen your swords and ride your hogs and take down our legendary Clash Royale creators:


Can't battle? No worries! Watch the tournament live exclusively on YouTube Gaming and YouTube. There'll be awesome gameplay, fun interviews, and even opportunities to win prizes. Running alongside the tournament will be a limited time, in-game “King’s Cup Special Event Challenge” where players can join for free and play with cards they haven’t yet unlocked! This special event will be available on iOS and Android between Friday, November 4, and Sunday, November 6.

Join along with our commentary team for this Royale event in coordination with YouTube, Google Play and Supercell at https://gaming.youtube.com/kingscup or https://www.youtube.com/clashroyale.

Lester Chen, Head of eSports Content & Partnerships, recently watched the “2016 League of Legends World Championships.”

Source: YouTube Blog