Latest in YouTube

EXCLUSIVE: Smosh, the longtime supplier of YouTube comedy videos, has hired its first CEO. Daniel Tibbets, a media veteran who most recently served as general manager for Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network, will guide the company as it looks to broaden its reach. Smosh, which has 45 million subscribers and 10 billion…

2ND UPDATE with Katty Kay resignation, 9:30 AM: Ozy Media’s star journalist, former BBC anchor Katty Kay, resigned from the embattled news site Wednesday, calling recent allegations surfaced in a New York Times story “serious and deeply troubling.” "I had recently joined the company after my long career at the BBC…

YouTube has removed the accounts of anti-vaccine activists Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Joseph Mercola and others as part of a crackdown on misinformation. Kennedy had already been booted off Instagram last February for continually spreading false information about Covid-19 vaccines. Before the pandemic, he had already been…

YouTube Originals is bolstering its originals slate with a slew of unscripted orders including the acquisition of a Tom Petty feature documentary. The streamer has acquired the rights to Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, exploring how the musician made his seminal album. The film, which is…

The U.S. edition of VidCon, the ViacomCBS-owned event for “the world’s leading digital creators, platform innovators, and their fans” has been canceled for 2021. “We were so confident that we’d be able to put on the VidCon you know and love this October and could not wait to reconnect with all of you IRL,” said VidCon…

Google and its YouTube subsidiary are implementing steps to make their vast digital arenas safer for users under 18 years old. Google said it will now block ad targeting based on the age, gender or interests of people under 18. It is also turning off its data-tracking “location history” option for users under the age…

YouTube Names VP For Europe, Middle East & Africa YouTube has appointed Pedro Pina as VP, YouTube, responsible for all aspects of the business across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The exec arrives with 30 years of experienced in global marketing. He first joined Google in 2013 as leader in the Global Client…

UPDATED with comments from earnings call: Google's YouTube saw ad revenue jump last quarter, passing $7 billion from $3.8 billion a year ago. The video giant's parent Alphabet saw overall sales surge during second-quarter 2021 to nearly $62 billion from $38 billion, beating Wall Street expectations across the…

Global Citizen, the international advocacy organization behind this spring’s massive Vax Live event at L.A.’s Sofi Stadium, on Tuesday announced Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour live broadcast with events and performances filmed across six continents to unite the world to defend the planet and defeat poverty. Artists…

In a first for YouTube, the digital video giant is putting its name on a new 6,000-seat music venue opening at Hollywood Park, the sports and entertainment area in Inglewood, CA just east of LAX. The multi-year agreement follows a similar playbook in Los Angeles and other cities. In downtown L.A., the Staples Center…

Weibo, a Chinese government-controlled social media service, is banning prominent accounts for fans of the South Korean pop group BTS. The Chinese outlet Global Times said Friday that Weibo banned seven BTS accounts and ten pop music fan accounts. The move comes as the group’s single, Butter, set a record on YouTube…

UPDATED with Roku statement. Roku has hit back at Google over actions by its YouTube TV unit in the companies’ distribution fight. Earlier today, YouTube TV said it was adding a “Go to YouTube TV” function within the main YouTube app as a workaround for YouTube TV bundle subscribers caught up in the tussle. In a…