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Mint
8 minutes ago
- Mint
How YouTube won the battle for TV Viewers
SAN BRUNO, Calif.—The headquarters of the world's No. 1 source of video entertainment has none of the trappings of a Hollywood studio. There are no posters of popular shows, no writers pitching ideas, no soundstages and no tourists. But after pioneering video that we watch on our laptops and phones, YouTube is now the king of Hollywood's home turf: the TV. YouTube became the most-watched video provider on televisions in the U.S. earlier this year, and its lead has only grown, according to Nielsen data. People now watch YouTube on TV sets more than on their phones or any other device—an average of more than one billion hours each day. That is more viewing than Disney gets from its broadcast network, dozen-plus cable channels and three streaming services combined. In response, YouTube's influencers, producers and performers—collectively known as creators—are making longer, higher-quality videos that appeal to families and groups of friends watching in their living rooms. YouTube is also rapidly improving its TV app, adding new features to try to keep people watching its free videos longer. (Separately, it also sells YouTube TV, an $83-a-month bundle of channels akin to cable.) In true Silicon Valley style, the Google-owned company isn't just looking to extend its lead on TVs, but to dominate the future of entertainment. 'Our goal is for the YouTube app to be people's way into as much of the universe of video content that exists on the internet as can be," said Christian Oestlian, YouTube's product manager for connected TV. One way the company is considering keeping people glued to YouTube on their TVs longer, he said, is through personally customized content feeds, like highlights from players on a fantasy football team. For most of the past 20 years since it was founded, YouTube was an alternative to television, a home for cheap, low-quality ephemera like how-to videos and skateboard tricks that Hollywood worried was distracting people from real entertainment. YouTube started as a website to watch videos on PCs. It made its way onto televisions in 2010, but the interface was clunky. By the 2020s, a generation that grew up watching internet videos alone on their phones and tablets began watching YouTube together in their living rooms and with their own children. It didn't hurt that as prices rose for Netflix and Disney+, YouTube has remained free. In the process, it became a media juggernaut. MoffettNathanson analysts estimate YouTube's revenue last year was $54.2 billion, which would make it No. 2 among entertainment companies, behind only Disney. Now, even the smallest decisions YouTube executives make about how their apps are designed or how their algorithm recommends content can have seismic impacts on global pop culture. When Kurt Wilms became senior director of product for YouTube on televisions in 2018, the company's TV app was useful if you knew what you wanted to search for and watch. Since then, the company has worked to make its TV app similar to the ones on phones, with an algorithm that recommends what to watch next and the ability to subscribe and comment. The key differences: Ad formats designed for the TV, a search engine that suggests content that looks best on a big screen, and the ability to navigate it all with a remote. A coming YouTube feature, called 'shows," can automatically queue the next episode on a channel, rather than serving whatever the recommendation algorithm thinks you'll like best from billions of options. That will let YouTube viewers watch full 'seasons" for the first time and pick up where they left off, as they are used to doing on Netflix. 'It's going to be great for the 'lean back' use case of YouTube," said Wilms. Many young people viewing YouTube on their TVs are perfectly happy to watch amateurs play videogames, spout opinions and share every detail of their personal lives. But increasingly, they are also watching the type of shows that used to be found exclusively on broadcast or cable channels: sketch comedy, documentaries, animation and talk shows. The latter is disappearing from traditional networks, as evidenced by CBS's decision to cancel its Stephen Colbert late-night show. 'Good Mythical Morning" on YouTube is a lot like an old-fashioned network talk show. Every weekday, hosts Rhett McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln Neal—known to their fans as Rhett & Link—joke around with each other and their crew, perform blind taste tests and take part in bizarre contests. What started nearly 20 years ago with the two friends working alone in North Carolina has grown into a channel with 19.3 million subscribers. While L.A. is bleeding jobs in traditional film and TV production, Rhett & Link employ some 100 people in a complex just outside the city that houses stages, a writers' room, a prop-making office and interns. During a recent taping, the youthful-looking 47-year-olds were preparing to taste food a crew member's grandmother had canned decades ago. 'There's only one item we know is definitely unsafe," the director warned them. 'Otherwise, you guys can do your normal smell-lick situation." TVs became the most popular screen for people to watch 'Good Mythical Morning" late last year and now account for 53% of all viewing. The hosts say longtime fans have grown up watching the show alone in their childhood bedrooms and now watch with a partner or friends in their own living rooms. 'There's this phenomenon of, 'Oh wait, there's the YouTube icon on this television I just mounted in my first apartment. I can do this here now,'" said Neal. Similarly, viewership on TVs surpassed mobile late last year for the popular YouTube interview show 'Hot Ones," on which celebrities like Billie Eilish and Kevin Hart answer questions as they eat increasingly spicy chicken wings. Dhar Mann Studios says TVs became the most popular device for viewers of its inspirational videos for kids in early 2024, and about 54% now watch that way. Research from Tubular Labs shows viewers on YouTube are spending substantially more time with long content—meaning more than 15 minutes—than two years ago, and they are doing it the most on televisions. YouTube producers are noticing and making longer videos, which keep audiences glued to their channel for longer stretches. It also helps producers earn more. Google typically shares 55% of commercial revenue with creators, and the most valuable ads are often 'mid-rolls" that run partway through a video when a viewer has already committed time to watching and wants to finish. Longer videos have more mid-roll ads and make more money. 'There has been a deluge of interest in long-form YouTube content with creators," said Andrew Graham, an agent at Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency who represents digital talent. 'Short-form content doesn't monetize nearly as well." Comedian Quenlin Blackwell's videos were typically 10 minutes to 30 minutes long just last year, and she made them with her best friends. Now her sketches, travelogues and cooking collaborations with online celebrities last an hour or longer and are made with 10 to 15 writers, camera operators and other professional collaborators. 'People's attention spans haven't been that bad," she said. 'It's what we've been feeding them." On YouTube, visibility relies entirely on Google's inscrutable algorithm. Executives say they have no interest in deciding what gets made for their service or how it gets promoted. In 2015, YouTube hired a former MTV executive to develop original series for paying subscribers, but the effort flopped. The most notable result was 'Cobra Kai," a 'Karate Kid" follow-up that became a hit only after it moved to Netflix. Now, Hollywood-style content comes from partners that sell subscriptions to their streaming services inside the YouTube app. Those deals give companies like Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount access to a large, young audience, but means their shows stream beside virtually anything. People who pay for HBO Max inside YouTube and search for 'The White Lotus" might see the latest episode of the series, a fan breakdown of the season and a video from Thailand about flowers. YouTube leaves content decisions largely up to its independent creators. One of the few exceptions is sports, where the company is paying for the rights to stream games. Viewership in that category is up 45% so far this year on YouTube. Executives say they want to be the home for fans leading up to a game, during it, and for clips afterward. YouTube has been the exclusive home of the NFL Sunday Ticket since 2023. It pays the sports league $2 billion annually and charges viewers between $378 and $480 a season. Now it is bringing games to its free, ad-supported service. YouTube bought the exclusive rights to soccer tournaments in Brazil, and in September, it will stream an NFL game on its free platform for the first time—a sign Google believes it may be able to cover the hefty cost of sports rights through advertising alone. It has brought concepts created for Sunday Ticket like 'multi-view," in which people can watch several games at once, to the main app. And it's experimenting with features that take advantage of its army of sports influencers, including letting some announce games. '50 % of consumers have told us that they'd rather learn about a live event from a creator than actually watch the live event themselves," said Oestlian. As the rest of Hollywood eyes YouTube enviously, elite creators have become a hot commodity. Analysts at Wells Fargo recently said that, to compete for young audiences, Netflix should consider spending $500 million to persuade 20 to 30 creators of top YouTube channels to switch to its platform. Popular YouTube creators have been open to making new shows for Hollywood streaming services, like MrBeast's BeastGames on Amazon Prime Video, or to selling old episodes, like Ms. Rachel's kids' videos on Netflix. But they say there is no check big enough to persuade them to abandon YouTube channels they spent years creating. 'The opportunity isn't to try and defeat YouTube," said Sean Atkins, chief executive of the Dhar Mann Studios YouTube channel. 'That game has already been won." Write to Ben Fritz at
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Foldable innovation, redefined: Samsung launches the much-awaited Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7, pre-bookings open with guaranteed benefits worth ₹12,000
Bringing breakthrough innovation year after year is no easy feat, yet Samsung continues to do just that with its Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series. With each iteration, Samsung has redefined what a smartphone can be, setting new standards in design, engineering, and functionality. And once again, the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 raise the bar for foldables. Fresh off its Galaxy Unpacked event in New York, Samsung's latest foldables are poised to unveil the next chapter in smartphone evolution. Let's take a look at how these devices are sleeker and smarter than ever. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Unfolding new horizons The Galaxy Z Fold7 takes multitasking and productivity to the next level with its expansive foldable display and powerful capabilities. At just 4.2mm when unfolded and weighing 216 grams, the smartphone is the slimmest and the lightest fold yet, further raising the bar for convenience and portability in the foldables segment. It features a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate on its main foldable display (dynamically adjusts from 1Hz up to 120Hz). The 2600 nits ensure a brilliant user experience on a sunny day or in a brightly lit indoor environment. The Vision Booster technology further enhances outdoor visibility. This smartphone redefines versatility. The sleeker design and newly expanded 21:9 cover screen make one-handed use more natural, while the massive 20.31 cm main display delivers Samsung's largest screen yet on a smartphone. If compared, this device is 11% larger than its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold6. The powerhouse of performance and durability, powered by AI The Galaxy Z Fold7 debuts with the Snapdragon 8 Gen Elite for Galaxy, delivering impressive performance and power efficiency. A true game changer is the live integration of Gemini AI, delivering next-level, real-time assistance and intelligent interaction right on the device. Google searches become easier, swifter and smarter with Gemini AI. The Galaxy Z Fold7 boasts a commendable 4400mAh battery and is deeply integrated with advanced Galaxy AI features that revolutionise how users interact with their device, edit content, and get assistance. With the device in hand, users can utilise the following AI features to enhance productivity. Enhanced Generative edit: Samsung's Generative Edit feature takes photo editing to a new level by leveraging generative AI to modify images intelligently. The "Enhanced" aspect brings even more intuitive control and improved results. Enhanced Audio Eraser: This feature improves video recordings by allowing an easy clean up of unwanted background noise, ensuring the main audio is loud, clear and minus of unwanted noises. Gemini Live on a large screen: Users can speak freely and naturally with Gemini Live to get information in real-time. Circle to Search: They can also use the circle to search feature during gameplay. Introducing Galaxy Z Fold7 | Samsung Introducing a stunning era of mobile photography The Galaxy Z Fold7 now features a 200MP camera, a first for the Z Fold series. This ultra-high-resolution sensor, combined with the advanced ProVisual Engine, captures the most intricate details, delivering enhanced colours, textures, and stunningly accurate skin tones. The smartphone ensures that clicked images will look like masterpieces in incredible, true-to-life immersion on the large display. Top-notch security and an up-to-date Galaxy experience Samsung is ensuring longevity for both the devices - Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 by promising industry-leading support, which ensures these devices remain secure and feature-rich for an extended period. The devices come with a 7-generation OS update, which means the smartphones will receive major Android OS updates for seven full generations. Samsung also guarantees 7 years of security updates. These regular patches are essential for protecting smartphones from emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and malware. It is commendable that this commitment goes far beyond what most Android manufacturers offer, ensuring users have access to the latest Android features, performance enhancements, and API updates for many years, significantly increasing the lifespan and value of their device. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7: When style meets innovation Meet the slimmest and most advanced Galaxy Z Flip yet. The device is crafted for stunning performance, effortless style, and a perfect fit for your lifestyle and your pocket. With an edge-to-edge expanded cover screen and a sleek, durable design, it's a foldable that turns heads folded or unfolded. The Galaxy Z Flip7's redesigned cover screen features the slimmest bezel yet, providing users with more room and enhanced power on the FlexWindow. When opened, the primary display provides an uninterrupted, immersive viewing experience that is truly a visual delight for the eyes and senses. Similar to the Galaxy Z Fold7, the Galaxy Z Flip7 comes with an Infinity Flex window and Vision Booster technology. It is strengthened with an improved Armour Aluminium and Gorilla Glass Victus 2, offering greater scratch and drop resistance. The Galaxy Z Flip7 takes immersive viewing to the next level with a newly optimised 21:9 screen ratio, which is closer to traditional bar-style smartphones for a more natural viewing and scrolling experience. The main display is now 13% wider than the Z Flip6, giving you more room to enjoy your content, multitask with ease, and interact with apps just like you would on a standard flagship, only now, in a foldable form. Introducing Galaxy Z Flip7 | Samsung A visionary camera for creativity and beyond The Galaxy Z Flip7 features an outstanding camera system designed for versatility and creativity. It has a powerful 50MP main camera that captures incredibly detailed shots. For those perfect self-portraits, a dedicated 50MP selfie cam ensures you look your best in every picture. The Flip7 truly shines with its unique FlexCam experience, leveraging its foldable design for hands-free shooting; features like Zoom Rocker and Auto Zoom make framing shots effortless, even from a distance. All of this is enhanced by Samsung's ProVisual Engine, an AI-powered system that optimises every photo for stunning clarity, vibrant colours, and improved details, no matter the lighting. Plus, with the ability to apply custom filters instantly in the FlexWindow, you can preview and perfect your look even before you fully unfold your phone. A looker that comes with durability Built to handle everyday wear with ease, the Galaxy Z Flip7 combines sleek style with unmatched durability. Its exterior is reinforced with Armor Aluminium and the all-new Armor FlexHinge, offering robust protection without compromising on design. Both the front and back are shielded with Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus® 2, making it Samsung's most durable Flip yet, ready for real life, folded or unfolded. The smartphone is powered by a 4300mAh battery, the largest battery seen in a Z Flip series. It also has a robust 3nm processor, which delivers faster performance, improved power efficiency, and enhanced multitasking capabilities. A handy AI companion The Galaxy Z Flip7 is one true AI companion that will ease your tasks within seconds. The smartphone comes with the following AI features- Enhanced suggested replies: This feature provides reply suggestions based on conversation context, enabling users to respond instantly from FlexWindow and the main screen. Suggested Erases (one tap): This is a valuable enhancement. Previously, users might have had to select objects to remove manually. Now, the AI proactively analyses the photo and suggests objects or distractions that can be erased, such as photobombers, unwanted background elements, or reflections. A single tap can initiate the removal, making cleanup incredibly fast and easy. This leverages the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) in the processor for rapid on-device AI processing. Side-by-Side editing: It allows users to view the original image alongside the AI-edited version in real-time. This direct comparison helps them assess the changes, decide to keep them or try different edits, providing greater control and confidence in their results. Enhanced Audio Eraser: This feature enhances video recordings by allowing for easy cleanup of unwanted background noise, ensuring the main audio is loud, clear, and free of distractions. Samsung's commitment to sustainability Samsung's goal is to eliminate all single-use plastics in mobile product packaging by 2025. Since 2017, the brand has been exploring ways to eliminate single-use plastics in packaging by assessing every aspect of packaging design, down to the most minor details. As a result, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 contains only 1.6% plastic in terms of the total packaging weight. The paper used for the Galaxy Z Flip 7 packaging box is 100% recycled paper. Pre-book the latest innovation in foldable technology now With the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7, Samsung continues to redefine the foldable experience. Packed with more intelligent AI, sleeker designs, and powerful performance upgrades, both devices offer unmatched versatility, whether you're multitasking like a pro on the Fold7 or capturing on-the-go moments with ease on the Flip7. These are not just innovations, but they're foldables built for real, everyday use in 2025. The Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 are now available on in stunning new colours. The Galaxy Z Flip7 is available in three colours such as Blue Shadow, Jetblack and Coralred, whereas the Galaxy Z Fold7 is available in Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, Jetblack and Mint. Pre-book today and unlock launch benefits worth ₹12,000, including exciting memory upgrades. Not a Samsung user yet? Download the Try Galaxy app to explore exclusive Galaxy AI features, themes, and apps, then make the switch to a smartphone that's built to impress.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Perplexity in talks with phone makers to pre-install Comet AI mobile browser on devices
By Akash Sriram Nvidia-backed Perplexity AI , the startup challenging Google with its AI-powered search engine , is in discussions with mobile device makers to pre-install its new Comet browser on smartphones, CEO Aravind Srinivas told Reuters on Friday. The move could significantly boost Perplexity's reach by capitalizing on browser "stickiness", where users tend to stick with browser apps that are pre-installed or set as default on their devices, potentially driving habitual use of the company's AI tools. "It's not easy to convince mobile OEMs to change the default browser to Comet from Chrome," Srinivas said, referring to original equipment manufacturers and highlighting the challenge of user inertia on mobile platforms. Comet, currently in beta and available only on desktops, integrates Perplexity's AI directly into web browsing, allowing users to ask questions about personal data like emails, calendars, or browsing history, and even perform tasks such as scheduling meetings or summarizing webpages. Perplexity aims to target "tens to hundreds of millions" of users next year after stabilizing the desktop version for a few hundred thousand initial testers, Srinivas said. Its efforts reflect a broader industry shift toward browsers with agentic AI capabilities , ones that need minimal human intervention to make decisions and achieve specific tasks. Reuters reported earlier this month that OpenAI is developing its own agentic AI browser, which could automate complex tasks such as booking travel or managing finances. As of last month, Google's Chrome had a market share of about 70% in mobile devices, while Apple 's Safari and Samsung's browsers together commanding another 24%, according to Statcounter data. Bloomberg News reported in June that Perplexity was in talks with Samsung Electronics and Apple to integrate its AI search capabilities into their devices, potentially enhancing assistants like Bixby or Siri. Perplexity has completed a $500 million investment round, which valued it at $14 billion earlier this year. Its investors include Accel, Nvidia , Jeff Bezos and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
