Author Archives: John G. Doe

From the Brandcast stage: New star-studded shows for audiences around the globe

Kevin Hart. Rhett and Link. Ellen DeGeneres. Katy Perry. The Slow Mo Guys. Demi Lovato. Ludacris.

These amazing stars all have something in common: They're starring in new shows premiering exclusively on YouTube. And since these shows are ad-supported, you—and every single one of our billion-plus viewers—can watch for free.

Bringing even more can’t-miss content to audiences globally

For years, we’ve been proud to work with creators like Casey Neistat, Jackie Aina and countless others who have turned their channels into daily destinations. And with these channels packaged within Google Preferred—our offering that allows brands to advertise on some of the most-loved and most-watched content on YouTube—brands have been able to support the videos you love, so you can enjoy for free.

These channels continue to be hugely successful. That’s why, starting in 2016, we made the decision to take YouTube to the next level. We began making premium original content for our subscription service, YouTube Red, releasing 30 series and movies in just over a year. And we kept hearing from brands they wanted to be more involved in these premium series.

Launching new ad-supported shows, exclusively on YouTube

When excited fans, brands, and creators tell us something, we listen. We’re thrilled to announce that beginning later this year, some of the biggest YouTube creators and Hollywood names will be featured in seven new series on YouTube—bringing more can’t-get-enough-of and can’t-find-anywhere-else shows to everyone, everywhere. With these new shows, brands can be a part of content that’s generating buzz around the world.

Check out the must-see lineup:
  • Ellen’s Show Me More Show: Like nothing Ellen has done before, Ellen’s Show Me More Show is a twice-a-week series built just for YouTube, giving fans behind the scenes access to some of the biggest stars and her favorite moments.
  • Good Mythical Morning: Worldwide YouTube superstars—and hosts of YouTube’s most popular daily show—Rhett & Link will go to new heights in a long-form expansion of Good Mythical Morning, giving fans even more of what they crave: larger-than-life stunts, zanier challenges, and over-the-top laughs.
  • Kevin Hart: What the Fit?: Kevin will team up with celebrity friends and YouTube stars each week as they attempt to master a different trending, grueling and sometimes ridiculous workout routine.
  • I Am: Demi Lovato: Global music sensation and social advocate, Demi Lovato reveals a yearlong personal journey of music reinvention and deep discovery as she dives into the writing and recording of her new album in her new series, I Am: Demi Lovato.
  • Best.Cover.Ever.: From Ryan Seacrest Productions and Endemol Shine North America, Best.Cover.Ever. is a cutting-edge talent competition series hosted by Ludacris where emerging talent from across the globe submit covers to YouTube to vie for the ultimate prize: an opportunity to perform a duet with a superstar artist. Submit your cover now at thebestcoverever.com.
  • The Super Slow Show: YouTube stars The Slow Mo Guys will test the latest in technology to reinvent the way we look at celebrities, music, pranks, comedy sketches and more, giving a one-of-a-kind glimpse into what the world looks like in slow motion.
  • Katy Perry Live Special: It's real. It's raw. It's Katy Perry. Live on YouTube, The Katy Perry Live Special will take you inside of her world, revealing the experiences and emotions she poured into her all-new soul-baring music on the eve of her highly anticipated album launch. With unique access, global reach and surprise fun packed along the way, Katy will break it all down in this album listen-along, and if you stick around long enough, there might just be fireworks.
We’re excited to partner with top creators and world-class production companies to offer these new shows to audiences globally—on the platform where the world chooses to watch over a billion hours of video every day.1 People turn to YouTube to express themselves, engage with creators, and connect with the thriving communities they’re proud to be a part of.

This vibrant fan and creator community is also why brands turn to YouTube. And we're excited that Johnson & Johnson Consumer Brands will be our first advertising partner of this new content. In addition to a major investment in our creators through Google Preferred, they’ve signed on as the exclusive sponsor of Best.Cover.Ever., helping to make the talent competition accessible to YouTube viewers.

Check out #Brandcast to see highlights from the night and look here to see what new YouTube trends were announced.

Robert Kyncl, Chief Business Officer, YouTube, recently watched "Justin Bieber - Despacito Ft. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee."

1Source: YouTube Internal Data, Global, 2016

Source: YouTube Blog


A sneak peek at YouTube’s new look and feel

YouTube is where you come to watch your favorite creators -- whether that means jamming with Alex Aiono, gaming with Strawburry17, or hanging out with Logan Paul. That’s why we’re working on a redesign of the desktop experience that highlights your favorite videos and creators while making YouTube easier and more fun to use.

Starting today, we’re opening up a preview of the new design to a small group of people from all around the world so we can get feedback. While we hope you'll love what we’ve been working on, we’re also really excited to involve the YouTube community so we can make the site even better before sharing it more broadly.

We’re applying Material Design to YouTube to deliver a beautiful, delightful and intuitive user experience. The key principles of this new design are:

  • Simplicity: The only thing you should be concerned about is watching the content you love. The new design is clean and fresh, thanks to the removal of visuals that can distract from your browsing or watching experience. We're focused on making the content shine!
  • Consistency: The new design is aligned across Google platforms, including the YouTube mobile app, while still providing the features you know and love.
  • Beauty: We strive to combine beauty and purpose to create an effortless experience.

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The site design is built on a new, faster framework named Polymer, which enables quicker feature development from here on out. And today, we are introducing one of the first new features developed on Polymer: Dark Theme. Developed to cut down on glare and let you take in the true colors of the videos you watch, Dark Theme turns your background dark throughout your entire YouTube experience. This is only the beginning -- you can look forward to more powerful new features coming soon!

If you want to try out YouTube’s latest look, you can opt-in to preview the new design at youtube.com/new. You can return to the current design by selecting “Restore classic YouTube” from the Account Menu. And don't forget to send us feedback from the Account Menu.

We're still working on the new site, so we hope you'll try it out now and let us know what you think!

Brian Marquardt, Product Manager, recently watched “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen/PIKO-TARO.”

Source: YouTube Blog


The YouTube Kids app is now available on even more screens!

Love using the YouTube Kids app on your phone and tablet? Well, we’re excited to announce that now you can enjoy your favorite videos on select smart TVs too!

Since launching just over two years ago, the YouTube Kids app has become the go-to destination for families around the world with more than 30 billion views and over 8 million weekly active viewers. Starting today, the YouTube Kids app will be available on LG, Samsung, and Sony smart TVs in the 26 countries where the app is currently launched*.

We’ve heard from families that they love watching videos on all their devices so bringing the entertaining and enriching content of YouTube Kids to the biggest personal screen (your TV!) seemed like the perfect fit.

The YouTube Kids app is the first Google product built from the ground up with kids in mind. The app makes it easier for kids to find videos on topics they want to explore. Whether it’s searching for science experiments, watching a favorite cartoon, or simply watching your favorite creator’s new videos, there is something for everyone!

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The YouTube Kids app will be available on the following television sets: all 2015 - 2017 LG webOS TVs via the LG content store, all 2013 - 2017 Samsung Smart TVs and Blu-Ray Players that have access to the Samsung App Store, and after a firmware update on 2016-2017 Sony TVs (with the exception of Android TV, which will be available soon). Happy viewing from our family to yours!

*Countries where the YouTube Kids App is available: United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Spain, Brazil, Russia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Singapore, and France. The availability of the YouTube Kids app in these countries is dependent on the individual television manufacturer

AJ Crane, Product Manager for YouTube Kids, recently watched “Kings of Atlantis” on YouTube Red

Source: YouTube Blog


Introducing our first class of Creators for Change fellows

Back in September, YouTube announced a new program called Creators for Change, putting forward creators with big ideas to help counter xenophobia, extremism and hate with stories promoting positive change. One of our first steps was teaming up with 11 program ambassadors who are now hard at work developing unique social impact projects which range from a new web series on topics like race, religion, and sexual orientation, to a 10-city workshop series for high school and university students dedicated to creating positive content. Our local chapters in countries like Indonesia continue to promote the importance of inclusiveness among young people. And as part of this program, Google.org, our philanthropic arm, has awarded $2M in charitable funds to support nonprofits that promote inclusion and cross-cultural understanding to the: Active Change Foundation, Habibie Center, Maslaha, Skateistan, Southern Poverty Law Center, TAFNIT and Witness.

Mentorship and support for emerging voices is a key part of the Creators for Change program, and we’re now ready to take on our next phase. We’ve collaborated with our program ambassadors to identify new voices we’d like to support and today, we’re excited to introduce the 27 creators from around the world who will join us as the first-ever Creators for Change fellows:


Together with our ambassadors, we’re eager to support these YouTube role models as they continue to create content that challenges tough topics like hate and extremism, and spread positive messages. For starters, these Creators for Change fellows will each receive equipment and production grants to help them develop new projects and take these productions to the next level.

We’ll also give the creators production support through our YouTube Spaces, and this summer our Spaces in London, New York and Mumbai will host new social impact camps designed exclusively for our program Fellows. These three-day-long camps will include workshops on best practices for producing social change videos, 1:1 channel support from YouTube experts, as well as plenty of time for the Fellows to connect with one another and some of the global program ambassadors.

Through these new resources and programs, we’re committed to helping our new Creators for Change fellows take on new projects that help raise and amplify the issues they care about. Stay tuned for more soon and, for now, you can read about their inspiring stories at the Creators for Change site.

Juniper Downs, Head of YouTube Public Policy, recently watched this inspiring group of creators share their stories.

Source: YouTube Blog


The miracle of Live

On Saturday, the world's most famous giraffe, April, gave birth to a baby boy.

Since February 10, 2017, Animal Adventure, an educational animal park in New York, has been livestreaming April's pregnancy and creating a social media sensation with fans all over the world tuning in regularly to check on her progress. One industrious fan created an app to crowdsource pregnancy updates from tens of thousands of other fans following the livestream. A pregnant woman even parodied April’s livestream, becoming an internet sensation in her own right. Waiting for April to give birth became an experience shared around the world.

As the anticipation and audience grew leading up to the big moment,Animal Adventure Park became the second most live-viewed channel in the history of YouTube despite launching a mere 66 days ago. Here are the highlights of April and her baby bump:

  • Over 232 million live views and 7.6 billion minutes of live watch-time total.
  • The livestreams became daily programming for millions, with an average time watched of more than 30 minutes across an average of 3.5 million views per day.
  • Saturday, the day of the birth, was the channel’s biggest day, surging to over 14 million live views.
  • More than 1.2 million viewers were watching the livestream simultaneously at 6:55 a.m. PST on Saturday, a peak that ranked as one of the top five most-watched moments for a live event ever on YouTube.
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Giraffes already hold the record for being the tallest land animals in the world, but here are some other records April set this weekend:

  • Animal Adventure Park became the fifth fastest channel to 200 million views, achieving the feat in only 54 days (behind notable celebrity non-giraffes Lady Gaga and Zayn).
  • It’s one of only seven channels to eclipse 100 million live views so far and the fastest to do so of any channel.
  • Fans have been connecting with Animal Adventure Park’s staff too through live chat. The channel received over 4,400 Super Chat messages, making them now the second highest Super Chat earner by revenue.



But April wasn't just the star of a popular stream; she sparked a pop culture phenomenon, with YouTube creators and fans posting videos of their own that were watched over 48.7 million times, including day-by-day analysis of pregnancy signs, baby showers, and anxious messages about the wait.

We've seen some of the biggest events in music, sports, politics, and gaming play out on YouTube over the years. Thanks to one endearing mother giraffe, we'll have to add animal events to that list now too.

Posted by Kevin Allocca, Head of Culture & Trends, recently watched "African Animal Lookout Camera."

Source: YouTube Blog


Get the best seat in the house and watch Coachella live exclusively on YouTube

When you think of Coachella you think of amazing music artists, thrilling performances and nonstop fun in the middle of the desert. This year’s fest will be bigger than ever and even if you can’t make it to Coachella in person, you don’t have to miss out on a moment of the action.

For the seventh year in a row, YouTube brings you the exclusive Coachella livestream presented by T-Mobile. This year, with select acts also available in Live 360. Music fans from around the world can tune-in to Coachella's YouTube channel from April 14-16, on any screen (desktop, mobile and living room).


Catch performances from global superstars and the hottest rising talent in the world, including headliners Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar and Radiohead, as well as Bon Iver, Future, Gucci Mane, Lorde, New Order, ScHoolboy Q, The xx, Two Door Cinema Club and more.

You can choose from three always-on channels as well as a Live 360 Mode that will appear for select performances. Don’t miss any of the shows you’re most excited for by creating a personalized calendar that lets you track all your favorite performances. The livestream channels will automatically change to your favorite artists based on your selection. And if you turn on notifications for artists you subscribe to, you’ll get a note when they go live.

For the first time ever you’ll even get a sneak peek inside the famous underground dance music Yuma tent.

If you miss one of the big performances, we still have you covered with a video-on-demand hub that will showcase highlights and footage from performers throughout the weekend.

Stay tuned to find out more information about Coachella performances and be sure to subscribe to Coachella's YouTube channel so you’re part of the action!

Ali Rivera, Head of Artist Partnerships, YouTube recently watched “Kendrick Lamar 'Humble'” & Brian Anderson, Global Music Sponsorships, recently watched “Juan Atkins, Derrick May + Kevin Saunderson in Conversation.”

Source: YouTube Blog


Missouri Star Quilt Company: Our YouTube Story

In 2009, my new quilting business was struggling to get off the ground. The recession had hit my family and my town of Hamilton, Mo., pretty hard and I had started Missouri Star Quilt Company as a way to earn retirement money while doing something I loved. But like almost every small business at the time, Missouri Star wasn’t setting the world on fire. To help get the word out, my son Al suggested we film some tutorials and post them to YouTube.

“Sure,” I told him. “What’s a tutorial?”

Back then, I had never even visited YouTube, but I decided to try it out. I set up my sewing machine in a corner of the shop and Al began to shoot our first video on a handheld camera. We didn’t even bother to close the shop because foot traffic was so slow. Those first videos didn’t always look super spiffy, but I think people appreciated that I was making a hobby that sometimes feels intimidating to learn, more approachable.

Week by week, we filmed new tutorials and though it took a little while, we started seeing our views and subscriber numbers go up. First we hit 1,000 subscribers, then 10,000 subscribers. And while our online following was growing, we started getting some new visitors in real life, too. People were popping into our store from as far away as Texas, Virginia and Mexico telling me how they’d seen our videos on YouTube and wanted to visit me in person. We couldn’t just film the videos during store hours anymore; the foot traffic had picked up! And it was coming from everywhere.

By 2012, we had over 25,000 subscribers and we were regularly getting visitors to Missouri Star from around the world. Our sales were growing quickly and we decided to use the money we were earning to help invest in our community. One by one, I had seen businesses in Hamilton pack up and leave as the recession got worse and I wanted to change that trend. We decided to buy up a few of those boarded-up buildings to give our visitors an even richer experience.

We opened a store for Civil War-era prints, a store for modern quilt fabric, a store for novelty patterns and still we kept growing. Today, Hamilton is the Disneyland of quilting. We have 12 quilting stores operating in Hamilton and we get busloads of visitors coming to our small town almost every week. We didn’t just stop at quilting, either. We’ve partnered with talented chefs, cooks and bakers in our community to help them open their own business. In small town of 1,800, Missouri Star Quilt now employs over 400 people.

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I remember having a dance party with my family when we sold seven orders in one day. Now we ship as many as 5,000 orders a day. Missouri Star Quilt Company has grown from one woman with a quilting machine to the largest seller of pre-cut quilting fabric in the world and the biggest employer in our county.

None of that could have been possible without YouTube. Our channel allowed us to turn our small business into a global business. We now have over 350,000 subscribers on YouTube, from countries throughout the world.

But as great as all those numbers are, the thing that makes me happiest is what I did in that very first video: teach someone how to quilt. I’ve been lucky to find something I truly love to do and I’m so happy YouTube has given me the opportunity to share that passion with others. It’s meant the world to my small business, to my community and to me.

--Jenny Doan

Source: YouTube Blog


YouTube TV is now live

We love TV. We love the shows, live sports, and can’t-miss events that drive our FOMO and need for #spoileralerts. But while what we watch on TV seems to get better every year, the way we watch TV never seems to change. How long do we have to wait until we can watch live TV on the go, on all our devices? When will we have DVRs big enough to handle all the things we want to record? And when will we be able to get the channels we care about, at a price we can afford, without all the commitments, equipment fees, and hassle?

The answer? Today.

Finally, live TV made for us. YouTube TV is here.


Today, we’re launching YouTube TV in the nation’s largest metro areas—New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, and Philadelphia—with more U.S. markets coming soon. A YouTube TV membership is only $35 a month, less than half the average cost of cable. And there are no commitments; you can cancel anytime.

We can’t wait for you to experience YouTube TV for yourself, so we’re giving you a free one month trial. We’ll also give you a complimentary Google Chromecast after your first month’s payment, while supplies last.

With a YouTube TV membership, you’ll get:
  • Live TV streaming from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, Fox Sports Networks, Comcast SportsNet and dozens more. YouTube TV gives you the best of live TV, from must-see shows like “Empire,” “The Voice,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Scandal,” to the live sports you want from the NBA, MLB, NFL, and NCAA. Based on where you live, you’ll get your local broadcast TV stations covering local sports and news. You’ll also get dozens of popular cable channels, including FX, USA, Disney Channel, Bravo, MSNBC, Fox News. And you can add Showtime or Fox Soccer Plus for an additional charge. In total, YouTube TV will give you more than 50 networks, listed below.
  • A cloud DVR, with no storage limits. With YouTube TV, your cloud DVR can record as many shows as you want, simultaneously, without ever running out of storage. You can keep each of your recordings for nine months.
  • TV when it matters, where it matters. You can watch YouTube TV on your phone, tablet or computer—and you can easily stream to your TV with a Google Chromecast or Chromecast built-in TV (we’ll be supporting even more connected TV devices later this year). And your cloud DVR goes with you, so you can stream your recordings on any device, whenever you want and wherever you go in the U.S.
  • YouTube Red Originals. With a YouTube TV membership, you can watch all of our YouTube Red Original series and movies right in the new YouTube TV app.
  • Six accounts included. You can share your YouTube TV membership with your family and roommates, and each account will receive its own unique recommendations and cloud DVR with no storage limits. Your household can watch up to three streams at a time.
  • More networks coming soon. We're excited to announce that AMC, BBC America, IFC, Sundance TV, WE tv, and BBC World News will be included soon at no additional charge. These networks will join Telemundo and others listed below as networks coming to YouTube TV soon after launch. This means you’ll be able to watch shows like “The Walking Dead,” “Doctor Who,” and your favorite telenovelas. And you’ll also be able to add Sundance Now or Shudder for an additional charge.
To get started, check out tv.youtube.com today to start your free trial. You can also sign up on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. If you’re not in one of the initial launch markets but want to find out when YouTube TV is coming to your area, you can sign up here.

Happy watching!



While on the go, Andrew Jeon, Head Engineer for YouTube TV, recently used YouTube TV to watch UNC take on Gonzaga in the NCAA March Madness championship game, live on CBS.

Source: YouTube Blog


YouTube Go beta launches in India

In last September’s Google for India event we announced YouTube Go, our YouTube app reimagined for the next generation of YouTube users. Today, after months of expanded testing and refinement, we’re happy to announce that we’re making the beta version of YouTube Go available for download on the Google Play Store in India.

You’ll recall that every aspect of YouTube Go was designed from the ground up, with four main principles in mind: It’s relatable, with fresh and relevant video recommendations tailored to your preferences; the app is designed to be offline first and improve the experience of watching videos on a slower network; it gives you more control over data usage, by providing choice and transparency into the amount of data spent on streaming or saving videos. And finally, it’s social, allowing you to share videos quickly and easily with friends nearby.

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Key features of YouTube Go include:
  • A home built for you: YouTube Go home screen features trending and popular videos in your area, so that you can find and discover videos that you and your community care about.
  • Preview videos before you save or watch: On YouTube Go we’ll show you a preview of the video when you tap on a thumbnail, giving you a better sense of what the video is about before you decide if you want to watch it.
  • Choose your resolution when saving or streaming videos: You can choose to save a video for offline viewing later or stream it now. And we also allow you to choose the amount of data you’d like to spend on that video.
  • Share videos with friends nearby: Share videos with friends and family nearby without using any data. You can send and receive videos instantly and offline with others using the YouTube Go app.
To get us to this point, we’ve worked hard on refining the features that you’ve inspired us to build, gaining new insights along the way. Some things we’ve learned in the run-up to this beta release include making the home screen fresher and more relevant for users, so they can find amazing videos easily. We’ve also worked hard behind the scenes to make sharing videos with nearby friends an even more seamless experience, and ensuring that the app works well across a wide range of phones and connectivity. While the app is in its beta release, we’ll continue to listen to your feedback and improve the app before launching more broadly. We’ll also be holding several activities in Udaipur over the upcoming weeks to glean more insights from users on the ground.

If you’re in India, we hope you download the beta from the Google Play Store today, and let us know what you think by leaving your feedback within the app. As before, if you'd like to find out when YouTube Go is fully ready, you can sign up at youtubego.com/signup.

With the rapid transformation sweeping India’s mobile internet landscape, we know there will be an even greater demand for a fast and accessible video app. Thank you for continually inspiring us to build better products for the next generation, and to helping us make YouTube Go the best video app for you.

Jay Akkad, Product Manager, YouTube, recently watched “Vidya Vox @ YouTube FanFest India 2017.”

Source: YouTube Blog


Enjoy your personal concert with VR videos on YouTube

Any music fan will tell you, there’s nothing better than seeing your favorite band live. But if you’re one of the millions of people who can’t make it to a show, YouTube is giving you the next best thing. We’re working with some amazing artists to bring you live performances and music videos in VR.

And today Gorillaz – hailed by “The Guinness Book Of World Records” as the planet’s Most Successful Virtual Act – have announced their return with the release of a new video directed by Jamie Hewlett, featuring four tracks from their highly anticipated forthcoming album “Humanz.” The epic six-minute animated film - titled “Saturnz Barz (Spirit House)” - provides an extraordinary cutting-edge VR experience to include the track “Saturnz Barz” in full, plus highlights of “Ascension,” “Andromeda” and “We Got The Power.” You can check it out here fresh from the oven.


With these new immersive experiences, you can transport yourself to top music festivals and killer concerts, without having to deal with the crowds. This weekend, you can check out Ultra Music Festival live, with a set from Hardwell live streaming in 360 degrees. And you can already experience highlights from Coachella on YouTube, without having to bear the heat of the desert.

We've also been working with some of your favorite artists to experiment with new ways to tell the story behind their songs and allow you to be immersed in the video. Sit next to Sampha on the piano bench while he performs “(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano.” Step into Hunter Hayes’ recording studio as he builds each musical component of his current single, “Yesterday’s Song.” Check out Young The Giant’s latest single, “Silvertongue,” as though you were in the audience. Watch The Naked & Famous official music video for “Higher” shot at the YouTube Space LA. And you can use VR to travel behind the scenes, too. Check out Florida Georgia Line as they shoot “May We All” at the Tennessee National Raceway in Hohenwald.


You can watch these videos using the YouTube VR app available on Daydream or with Google Cardboard. If you don’t have a headset, don’t worry, you can still get the 360-degree video experience on your mobile phone or desktop. It’ll be like you’re virtually there with your favorite band.

Vivien Lewit, Global Head Artist Relations, recently watched "The Range - Florida (Official 360° Video)."

Source: YouTube Blog