YouTube

Alphabet’s Google discloses Shorts monthly viewership for first time amid heightened competition from TikTok and Instagram Reels.

In its fine print, the ad, produced by agency Essence and debuting May 16, says it bases the claim on a 2022 study by SmithGeiger “comparing comparable services over 24 months, including hidden fees, promotion pricing, DVR box rental and service fee, and second cable box for the home, if applicable.”

Free Press, Common Cause and a number of other progressive groups and civil rights advocates have called on the biggest social media companies to combat disinformation in the run-up to the midterm elections, the first national election since the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, saying if they don’t, they are “the dominant threat” to the democratic process. That came in the form of letters to the CEOs of Meta, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and Alphabet from more than 100 groups.

As the industry continues to try to solve the increasingly complicated measurement problem, YouTube and Nielsen have partnered to add co-viewing metrics to account for multiple viewers watching YouTube TV and YouTube on connected TV.

The league has renewed a deal with YouTube to carry 15 exclusive games on the platform this season. The renewal means YouTube will stream MLB games for a fourth consecutive season; the first contest of 2022 will be a Washington Nationals-Colorado Rockies matchup on May 5.

YouTube, looking to compete with free-ad supported streaming channels as more of its viewing occurs on connected TVs, is offering viewers a collection of licensed TV programs they can watch for free with commercial interruptions. Google’s streaming video giant said it has more than 4,000 episodes of shows including relatively recent series.

Google, one of the few American corporate giants still operating in Russia, is poised to lose one of its biggest footholds in the country as tensions with the Kremlin continue to escalate. Alphabet Inc.’s Google shut its advertising business in Russia while maintaining its popular consumer services, such as YouTube. But the video service has become a significant source of tension with the government.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is forcing big tech companies to decide how to handle state-controlled media outlets that spread propaganda and misinformation on behalf of the invaders.

Susanne Daniels has resigned as YouTube’s global head of original content after six years. She will leave in March. There, Daniels developed Cobra Kai, which was a YouTube original before moving to Netflix after two seasons. She also developed On Becoming a God in Central Florida, which moved to Showtime.

In a letter to CEO Susan Wojcicki published Wednesday, over 80 fact checking groups say the Google-owned video platform is “one of the major conduits of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide.”

Comscore said today it has begun measuring viewing across YouTube and YouTube TV across YouTube’s biggest platforms, including personal computers, mobile devices and connected TV. Comscore will be able to provide metrics for de-duplicated viewing of campaigns on YouTube and YouTube TV for advertisers and measure the co-viewing of content on CTV screens.

YouTube on Monday introduced an option for performance advertisers that allows them to drive and measure conversions on connected television (CTV) by increasing the ability for viewers to shop from the messages in the ads they see on the screen. Now, for the first time, performance advertisers can take advantage of YouTube on CTV to drive and measure conversion through the expansion of Video action campaigns.

The new set of policies will cover not just the COVID-19 vaccines or long-approved vaccines against diseases like measles and hepatitis B, but also general claims about vaccines, YouTube said.

NewsGuard will enable Zefr’s clients to create inclusion and exclusion lists, preventing them from “overblocking” legitimate news publishers. (Image: NewsGuard)

YouTube’s vice president of content partnerships, Kelly Merryman, a key executive who helped smooth relationships with Hollywood networks and studios, has left the company.

Researchers have identified YouTube as playing a major role in misinformation campaigns, including the effort to discredit the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Yet it has repeatedly ducked the brunt of backlashes that Facebook and Twitter have absorbed head-on.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday urged a federal court to order YouTube to quickly restore his former channel on the online video-sharing platform. In a 39-page request for an injunction, Trump’s lawyers argue that his permanent suspension from YouTube is causing him “irreparable injury,” because he is being deprived of “his donor and merchandising platforms,” as well as his ability to endorse political candidates.

During the Tokyo Games, which ran July 23-Aug. 8, YouTube viewers watched more than 200 million hours of Olympics-related content (including historical footage of past Olympic Games). According to the video platform, that’s seven times the amount of hours of Olympic Games content YouTube visitors watched during Rio 2016.

Trump announced the action against Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube, along with the companies’ CEOs, at a press conference in New Jersey on Wednesday. He was joined by other plaintiffs in the suits, which were filed in federal court in Miami.

In a shift that could help Google’s YouTube sidestep future political controversy, as well as make it more attractive to a broader audience, the social video site has announced that it has stopped taking ads related to elections and political content, alcohol, gambling and prescription drugs in its masthead ads.

Among new original show announcements for ad-supported video platform YouTube, its connected TV ads will now offer new functions for advertisers. Viewers can click to go to a brand’s website while still watching a video. The announcement came during YouTube’s IAB NewFronts presentation on Tuesday.

Usually, when social media executives are brought to testify in front of Congress, the hearings are centered on specific policies and types of content, misinfo and foreign interference, antitrust issues, and privacy concerns. What doesn’t quite get as much attention are the engines that drive these platforms: their algorithms. That’s what makes Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary hearing with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube different. The hearing is entirely focused on social media algorithms.

In a letter sent Tuesday to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, the U.S. House Oversight and Reform subcommittee on economic and consumer policy said YouTube does not do enough to protect kids from material that could harm them. Instead it relies on artificial intelligence and creators’ self-regulation to decide what videos make it on to the platform, according to the letter.

Siding with YouTube, the Biden administration is urging a federal judge to reject an attempt by video creators to invalidate Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The administration’s move comes in a lawsuit by Kimberly Carleste Newman and other content creators who say YouTube wrongly restricted and de-monetized videos with titles like “black lives matter,” “racism,” and “white supremacy.”

Facebook overwhelmingly is the most important social media platform for TV stations, say executives for CBS stations, E.W. Scripps, Nexstar, NBCU stations, Fox stations and Meredith. Broadcasters’ relationship with the platform once widely viewed as a “frenemy” continues to evolve, though the opacity of its all-important algorithm still frustrates. Note: This story is available to TVNewsCheck Premium members only. If you would like to upgrade your free TVNewsCheck membership to Premium now, you can visit your Member Home Page, available when you log in at the very top right corner of the site or in the Stay Connected Box that appears in the right column of virtually every page on the site. If you don’t see Member Home, you will need to click Log In or Subscribe.

The series of 21 telecasts start on Wednesday, April 7, at 1:10 p.m. ET when the Boston Red Sox host the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays in the finale of a two-game series, MLB and YouTube said Monday. The games are exclusive and will not be televised by club broadcast partners.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said Thursday that former President Trump’s account on the platform will be reinstated “when we determine that the risk of violence has decreased.” Trump’s YouTube account was suspended a week after the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The crop of Super Bowl ads 2021 employed a large contingent of A-list celebrities in front and behind the camera and featured major Hollywood brands. Not surprisingly, they dominated the list of most watched Super Bowl commercials on YouTube during gameday.

YouTube on Thursday announced an update to its global hub for sports content known as Sports. The changes are being made across mobile, desktop and connected TV (CTV). The content will offer clips and highlights from top leagues worldwide, along with exclusive live games and premium content from popular athletes and creators. Videos available are from NFL, La Liga, MLB, NBA and WWE.

ViacomCBS will be promoting new series on CBS by streaming them on Pluto TV and other over-the-top platforms. The Equalizer and Clarice will be available for two weeks after they premiere on the CBS Broadcast Network.