Two decades after its founding, YouTube is the second most popular website on the internet. It has become one of the biggest cable providers in The United States and has more of the streaming market than Netflix. It’s owned by Google. It has lucrative partnerships with many of the biggest companies in the world. It is a mainstream success by any definition, which is why it’s so nice to see YouTube still paying tribute to its weird roots and more specifically, the OG Andy Samberg SNL sketch that played a “seminal” role in its growth.
CEO Neal Mohan recently talked to The Hollywood Reporter as part of an extensive profile. During the conversation, the subject of late night television came up, and the longtime executive talked about how important it has been for the growth of the platform. Back in 2005, less than a year after YouTube first launched, someone uploaded a video of “Lazy Sunday.” The Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell sketch, an early Digital Short that celebrates eating cupcakes and going to the movies, was viewed more than five million times in just a few months before NBC Universal requested its removal.
