I’m surprised it’s taken this long, but Google has announced that the YouTube Masthead is coming to the TV screen. This is a big advert which will autoplay on the YouTube home screen on TVs – and can be purchased on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) basis, with audiences customised to the advertiser. I think that most of us might be surprised at the number of people watching YouTube on their TVs (even those like me who do it almost every day themselves). Of course, it will require high quality ads, and the targeting might not be precise enough for most of us, but it’s an interesting development and one that we should be aware of as another step in the integration of online and broadcast advertising.
In other YouTube news, the ability is now available to put key moment chapter markers in a video, to appear in Google search. These could be very useful for how-to videos, or perhaps highlight specific moments in a presentation or interview. Definitely worth investigating.