- YouTube is now primarily watched on smart TVs in the US
- In a blog post, YouTube’s CEO laid out new features coming to the YouTube TV app this year
- They include new ways to comment and interact with videos, for both users and creators
The YouTube TV app is set to get some key changes, with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan laying out the platform’s plans for 2025.
In a new blog post, Mohan revealed how important YouTube’s TV app had become in a streaming landscape where most YouTube usage in the US is through smart TVs rather than over PC and mobile. The company is looking to capitalize on that screen-centric attention by rolling out some new interactivity and commentary features for creators and viewers alike.
The first new feature is geared around “a second screen experience”, allowing you to “use your phone to interact with the video you’re watching on TV – for example, to leave a comment or make a purchase”.
While it may defeat the point of watching YouTube on the big screen for some (the ability to not be on your phone), the change also speaks to how multi-screen households often work, with many of us scrolling at the same time as watching TV series and videos.
Netflix is regularly accused of asking creators to make ‘second screen’ content that can be easily followed even if a user is splitting their attention between devices, and this kind of low-level interactivity could help YouTube capture both sides of that attention divide.
The second feature is called ‘Watch With’, and is more about creators than viewers. Mohan says this “enables creators to provide live commentary and real-time reactions to games and events,” building on some tests around this feature during last year’s NFL coverage.
What’s the issue?
2025 will mark YouTube’s 20th birthday, and the incredible journey it’s made from zoo videos to a massive video distribution empire.
The blog post notes how much has changed in that time, including the current dominance of smart TVs for YouTube usage, as well as its place as a leading source for podcasts in the US.
It also runs through the growing prevalence of AI tools on the platform, whether for creating video backgrounds or even watching videos for you.
Whether or not you think YouTube is, as Mohan says, “the epicenter of culture” – especially as YouTube is increasingly infiltrated by AI slop and deepfake content – there’s no denying its central place in our streaming habits, covering everything from online skits and sports events to played-on-loop children’s educational videos. Last year, CNBC reported that YouTube made up 10% of all viewing time on televisions, ahead of Netflix at 7.6%.
And while I’m trying not to keep multiple screens in my eye-line at one time, YouTube may just make a good case for it.
