It’s clear that YouTube wants sports fans to watch more content on its platform, and today, we heard about several changes coming soon aiming to do just that. The company again mentioned a new “Watch with” feature, upgrades to multiview, and other changes coming this year.
This week, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wrote a blog post detailing the company’s “big bets for 2025,” mentioning all sorts of interesting facts, features, and promises. For starters, more people watch YouTube on a TV than on mobile devices or computers these days, which is pretty neat. Mohan stated that viewers watch, on average, over 1B hours of YouTube content on TVs daily.
And while that’s neat, I was more excited about YouTube’s big plans to continue its efforts in the live sports space. YouTube and YouTube TV are the new home for the NFL Sunday Ticket, and later this year, Multiview, my favorite feature, will be getting even better. Sadly, YouTube didn’t state what changes were coming, only promising improved features and new benefits. Watching four games at once is amazing, and any new features would likely improve the experience.
The other exciting announcement from YouTube is a new feature called “Watch with,” which enables creators to provide live commentary and real-time reactions to games and events streaming on the platform. YouTube briefly tested live commentary during the NFL season in 2024, and I’m looking forward to it rolling out next season.
Imagine watching an e-sports competition while watching your favorite YouTube creator comment about it in real-time. Or, watching NCAA Football or an NFL game while simultaneously tuning into live commentary from Travis and Jason Kelce. That would be pretty neat. It’ll start with the NFL, but YouTube will experiment with other sports and types of content this year.
YouTube’s CEO then went on to briefly talk about how AI will improve content creation and bolster viewing experiences for everyone, said YouTube is the new Television, and closed by saying, “We’re committed to empowering creators, fostering community, and continuing to redefine how the world watches, listens, and connects.”
Source: YouTube Blog
