During a call to comment on the data of the first quarter of 2022, Google anticipated the arrival of advertising, in tests, also in the Shorts videos, and the introduction of a practical novelty for YouTube TV.
In the past few hours, Google held the usual videocall with shareholders and investors, to comment on the data of the first quarterly of 2022, with various insights regarding YouTube which, not surprisingly, has communicated several important news for its future.
After a first good news, concerning the fact that every day users watch something like 700 million hours of YouTube content on smart TVs, the CEO of Goole / Alphanet, Sundar Pichai, reported other data, as a result of which in the after hours the Mountain View company collapsed by 3% on the stock market. In particular, if in the previous year the revenue of the video unit of the company, in the quarter in question, had grown by 48%, this year the growth stopped at 14%, substantially in 6.87 billion dollars, resulting in 500 million lower than analysts’ expectations.
The reasons for this result are many. First of all, YouTube, despite having remained operational in Russia, was affected by the blocking of sales operated by Google on the spot, following the start of hostilities with Ukraine: this was added, according to the financial manager, Ruth Porat, to a contraction in spending across the Old Continent. In addition to the ongoing conflict, Apple’s privacy adjustment, which has led to a decline in direct response marketing, which relies more on targeting in reaching consumers – potential customers, is also taking effect.
YouTube Shorts, then, the format of short and creative anti-TikTok vertical videos has grown a lot, with 30 billion views per day (four times more than last year), however, subtracting views from the main platform, on which most of the ad revenue, long kept ad-free, with creators paid on a per-performance basis by tapping into a fund made available by Google. This scenario will inevitably change and, in this regard, the start of the test was communicated, with the first feedback and feedback from advertisers that induce to continue, which introduces advertising in Shorts, in the form of a video, between one content and the other.
For now, the sources explain, these are mostly campaigns concerning promotions or the installation of applications, by clicking on which you can proceed to the purpose. Also during the videocall on the first quarterly 2022, Pichai anticipated the development of “new navigation and interactivity features for smartphone control”, which will allow you to share and comment, directly from your smartphone, those videos you are watching on the connected TV.
Meanwhile, since now, Google has started the activation of a function in favor of YouTube TV subscribers, which concerns the arrival of a screen that allows you to choose the account of those who are using the service, in the case of a use “Familiar”: otherwise, in the case of use by a single user, from the settings of the same screen it will be possible to disable the interface of choice.