YouTube on TV May Soon Better Promote Content From Other Services

Google is reportedly planning to redesign its YouTube app on TV to promote content from other streaming services right on the home page. A paywalled report from The Information (via The Verge) reveals that this new home page design will bring YouTube’s Primetime channels to the spotlight.

Primetime channels on YouTube work similarly to the add-on channels on YouTube TV and other streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+. As of today, content from YouTube’s Primetime Channels, which include services like Paramount+ and NFL Game Pass, are buried in the Movies & TV section of the YouTube app. The Information reports that this content discovery problem has led Google to stop bringing new third-party channels on YouTube.

Just like Apple and Amazon do on their own platforms, YouTube takes a cut on Primetime channel subscriptions, so it’s in the company’s best interest to better promote these channels. The Information also learned that YouTube wants to make content from Primetime channels seamlessly fit next to regular YouTube videos.

“The vision is that when you come to our [TV] app and you’re looking for a show, it’ll just blend away whether that show is from a Primetime Channel or that show is from a creator,” said Kurt Wilms, YouTube’s senior director of product management to The Information.

According to The Information, this new YouTube home page design on TVs may launch in the coming months. Google recently announced that YouTube was now getting more watch time on TV than mobile in the US, and this shift made YouTube CEO Neal Mohan claim that the platform had become “the new television.” It also helps that most smart TV remotes these days come with a dedicated YouTube button next to Netflix and other streaming services.