What you need to know
- YouTube TV celebrates reaching 8 million subscribers, with the platform hoping to continue to bring meaningful subscriptions in 2024.
- YouTube announced it had achieved 1 billion hours of average user viewership on a TV, which is a new focus for the platform this year.
- Creators and their economic value has become a talking point for YouTube, as well.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan detailed the platform's plans for 2024, beginning with its stronger efforts in AI, according to a blog post. Mohan states AI "should empower human creativity, not replace it." Additionally, there are hopes that AI will become accessible to everyone and that it will continue to "push the boundaries" of creativity.
Mohan adds how AI is helping users create Shorts directly from their phones. While Shorts is short-form video content, Mohan states that YouTube wants to push more AI tools to help new users start their journeys. Moreover, the platform reports Shorts now average around 70 billion daily views, and the number of channels uploading Shorts has grown by 50% YoY.
Next, YouTube is looking toward users' living rooms as its next big project. The company announced YouTube TV has reached 8 million subscribers. Alongside this, viewers around the world watch an average of 1 billion hours of YouTube on their televisions.
Mohan reiterates YouTube TV's strides for more viewership, such as its introduction of the NFL Sunday Ticket during kickoff in September 2023. Moving into 2024, YouTube stated it will "continue to deliver a best-in-class experience for subscriptions and YouTube in the living room."
Creators are the other side of YouTube's 2024 outlook, as it states that world leaders have started engaging with that area. This year, the service states it will aid policymakers and partners "across the country" to see the value its creators bring economically. Speaking of the economy, Mohan adds YouTube's "number one commitment" is to the protection of its community.
It will continue to bring high-quality information to users who visit the platform while also focusing on reducing harmful content and more on YouTube.
With the company's CEO Neal Mohan placing more effort into AI, YouTube has already teased new additions like its conversational AI. The feature is in testing, but upon arrival, it would give users access to an AI chatbot that answers questions about the current video. The AI could also suggest more videos with a similar topic and more.
Meanwhile, YouTube Music started testing "Dream Track," a method creators can use to create music through AI. The bot would mimic the linguistic capabilities of some of the world's top artists like Charlie Puth, Demi Lovato, John Legend, and Sia.
YouTube Music and Premium celebrated 100 million subscribers nearly a week ago. AI was made apparent during its celebration, as well, as the company brought both services to more than 100 regions around the world. Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted YouTube Music and Premium as "key drivers" in its subscription revenue for Q4 2023.
