YouTube has announced a series of plans aimed at attracting more TV advertising funds to its platform on its annual expected advertising campaign Brandcast. It is worth noting that Google-owned video services are expanding their relationship with the NFL and are planning to play the first Friday game of the NFL's 2025-2026 season. It is also ready to provide creators with a new way to allow viewers to watch YouTube on TV through easily organized and rigged TV shows.

The latter announced at its first YouTube event last September, and CEO Neal Mohan explained that creators who earned most of their revenue on TV screens grew by more than 30% year-on-year. A new feature for select creators in the pilot program will allow them to organize their content into seasons and plots, just like a “real” TV show.

For example, in addition to new tools around “shopping TV” and major cultural moments that advertisers can target, such as awards season or PGA tournaments, the company once again sends messages to advertisers saying that it’s not just an online video service, but actually a new way for people to watch “TV.”

As part of the NFL deal, YouTube said it will only broadcast the first Friday game in São Paulo, Brazil to viewers around the world. It noted that this marked YouTube's first time as a live broadcaster in the NFL. (In the U.S., the game will be used by YouTube TV subscribers.) The company noted that, according to its internal data, users watched more than 350 million hours of NFL content on the platform last year and played more than 6 million live landscapes in the NFL Super Bowl Super Bowl Lix Flag Football game. Its expanded deal with the NFL will see it streaming flag football games in the coming years.

For creators, YouTube's tone is focused on bringing its content to the living room.

Hundreds of creators will be part of the initial pilot, expected to launch in the U.S. this summer, which will allow them to organize their content into a viewing experience designed for the big screen. Creators like Michelle Khare's Challenge embraced Rhett & Link's fabulous mornings, using new tools to turn their content into "seasons" and "plots" to make their content easier to use on TV.

The company is also launching ways to shop from YouTube using QR codes and other sending mobile features, and will seek Gemini AI to match ads with popular related content.

During Brandcast, YouTube introduced various case studies of brands like Volvo, Inspire Brands (Dunkin'), Hilton and State Farm that used advertiser tools to attract their audience. It also reminds marketers that YouTube has ranked No. 1 in streaming observation time in the U.S. for more than two years, putting it ahead of Netflix, Disney and Prime Video in March 2025. The company also promoted its recent focus on podcasts, and now sees over 1 billion monthly Ainty Active podcast users.