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YouTube Brandcast 2021 sees latest Originals as growth in TV screen watch time continues

YouTube this morning hosted its 2021 Brandcast Delivered for advertisers. It’s an annual opportunity for the Google company to share its upcoming Originals content lineup and new ad offerings in a star-studded manner.

The virtual 2021 Brandcast Delivered was hosted by Hasan Minhaj and featured YouTube Creators like iJustine, James Corden, and Venus Williams, as well as a musical performance from Miley Cyrus. The unsurprising message that Google wants to particularly push to advertisers is that YouTube is the “#1 content provider that viewers would miss if it were no longer available” and that it is the world’s “biggest contributor” to culture, creativity, and learning. 

Upcoming YouTube Originals, which have pivoted away from prestige television and movies to focus on content from Creators, includes:

  • Best Shape of My Life: Six-part fitness unscripted series following Will Smith
  • Noted: Four-part intimate docuseries with Alicia Keys
  • Liza on Demand: Returns for third season 
  • Ice Cold: Docuseries exploring issues around racial inequity through the lens of hip-hop jewelry
  • Recipe for Change: Special celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander culture featuring celebrities, chefs, activists, and creators
  • Barbershop Medicine: Exploring the impact race and socioeconomic status have on healthcare and longevity

On the ad product front, YouTube announced “brand extensions” that let viewers of connected TV ads learn more about a product with “one click of a button without interrupting their viewing experience.” Google says this is the “first of many interactive features coming to the TV screen” and will be available globally later this year. The launch of YouTube Select Sponsorships was also reiterated. 

Google reports that over 120 million people in the US streamed YouTube or YouTube TV on large screens in December of 2020. Watch time of music content on TVs growing over 50% YoY stateside. Other stats for that time frame include:

  • Cooking content: Over 40% YoY
  • Humor: Over 60% YoY
  • Travel: Over 40% YoY
  • Education-related videos: Over 50% YoY

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com