YouTube boasted about the breadth of its platform and size of its global audience, made possible by the service’s open nature, but also reassured advertisers about its platform’s safety at the company’s seventh annual Brandcast, held Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Featured were multiple musical performances by YouTube talent, a testimonial showcasing the merits of partnering with YouTube from a digital advertising perspective from Deanie Elsner, President US Snacks, Kelloggs, and, of course, an array of bragging points and promises combined with a preview of the original programming initiatives.

“Today, more than ever, audiences are seeking out content online and with an open platform we see an opportunity to inspire creativity, to share powerful information and to build a meaningful community,” said CEO Susan Wojcicki. “With more than 1.8 billion monthly users across 90 counties and 80 languages, we are opening up the world to communication and so many inspired moments.”

”In this next era of entertainment and information, we are more committed than ever to YouTube as a platform for fresh voices, authentic stories, and thought-provoking dialogue,” she added. “And it is critically important to me, and to everyone at YouTube, that we grow responsibly. There is not a playbook for how open platforms operate at our scale.”

YouTube’s mission, as always, is to deliver compelling content to mobile screens where the attention span of the typical millennial end user is minimal. A reported 60 percent of YouTube’s primary usage happens on mobile devices, but with users now watching 50 percent more hours each day of YouTube on television screens worldwide, according to Wojcicki, the Google-owned video platform also understands the value of the actual TV screen.

“With more than 150 million hours of YouTube content each day now streamed on TVs, we are witnessing usage that resembles what you once would have expected from a traditional TV network,” said Wojcicki. “We are tapping into this growth with new features that will allow advertisers to reach audiences who are watching YouTube on their smart connected TVs, gaming modules and over-the-top devices. And brands will now have a new TV creative option.”

YouTube, additionally, is offering its YouTube live streaming service in a partnership with networks to make its inventory available as part of the company’s premium advertising program, Google Preferred, starting next season. Ad inventory on all official music videos on YouTube will also be available through Google Preferred, in partnership with Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Vevo.

Upcoming On YouTube

YouTube also announced four new series for next season: Priyanka Chopra: If I Could Tell You; Jack Whitehall: Training Day; Best Shot and Will Smith: The Jump Off.

Priyanka Chopra: If I Could Tell You Just One Thing will feature the Quantico star going on a personal journey to meet the world’s most successful and inspirational people.

Jack Whitehall: Training Days follows the comedian and actor as he trains the world’s most elite soccer players.

Best Shot, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, is a documentary series featuring the Newark Central High School Blue Devils as they find community through basketball and receive mentorship from former NBA player Jay Williams.

And Will Smith: The Jump Off follows the Oscar nominee as he bungee jumps from a helicopter over the Grand Canyon next September – all to raise awareness for charity.

YouTube also has announced second season renewals for The Super Slow Show, Kevin Hart: What the Fit, and the untitled Demi Lovato Project, featuring the singer raising awareness about issues that matter.

[Images courtesy of YouTube/FilmMagic/Getty Images]

Tags: newfronts 2018 youtube


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