YouTube

YouTube ads have gotten way out of hand in recent years, but despite that, ads are still necessary to handle the costs of running the world’s largest video platform, and paying the millions of creators that make it all possible. Now, the company is confirming that it is actively testing blocking ad blockers on YouTube, and that seems to include on mobile devices, too.

For some reason, YouTube now lets Premium subscribers earn badges that are based on usage. There does not appear to be any benefits to collecting them. 

Following Stadia’s death at the start of this year, Google looks to be planning another gaming initiative inside YouTube with “Playables.”

YouTube has started rolling out a new feature called “1080p Premium,” which is only accessible through its Premium tier. So does that mean YouTube is downgrading regular 1080p for free users? Probably not – here’s what’s actually happening.

One of the latest new features for YouTube Premium subscribers is a new 1080p tier with a better bitrate, and Google is now testing that feature with some users on Android and Google TV.

YouTube has announced today that it will lower the requirements for creators to use video monetization through the YouTube Partner Program in 2023, with fairly drastic cuts across both regular videos and Shorts.

NFL Sunday Ticket will bring a lot of new features to YouTube and YouTube TV, but one thing coming over from the DirecTV days will be “condensed” replays of games.

NFL Sunday Ticket is coming to YouTube and YouTube TV later this year, and while the best pre-purchase deal may be over, another offer will be in place for a while longer.

NFL Sunday Ticket is making its debut on YouTube and YouTube TV in just a few months, but the early discount for the service is ending very soon.

YouTube is doing away with one feature next month that just might be all but forgotten – Stories. How big of an effect this will actually have on creators is unknown.

YouTube’s big podcasts push has most certainly arrived, with podcasts now in the YouTube Music app. But it seems the platform isn’t done, with YouTube currently testing uploading podcasts via RSS, but only with select shows.

Besides the upcoming addition of unskippable and pause screen ads, the YouTube app on Android and Google TV in Q1 2023 gained support for more Assistant voice commands.

Ads on YouTube may be annoying at times, but they’re the lifeblood of the world’s largest video platform. But as YouTube plays with longer ads that you can’t skip and blocking users who use an ad blocker, it’s time for a discussion on a cheaper version of YouTube Premium.

YouTube Brandcast is a keynote highlighting the virtues of the platform for advertisers, and the 2023 edition included two big announcements that will impact the TV ads experience.

Ads make huge portions of the internet free to use while still letting creators be supported by those ads. However, there are ad blockers out there, and YouTube is now testing blocking users who have an ad blocker enabled.

After a big redesign last year, YouTube might be embarking on its next visual revamp with changes to the video page, which has mostly stayed the same in recent years.

YouTube for Android TV is almost in a constant state of evolution, the latest such change is to in-video animations for description, title, and channel info panes.

YouTube for mobile users are now gaining the animated loading screen that was first seen on Android TV in late 2022.