Official Blog
To our YouTube TV members: an update to our content and price
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
In 2017, we introduced YouTube TV, live TV designed for the YouTube generation
—
those who want to stream TV when and how they want, without commitments. We’ve just passed the three-year mark, so I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on how we’re thinking about YouTube TV.
Since launch, we’ve listened to your feedback and worked to build an experience that fits the needs of everyone in your family, by adding highly-requested content like
PBS
and
Discovery Network
brands, including HGTV and Food Network, and
launching
new
features
to reinvent how you watch live TV.
As we continue to build a best-in-class experience for you, we have a few updates to share: new content launching today, new features we’ve recently introduced, and an updated price.
More content to enjoy, starting today
Earlier this year,
we let you know
that we’d soon be adding more of ViacomCBS’s family of brands to YouTube TV, which includes 8 of your favorite channels launching today: BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land and VH1.
That means you can follow the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture with “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah;” catch up with Catelynn, Cheyenne, Maci, Mackenzie and Amber on “Teen Mom OG;” join the search for America’s next drag superstar with “RuPaul’s Drag Race;” go on an adventure with “SpongeBob SquarePants;” and follow the fictional lives of the Dutton family on the new season of “Yellowstone,” airing now.
BET Her, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr., NickToons, and TeenNick are also set to come to YouTube TV at a later date.
In addition to our base plan of now more than 85+ channels, we also recently
introduced
Cinemax and HBO Max, which includes all of HBO plus a robust library of content and original series, to our growing list of add-on channels, making YouTube TV your one-stop shop for entertainment.
The latest features to try while you sit back with your favorite shows
We’re always listening to our member’s feedback on the channels they want to see on YouTube TV, but we’re also continuously building new features and making improvements that reinvent how you watch TV and interact with your favorite content on YouTube TV. Here are just a few of those features and updates we’ve launched recently:
Jump to the news that matters most to you:
We’ve been testing a new feature that allows you to jump to various segments within select news programs on YouTube TV, and have just brought this to all users. Similar to our
key plays view
for sports, on some programs you’ll be able to jump to specific news clips within the complete recording. This feature is available on TV screens now and will come to mobile devices in the coming weeks.
Control over your recorded content:
In addition to your unlimited DVR space, YouTube TV members can pause, rewind, and fast forward through all their recorded shows, regardless of network.
Go easy on the eyes with Dark Mode:
We recently introduced a dark theme to both desktop and mobile devices to help tone down your screen’s glare and experience YouTube TV with a dark background.
Mark a show as watched:
You now have an option to select “Mark as Watched” on desktop and mobile devices for any TV show you’ve already seen, a top requested feature from our members.
A fresh new look for the Live Guide:
Based on your feedback, we’ve updated the Live Guide on desktop so you can see what’s on, now, and also scroll ahead 7 days into the future.
An update to your price
As we continue to evaluate how to provide the best possible service and content for you, our membership price will be $64.99. This new price takes effect today, June 30, for new members. Existing subscribers will see these changes reflected in their subsequent billing cycle on or after July 30.
We don’t take these decisions lightly, and realize how hard this is for our members. That said, this new price reflects the rising cost of content and we also believe it reflects the complete value of YouTube TV, from our breadth of content to the features that are changing how we watch live TV. YouTube TV is the only streaming service that includes a DVR with unlimited storage space, plus 6 accounts per household each with its own unique recommendations, and 3 concurrent streams. It's all included in the base cost of YouTube TV, with no contract and no hidden fees.
While we would love every member to continue to stay with our service, we understand that some of you may choose to pause or cancel your membership. We want to make YouTube TV flexible for you, so members can pause or cancel anytime
here
.
As the streaming industry continues to evolve, we are working to build new flexible models for YouTube TV users, so we can continue to provide a robust and innovative experience for everyone in your household without the commitments of traditional TV.
Thank you for being a part of the YouTube TV family. We’ll continue to work to make it the best place to watch live TV, how you want it.
Christian Oestlien, Vice President of Product Management, YouTube TV
2020 Brandcast Delivered: A NewFront Just for You
Thursday, June 25, 2020
People are streaming more than ever before. But one thing remains consistent: When they’re looking for something personally relevant to them, they turn to YouTube.
Whether it’s celebrating this year’s graduating class with the likes of President and Mrs. Obama, Beyoncé and BTS in YouTube Originals’ “
Dear Class of 2020
,” reminiscing over Game 6 of the 1993
NBA
finals or attempting quarantine glow-ups from
James Charles
, YouTube’s extensive video library creates a truly meaningful and personal experience for viewers.
And, this year more than ever, we’re seeing people make time for what matters. On June 13, viewers tuned in to watch “
Bear Witness, Take Action
,” a YouTube Originals live stream that assembled artists and activists to learn, heal and raise awareness for the Equal Justice Initiative. This was part of a new multi-year, $100 million-dollar fund to help amplify the voices and stories of Black Creators.
Today, at our ninth annual NewFront event, we celebrated moments like these through a more personal experience for brands and advertisers with “
Brandcast Delivered
.”
Throughout the completely reimagined virtual event, we celebrated the diversity of YouTube’s voices and content. Featuring appearances from creators like
Lilly Singh
,
Questlove
,
Emma Chamberlain
and
Gordon Ramsay
, we constructed a “personal primetime” for each attendee based on their passions and shared how YouTube’s deep connection to people’s lives means better results no matter a marketer’s goal – from reach and awareness to action.
Drive better results throughout the consumer journey
The first and last litmus test for any video platform — be it TV, OLV, OTT, mobile or some new acronym that doesn’t exist yet, is simple: Does it work? On every metric — from incremental audience, to new customers, to sales — YouTube delivers.
Today, we showcased how effective YouTube strategies can produce results through the announcement of the
2020 YouTube Works
award recipients. The
winners
, honored for using YouTube to drive smart results, included Gillette with their “
We Believe Campaign
” in the Force for Good category, Samsung’s
Galaxy Note10
brilliant strategy for the Media Innovation category, Hulu’s “
sellouts
” campaign winning the Ingenious Insights category for their 100% honest influencer campaign, and Bacardi’s “
Beat Machine
” bringing home the Grand Prix.
The success of these campaigns stems not only from their understanding of how to leverage YouTube’s full suite of ad solutions, but their belief in YouTube’s unique mission to give everyone a voice. Learn more about the smart ways these brands and others used YouTube to drive incredible business results on
yt.be/works
.
Reach your audience across screens, and within new content
To drive meaningful results, the first step is reaching customers where they are watching. While YouTube overall reaches more people age 18-49 than all linear TV networks combined,
4
we’ve seen a
dramatic shift
in viewing patterns, as people increasingly watch on connected TVs. In the U.S. alone, over 100 million people watch YouTube and YouTube TV on their TV screens each month.
5
And, according to Comscore, YouTube makes up 41% of ad-supported video streaming watch time.
6
Last month, we
announced
YouTube Select — a reimagination of Google Preferred — to make it easier to reach your audiences where they are watching, and find the right
content
for your brand. YouTube Select includes the same popular creator content, plus a dedicated
streaming TV lineup
that combines the best of YouTube TV and core lineups content, both on TV screens.
YouTube Select also includes YouTube Originals programming, including the breakout hit, “
Instant Influencer with James Charles
,” which hit over 50 million views in its first month alone;
7
“
Retro Tech
,” featuring tech guru Marques Brownlee; and “
Liza on Demand
.” And they’re all returning for new seasons.
Additionally, today we announced that Demi Lovato will be returning for a new YouTube Originals project. Demi’s new docuseries will be a follow-up to her 2017 documentary, “
Simply Complicated
,”which will bring you on her personal and musical journey over the last three years.
David Blaine
will also be joining the YouTube Originals slate with a first-of-its-kind special event. We are excited to share more on these shows, among many others, throughout the year.
Uncover new audience insights and convert demand into action
YouTube has become an important part of the modern purchase journey with 70 percent of YouTube viewers saying they bought a brand as a result of seeing it on our platform.
8
We’re introducing tools to help marketers understand their audience, as well as complement their awareness initiatives with campaigns that drive conversions.
As people turn to YouTube to discover their next purchase, we’re also seeing an increase in conversions from ads on the platform. In the last twelve months, we’ve been able to help our customers achieve over 950 million conversions
9
– generating quality leads, boosting web traffic, and achieving new sales on YouTube.
Last week
, we announced
Video action campaigns
, a simpler and more cost-effective way to drive action on YouTube. It automatically brings video ads that drive action to the YouTube home feed, watch pages, and Google video partner — all within one campaign. To make it even simpler, any future inventory that becomes available, like the
What to Watch Next
feed, will be automatically included. This way you can save time to focus on strategic initiatives, such as crafting the right creative and messaging for your audiences.
For today's viewers, YouTube is a deeply personal experience. For advertisers and brands, so are our offerings. With flexible solutions across marketing objectives, buyers can uniquely reach and influence audiences based on what’s most important to them.
Check out #Brandcast on
Twitter
and
LinkedIn
, and our
YouTube channel
to see highlights from the show.
Cenk Bulbul, Director of Global Advertiser Marketing at YouTube
1
Nielsen Total Ad Ratings (TAR) Meta Analysis including 55 TAR US studies inclusive of YouTube in-app traffic commissioned by Google running 4/9/2018-10/13/2019 across desktop, mobile and TV; Incremental Reach Value calculated as YouTube’s on-target incremental reach / YouTube’s Total on-target Reach; Standard Deviation 20%; On Target Frequency calculated as On Target Impressions / On Target Reach; Standard Deviation 4; Studies running across 7 demos (P18+, P18-34, P18-49, P18-54, P25-49, P25-54, F25-54)
2
NCSolutions Sales Effect, 2018-2019. Base: a list of YouTube studies selected and compiled by NCSolutions with statistically significant results at an 80% confidence level. This list includes 59 statistically significant YouTube studies across 23 CPG advertisers
3
Commissioned Nielsen MMM Meta-Analysis, 2016-2018. Base: a list of studies selected and compiled by Nielsen, consisting of all available CPG studies completed in 2016-2018 that contain YouTube Select, Other Digital, and TV results. This list includes 45 studies for US Brands across all CPG categories. Effectiveness is defined as total incremental sales per 1,000 impressions. Studies were excluded if either channel had fewer than 500 impressions. Incremental offline retail sales measured for TV represents average across all TV broadcasters.
4
Custom Nielsen study commissioned by Google. Desktop, mobile and TV fusion. TV measurement of Total TV. Reach among persons 18-49 (Live + 7, one minute qualifier), television only, March 1-31, 2020. Results among US TV Households.
5
YouTube Internal Data, US, March 2020
6
Comscore, OTT Intelligence, Mar. 2020, U.S.
7
YouTube Analytics, April-May 202
8
Google/Talkshoppe, US, whyVideo study, n=2000 A18-64 Genpop video users, Feb 2020.
9
Google data, Global, May 2019 - Apr 2020. Total conversions reported for TrueView for action campaigns.
Ever wonder how YouTube works?
Thursday, June 25, 2020
YouTube has always been a place where people come to be informed, inspired, and delighted. Over the past few months, as our daily lives have changed in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we’ve seen people turning to YouTube more than ever. As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, we’ve created
How YouTube Works
—
a new website designed to answer the questions we most often receive about what we're doing to foster a responsible platform for our community, and explain our products and policies in detail. How YouTube Works will launch in the U.S. today with plans to launch in more countries over time, starting in mid-June.
Answering the important questions
How YouTube Works
addresses some of the important questions we face every day about our platform
—
involving topics such as child safety, harmful content, misinformation, and copyright, as well as tackling timely issues as they arise, like how we have responded to the COVID-19 crisis and how we support elections. Within the site, we explain how we apply our responsibility principles (
the Four Rs
)
—
which work alongside our commitment to users’ security
—
to tackle these important questions.
Get to know our products and policies
How YouTube Works
provides an in-depth look at our products and settings, such as YouTube Search, Recommendations, privacy controls, and Ad Settings, showing how they help people have the best possible experience while they’re using YouTube. Additionally, users will find details of our policies
—
like our Community Guidelines and monetization policies
—
so everyone in the community knows what they can and can’t do on YouTube. We explain how our policies are developed and enforced in partnership with a wide range of external experts and Creators.
Learn about the progress and impact we’ve made
To show the progress we’ve made on managing harmful content,
How YouTube Works
includes facts and figures from our Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, which explain how and why we’ve removed videos recently.
We also provide data, records, and current trends that have emerged on YouTube to help you better understand the next generation of Creators and artists. People can explore the stories behind some of YouTube’s creative entrepreneurs as well, and discover how they are transforming their lives and communities
—
like
Cheong Choon Ng
, who built a thriving craft business; and
Meredith Bell
, who was able to realize her dream of becoming a farmer.
How YouTube Works
is an important part of our ongoing transparency efforts to ensure millions of users, creators, and artists can continue making YouTube a place to connect with others, learn about the world, and showcase their creative talents.
Go to adventure, arts, sports or STEM camp with #CampYouTube
Monday, June 22, 2020
Parents and caretakers,
We know this isn’t the easiest time for you. You’re juggling work, life, kids and the state of the world today. The struggle is real. Honestly, there’s an 11-year-old child, asking for my help, as I type this. That’s why we’re hosting
Camp YouTube
: a digital learning experience to help parents recreate the fun of summer camp at home.
With
Google searches
for “virtual summer camps” spiking over the past few weeks, we want to help parents structure this new normal. Starting today, Camp YouTube will spotlight content on the
Learn@Home
site and
YouTube Kids
across beloved summer camp themes, such as arts, adventure, sports, STEM, and more. We’ll have over 1,200 videos programmed during this two-week period with content refreshed every weekday through Sunday, July 5.
We’ve made sure there’s something for everyone.
FOR THE ADVENTURE LOVER
If you’re looking to bring the outside in, we’ll have an adventure camp that will help you explore the world around you and appreciate nature. Teenagers can enjoy wildlife, unscripted and unedited, with
Explore.org
; learn how to examine the outdoors the way scientists do when they’re doing fieldwork with
The Brain Scoop
or discover dinosaur fossils and organisms from all over the planet with the
American Museum of Natural History
.
We’ll also have a dedicated section for families with kids under 13 across each camp theme, where parents and kids can watch summer camp-themed videos on YouTube Kids that encourage creativity, curiosity, playfulness and offline activities. For adventure camp, families can discover how to make a tide pool aquarium in their backyard with
Brave Wilderness
, learn how to best prep for a hike with
PLUM LANDING
or find their animal soulmates from
Dodo Kids
.
FOR THE ARTS LOVER
For those looking to be creative, we’ll have an arts camp focused on self-expression and talent-building. With arts camp, the teenagers in your household will be able to cover everything from art history, dance and music; to acting, songwriting and drawing, including a creative-writing workshop from
TED-Ed.
And for those under the age of 13, families can tune in to YouTube Kids to express their creativity with
Art for Kids Hub
, make art with household items while learning art history with the
ArtistYear
or practice ballet for beginners with
NANI NANI KIDS
. If music is your passion, you and your kids can learn dance moves together with
KIDZ BOP
.
FOR THE SPORTS LOVER
There will also be a number of videos focused on sports and wellness from soccer, football and baseball to yoga, meditation and stretching. With the help of the WNBA and NBA community, the
Jr. NBA
has developed two youth basketball development camps,
one for kids ages 13 and younger
that features beginner basketball exercises and drills, and
one for teenagers
that features intermediate and advanced training.
FOR THE STEM LOVER
We’ll also have a STEM camp for those interested in science, space, coding and more. For teenagers, STEM camp will have a number of science facts and experiments, and cover everything from coding to chemistry. You can learn about space exploration from
National Geographic
, earth science from
AsapSCIENCE
or computer programming from
Jabrils
.
Families with little ones can also join in on the fun and get their feet wet with STEM through YouTube Kids, too. They can learn coding with
Goldieblox
, or complete fun and weird science activities with
PBS KIDS
.
We know this summer may be a bit different for a lot of us. However, with the help of creators on YouTube, we hope you and your families can experience the magic of camp from home!
Malik Ducard, VP of Content Partnerships, Learning, Social Impact, Family, Health, Film & TV
Introducing YouTube BrandConnect, a platform for Creators and Brands to collaborate
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Every day, people come to YouTube to connect with their favorite creators, and in the process, they
discover new products
they love. In turn, this creates a valuable opportunity for brands to reach new audiences on YouTube and partner with creators to amplify their message. Over the years, we’ve seen branded content grow on YouTube, thanks to the direct connection creators have with their fans. In fact, the influencer marketing industry as a whole is
projected
to reach $15 billion by 2022.
Given the success our brands and creators have seen with branded content on YouTube, we are evolving FameBit to YouTube BrandConnect.
What YouTube BrandConnect offers
Through YouTube BrandConnect, we’re making it easier for creators and brands to create branded content that is both authentic and effective. Our focus will continue to be supporting and driving revenue to creators, providing measurable campaigns for brands, and reaching viewers with authentic and relevant content. We’ve built unique, industry-first features within our branded content platform to support each of these goals.
On the creator side, we’ve developed insights-based matchmaking tools that allow more access to branded content deals for eligible creators across YouTube. Because of the connection that creators have with their fans, our proactive matchmaking produces highly engaging and relevant branded content. And it’s working - over the past two years, average deal size across the full service product grew more than 260%.
YouTube creators have a real-time pulse on their community and have the flexibility to pivot their content to serve audience (and brand) needs, something we’re seeing firsthand right now. For example, the Reese’s brand’s March Madness campaign took a turn when the annual basketball tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic. Creators including
2Hype
,
Smosh Pit
, and
Eh Bee Family
were able to adapt their previously-shot content to still bring a relevant vibe to fans at home, while driving strong consumer engagement and awareness for Reese’s Miniature Cups newly designed packaging, which was perfect for a stay-at-home game of couch basketball.
For brands, we’ve added new measurement solutions like Brand Interest Lift, Influencer Lift, and organic view-through conversations that provide them with real-time campaign results and bring the accountability of digital advertising to branded content campaigns. Brand Interest Lift allows advertisers to measure consumer search behavior resulting from viewing the creator’s video, and Influencer Lift measures consumer sentiment on Purchase Intent, Brand Recall, and more. Through Google insights and tools, it is possible for brands to measure the impact and ROI of influencer marketing for the first time on YouTube.
We’ve also introduced several ads technology innovations such as the shopping shelf and app shelf to help viewers buy products and download apps being discussed in creators' videos directly from the watch page. This will soon expand to a new media shelf, where viewers can buy or rent movies and shows. We’ve also introduced new technologies like the
AR try-on experience
that allow viewers to virtually try on and shop products, alongside their favorite creators.
Eligible creators in the U.S. with 25,000+ subscribers will be able to sign up for YouTube BrandConnect directly in YouTube Studio, where we’ll be adding more campaign management features in the coming months. With YouTube BrandConnect, brands can easily connect and measure branded content campaigns with their Google and YouTube advertising strategies - allowing for full-funnel influencer marketing integrations.
Looking forward with YouTube BrandConnect
We’re always looking for new ways to help creators earn more money, and we’ve added additional resources to help creators get started making branded content on
Creator Academy
. We’ll continue investing in our technology and expanding internationally to bring new experiences to creators, brands and their fans globally. This is just the beginning for YouTube BrandConnect, and we’re excited to bring even more value to creators, brands, and viewers through branded content campaigns in the months ahead.
Lori Sobel, Global Business Head of YouTube BrandConnect
Henry Scott-Green, Product Manager at YouTube BrandConnect
Bear Witness, Take Action
Monday, June 15, 2020
Over the past few weeks, we have mourned the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade — and the other known and unknown victims of racial terror and violence. These killings occurred against the backdrop of a global pandemic that disproportionately ravaged the Black community and surfaced entrenched racial inequities. In our anguish, we have taken to the streets in protest — in every state and around the globe — to demand the dismantling of systemic racism in society.
On Saturday, June 13, Common and Keke Palmer hosted a conversation called
"Bear Witness, Take Action"
to create a virtual space. It raised awareness on the urgent need for racial justice, and supported the Equal Justice Initiative. It featured conversations with creators including
Jouelzy
and
Ambers Closet
; prominent activists including co-founders of
Black Lives Matter
; Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors; Bryan Stevenson, founder of
Equal Justice Initiative
; bestselling author
Roxane Gay
; journalist Soledad O’Brien; and powerful musical performances from
John Legend
,
Trey Songz
,
Brittany Howard
and many more important voices.
“I think we are at a huge inflection point.” - Rashad Robinson, President of Color of Change
“This is a time when we can actually make some ground” - Kimberlé Crenshaw, Executive Director of the
African American Policy Forum
and Professor of Law at UCLA and Columbia.
The effort to combat racial inequality will take continued work from all of us. Last week, Susan Wojcicki
shared
YouTube’s commitment to the Black community, and we will continue those efforts in the months and years ahead.
These are some ways that you can take action to end police violence against Black Americans and promote a more equitable world for all people:
Read
Learn about policies and proposed changes like those available via
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
or
Center for Policing Equity
. Learn about the history and struggle for racial justice through resources like those available at the
Equal Justice Initiativ
e. Learn about actions you can take in your community now at
Imagine Justice
. For those who seek to be better allies, learn more about anti-racism using resources like those available at
Racial Equity Tools
.
Watch
Check out the YouTube Spotlight playlists for videos on these topics:
Creators Speak Out
Understanding Racial Justice
Voices from the Past
How to Talk to Kids about Racial Justice
Continuing the Conversation
Check out these feature films and series that have been made available free to watch and rent on YouTube:
“13th”
“Just Mercy”
“Selma”
“The Hate You Give”
“LA 92”
“Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas”
Speak up
Use your platform to call out racial injustice, and share the message of equality to educate those around you. Maybe your platform is the dinner table, maybe it’s bedtime stories, maybe it’s your YouTube Channel.
Use it!
Vote
Turn your voice into action with your vote.
—
The YouTube Team
Susan Wojcicki: My mid-year update to the YouTube community
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Several times a year, CEO Susan Wojcicki
updates
users and creators on YouTube’s priorities. This Letter addresses initiatives to support the Black community, the impact of COVID-19, and how YouTube is working on behalf of creators.
In the last few months, we’ve experienced enormous tragedy and loss.
As people around the world have felt the devastating impact of the COVID-19 crisis, they’ve dealt with illness, loneliness, unemployment, and juggled added responsibilities with kids at home.
And over the past few weeks, we’ve grieved together as the Black community has endured more senseless acts of racial terror and violence. We know that for many, tragedies like these are a persistent reminder of the harm caused by systemic racism. They also compound the toll of the pandemic, which disproportionately impacted Black and Brown communities in the U.S. and abroad.
At YouTube, we believe Black lives matter and we all need to do more to dismantle systemic racism. We join in protest against the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others before them.
The painful events of this year have reminded us of the importance of human connection and the need to continue to strengthen human rights around the world.
Our platform has been a place where people come together since YouTube first launched
15 years ago.
And in the midst of uncertainty, creators continue to share stories that might not otherwise be heard while also building online communities.
Supporting the Black community
We have always been proud that we are a platform that celebrates a broad and diverse set of voices. And we have implemented many policies and product features to protect our communities.
But we recognize we need to do more, in particular with the Black community, and that is why we are committing to following actions.
Amplifying Black voices
We’re committed to doing better as a platform to center and amplify Black voices and perspectives.
Today, we’re announcing a multi-year $100 million fund dedicated to amplifying and developing the voices of Black creators and artists and their stories.
And one example of the type of content we’d like to elevate on the platform will premiere this Saturday, June 13. We’ll host a live stream fundraising event produced by YouTube Originals (YTO),
“Bear Witness, Take Action.”
The YTO will bring together creators, artists, influential public figures and prominent activist voices for roundtable discussions and musical performances, with donations benefiting the
Equal Justice Initiative
.
Through the month of June, our Spotlight channel will highlight racial justice issues, including the latest perspectives from the Black community on YouTube alongside historical content, educational videos, and protest coverage. This content showcases incredibly important stories about the centuries-long fight for equity.
Protection from hate and harassment
We’ve taken many steps over the years to help protect diverse communities from hate and harassment across the platform, including Black creators and artists. And last year, we developed more stringent
hate speech
and
harassment
policies. Our updated hate speech policy specifically bans videos alleging that a group is superior based on qualities like race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation in order to justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion.
As a result of these changes and our ongoing enforcement, last quarter alone we removed over 100,000 videos and 100 million comments for hate and harassment.
That said, we know there’s more work to do.
Building on our work over the past several years, we’re taking this moment to examine how our policies and products are working for everyone
—
but specifically for the Black community
—
and close any gaps. And more broadly, we will work to ensure Black users, artists, and creators can share their stories and be protected from hateful, white supremacist, and bullying content.
Generations of Black Americans have been waiting for justice in the United States, and we know the effect of inequality is felt around the world.
I’m committed to listening
—
to Black employees at YouTube, to Black creators, to Black artists, to leaders in the Black community, and to Black users who tune in to YouTube every day.
There is much work to do to advance racial equity in the long-term, and these efforts will continue in the months and years ahead.
Connecting people with useful information, responsibly
Over the past few months, another top priority has been connecting people to trusted information as the coronavirus pandemic spread around the globe. Our teams started by engaging with public health officials in more than 90 countries so they could make locally relevant information available, which we display on our homepage and in panels that appear on videos and in search results about COVID-19. Collectively, these panels have been shown more than 200 billion times.
YouTube also launched a dedicated COVID-19 news shelf, with videos from health authorities and news organizations, in more than 30 countries around the world. We’ve found that when people come to YouTube searching for coronavirus topics, on average 94 percent of the videos they see in the top 10 results come from high authority channels. We think this is important progress, even as we keep working to bring that number higher.
In addition to raising up trusted information, we have also been focused on combating harmful medical misinformation. We’re consulting on an ongoing basis with health authorities like the WHO and local organizations like the CDC, the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, and India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as well as expert medical and public health professionals, to design policies based on the latest science. We updated our
policies
to prohibit content with harmful medical information, for example saying the virus is a hoax or claiming there is a guaranteed cure. To date, we’ve removed over 200,000 videos for violating these policies.
We also understand the importance of representing a broad set of voices in the public debate. There are a range of opinions on topics like how governments respond to the crisis, when and how we should reopen economies, and criticism of health authorities and government officials. We want to ensure these important discussions continue on the platform, even as we work to combat misinformation.
Creators also have an important role to play in helping connect people to useful information. Forty high-profile creators have spoken with leading health officials, including
Dr. Jaime Sepúlveda’s
Spanish-language interviews with creators and
Dr. Anthony Fauci’s
conversations with
Trevor Noah
,
Dr. Mike
,
Lilly Singh
,
Phil DeFranco
,
Dr. Regina Benjamin
and
Dr. Georges Benjamin
also spoke with Black creators about the impact of COVID-19 on the Black community. These creator interviews have been seen in more than 160 countries and received more than 43 million views.
And more than 700 creators and artists joined YouTube’s #withme PSA campaign, encouraging users to stay home and highlighting important messages about how to stop the virus.
These public service announcements are reaching people around the world - they’ve received over three billion impressions.
Thank you to all of our creators who led the way with this initiative.
Learning
YouTube has always been a key learning resource, but we are now seeing a record amount of engagement. The average daily views of videos with homeschooling in the title have more than tripled globally in the last three months.
As students began learning from home, some of the first events we featured on Learn@Home were live streams
hosted
by The College Board to help high school students
prepare
for Advanced Placement tests in May. The response exceeded our expectations - the videos from the first day of live streaming have received more than 700,000 views. And students preparing for AP exams through the daily live streams received unexpected support from Lin-Manuel Miranda, who recently hosted a special edition U.S. History master class.
Creators have launched live stream series to help students of all ages stay motivated to learn at home, from
Khan Academy
to
Mark Rober
to
3Blue1Brown
. And we’ve seen new read-alongs for children, like PBS Kids with
Michelle Obama
and Dolly Parton’s weekly Goodnight with Dolly.
And students are even finding ways to keep up with physical education on YouTube by tuning in to daily shows like
PE with Joe
or taking a dance break with
KIDZ BOP
.
Enabling online connections and communities
In our house, kids aren’t just learning online, they’re also virtually celebrating holidays, birthdays, and even hosting sleepovers with their friends.
We’re finding new ways to connect, and at YouTube, we’re seeing communities bringing people together online.
People are using live streams at a much higher rate, with live watchtime on TV screens up over 250 percent year-over-year on YouTube globally during the height of stay at home measures around the world.
Live streams are also helping us capture moments that otherwise would have been lost, like graduation ceremonies. To mark this key milestone, we developed an online
#DearClassof2020
commencement headlined by President Barack Obama and featuring
Lady Gaga
,
Dude Perfect
,
Jackie Aina
,
The Try Guys
,
Malala Yousafzai
, former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Google’s own Sundar Pichai.
Creators have also stepped in to support global relief efforts, like
jacksepticeye’s
live stream #HopeFromHome, which raised money for the United Way. Creators in the United Kingdom came together for
Stream #WithMe
, a live fundraiser benefiting
NHS
. And artists and creators joined
One Love Asia,
a concert benefiting UNICEF.
To enable the YouTube community to have even more impact, this year we’ve expanded the access to our donate button from 1,500 eligible channels to more than 40,000, allowing more creators to easily engage their audiences on causes they care about.
Welcoming new creativity
Even during these incredibly difficult times, we’re seeing unprecedented creativity from our creative community. Because creators are experts at filming to suit any style, from high-production to garage studios, they were able to quickly adapt and make content that reflected our new reality, from yoga for stress release to quarantine routines.
And artists are bringing fans together online and making YouTube a virtual concert venue. Bands like the
Rolling Stones
,
Radiohead
, and the
Grateful Dead
are releasing live concert footage every week, giving fans something to look forward to while staying at home. Brazilian singer
Marília Mendonça
hosted a live stream concert on YouTube from her home last month, and the video has been viewed more than 20 million times.
We’re also welcoming cultural institutions that are creating or expanding their YouTube channels, giving audiences the chance to tune in to legendary performances from
The Bolshoi Theater
, weekly releases of Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals on
The Shows Must Go On
, and Shakespeare plays streamed by
The Globe Theatre
.
And there’s been a rise in new formats for content during quarantine. We’ve seen YouTube’s first virtual
fashion show
and a streaming
global film festival
.
Gaming creators are also drawing new audiences.
Travis Scott
leveraged the power of the popular game Fortnite to perform unreleased music to viewers around the globe without ever leaving his house. Viewers tuned in live to streams from
Flakes Power
,
Muselk
,
Avxry
,
Valkyrae
and other gaming creators, with all four experiences garnering 100 million views on YouTube.
Thank you to all the creators and organizations who are releasing new content during this time, from
tips
for
working
at home to DIY advice from a
dad who launched a YouTube channel
to answer questions like how to hang a shelf or unclog a drain.
Whether your views are in the hundreds or in the millions, you’re making the world a little brighter for someone watching from home.
YouTube creator updates
As creators rose to meet the challenges of the pandemic, they also faced obstacles along the way. We know the uncertainty of the past few months has been hard and our team is working to provide support. In March, we adjusted our policy to enable ads for content from creators and news organizations discussing the coronavirus.
Given fluctuations with the advertising market, we are encouraging creators to also invest in other forms of monetization to
grow and diversify their revenue
. Since the beginning of March, we saw over two million viewers support creators by purchasing their first
Super Chat
,
Super Sticker
or
membership
on YouTube.
The number of creators earning the majority of their YouTube revenue from memberships and paid digital goods is up 40 percent since January.
And with more artists now going live on YouTube, we recently announced that we’ll be extending the availability of Super Chat and Super Stickers to more artist channels.
This year we’ve also worked to give creators more control over monetization decisions and to provide transparency with our policies by expanding
Self Certification
to all creators in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). With Self-Certification, creators tell us what’s in their video and how it complies with our ad-friendly guidelines.
In the past few weeks, you may have heard questions raised about Section 230, a regulation in United States law that allows YouTube to be an open platform while protecting the community from harmful content, like content that incites violence or endangers children. We believe undermining Section 230 would impact our ability to protect our users and would also significantly limit content from a wide range of creators across the political spectrum who have a voice on our platform. Such a change might require online services like YouTube to "over-filter" content, making it more difficult for creators to share breaking news, create learning content, expose injustice, and amplify a diversity of voices and opinions.
We'll continue to work on your behalf to explain how eroding 230 would harm the creator ecosystem globally.
Mental health
YouTube creators have long been known for their authenticity, and I appreciate how creators have openly shared how hard it is to create content as we navigate new challenges. It’s important for all of us to make our mental health and wellbeing a top priority.
People come to YouTube every day looking for information and resources, and we realize we have a tremendous opportunity to shine a light on various health issues.
Over the last few months, we’ve seen a 45 percent increase in views of meditation videos and a growing popularity of mindfulness and wellbeing content.
Our teams also recently expanded the tools available to users to help prioritize wellbeing. We’ve added a new
bedtime reminder
, in addition to our “take a break” option, to help viewers manage their time on YouTube.
And through our Get By #WithMe
campaign
, we’ve partnered with creators to spotlight videos like Why Support Helps with
Kati Morton
. Creators like Kati are helping educate and reduce the stigma associated with mental health.
The past few months have been incredibly challenging, and we still have a long road ahead of us. But even in these difficult circumstances, I’m finding glimmers of hope every day on YouTube - your passion and creativity have been inspiring.
Thank you for all the ways you’re coming together to support one another, and for all the ways you’re giving back.
You’re reminding us to look for the good, even when so many things about life feel out of order.
Thank you for being a part of our community. Whether you’re connecting with people on YouTube across your city or across the world, your voices are coming together to make a difference.
Susan Wojcicki
10 memorable quotes from 'Dear Class of 2020'
Monday, June 8, 2020
Yesterday afternoon, YouTube virtually gathered for a star-studded event called
“Dear Class of 2020”
— an online graduation special. It’s a strange and hard time to be entering this new stage of life, but each speaker delivered a unique message of hope to the next generation of leaders. There were tributes, there were performances and moments of surprise-and-delight planted throughout. (Hint: You’ll hear an arrangement from Finneas O’Connell, plus an appearance from a classic, animated American sitcom.) From the
Obamas
to
Lady Gaga
and
Beyoncé
, the over four-hour event also peppered in celebrity powerhouses like J.Lo and Mariah Carey.
“Dear Class of 2020” definitely can’t replace the feeling of physically walking across a stage to receive your diploma, but it was memorable. The 10 following quotes left more than an impression on us. These words will be ringing in our heads in the days to come, as we ready ourselves for the second half of 2020.
President Barack Obama:
“America changed — has always changed — because young people dared to hope. As someone once said, 'Hope is not a lottery ticket. It’s a hammer for us to use in a national emergency to break the glass, sound the alarm and sprint into action. '”
Beyoncé:
“Look how far you’ve come and how much you’ve contributed. Keep pushing. Forget the fear. Forget the doubt. Keep investing and keep betting on yourself.”
Jimmy Kimmel:
“I know this is a lousy time to enter the real world, but years from this, you will have what few people do: a cool story. Know what year I graduated high school? 1985. You know the most interesting thing that happened in 1985 was? “Police Academy 2,” ‘kay? Look it up. But when you tell people the year you graduated, everyone will be super interested, they’ll wanna know what was it like? Did you live underground? Did you used to touch hands with each other? Who did you take to the prom: your mom or your dad? Did the president really tell people to drink bleach?”
Alicia Keys:
“You, my friends, you are graduates in the most powerful time to be coming of age. And there’s nothing and no one that can stop you from changing the world. I see you. You’re unstoppable. We honor you and celebrate you.”
Sundar Pichai:
“You will prevail.” (Read his transcripted speech
here
.)
Michelle Obama:
“In an uncertain world, time-tested values like honesty and integrity, empathy and compassion — that’s the only real currency in life.”
Liza Koshy:
“You should also know you’re not alone. You’ve got a lot of company. And being stuck at home meant you had to find creative new ways to celebrate, which made #DearClassof2020 really blow up.”
Stephen Colbert:
“I have no doubt you will be the heroes of so many who have not yet been born. And years from now, if you have the good fortune to hold your own child’s face in your hands and tell them how proud you are of them, you’ll understand how we feel about you right now. And they’ll wonder how you did what you are about to go do.”
Malala Yousafzai:
“Don’t be defined by what you’re losing during this crisis, but by how you respond to it.”
Sec. Condoleezza Rice:
“You are the next generation of Americans who will fight for what is right, and one day make impossible seem inevitable.”
— The YouTube Team
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