Search Results for: youtube

Google-owned YouTube started testing a new “AI-powered search results carousel” to help users find what they are looking for faster. 

The new feature is only available on the mobile apps (iOS and Android) and only in English. Only a small, randomly selected group of YouTube Premium members in the United States who opt in through the YouTube Labs page will have access to this new feature.

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Unless you can count yourself among those who have a premium subscription, using YouTube means having to endure ads. This is annoying, but it could be getting a whole lot worse.

And things are getting worse because of artificial intelligence. Google has announced Peak Points, a Gemini ai-powered feature that gives advertisers way to hit you with ads when you are most engaged with a video.

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YouTube is finally rolling out Premium Lite in the USA (coming soon to Thailand, Germany, and Australia). For the princely sum of $7.99 per month, Google is promising subscribers a mostly ad-free experience.

Although Premium Lite offers an official way to remove ads, it won't hide those baked directly into videos by creators. That’s right, even if you shell out for this plan, you’ll still have to sit through sponsored segments for VPNs, meal kits, and mobile games, because YouTube can’t really do anything about those. Quite frankly, that just doesn’t seem fair.

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Subscribers to YouTube TV might soon be without key Paramount channels such as CBS, MTV, and Nickelodeon. The platform has indicated that current negotiations with Paramount are faltering, and without a new deal by February 13, 2025, these channels could vanish from the service.

The channels endangered in this corporate standoff span a wide array, including BET, CBS Sports Network, Comedy Central, VH1, NewsNation, and the Smithsonian Channel. Moreover, local CBS affiliates in significant markets like New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, and San Francisco are also on the chopping block. This disruption isn’t limited to live programming; DVR recordings from these channels would become unavailable, and add-ons like BET+, Paramount+ with Showtime, and Entertainment Plus would be excised from YouTube TV.

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I now pay $82.99 a month for YouTube TV, yet when it comes to watching the biggest football game of the year in 4K, I’m using Tubi -- for free. Let that sink in, folks. A completely free streaming service is giving me the Super Bowl in 4K quality, while YouTube TV is hiding it behind an additional paywall. At this point, why am I even paying for this damn subscription?

Look, YouTube TV is not cheap. It was supposed to be a cable alternative, but with the way prices keep climbing, it’s starting to make me sick. And the kicker (no pun intended)? If I actually wanted to stream the Super Bowl in 4K on YouTube TV, I’d have to cough up another $9.99 for the 4K Plus add-on, bringing my February total to $92.98! Meanwhile, Tubi (yes, the free ad-supported service owned by Fox) lets me watch it in 4K without spending a penny.

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YouTube has announced a partnership with Repurpose.io designed to make multi-platform publishing easier than ever. An automated system makes it possible to repost TikTok content, as well as Instagram Reels, as YouTube Shorts.

The uncertain future of TikTok in the US has shaken creators who have built up substantial and lucrative followings on the Chinese-owned social platform. YouTube is eager to make the most of this uncertainty, and is clearly hoping that the new Repurpose.io partnership will help it to steal TikTok users.

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The wildfires devastating Los Angeles have left many communities in crisis, and Google, along with YouTube, is stepping in to help. Recognizing the importance of Los Angeles as a cultural and creative hub, the company has committed $15 million to aid in recovery efforts. This pledge is directed toward organizations providing critical relief, including the American Red Cross, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Emergency Network Los Angeles, and the Institute for Nonprofit News.

In addition to financial support, Google is using its technology platforms like Google Search, Google Maps, and Waze to ensure residents have access to accurate and timely updates during the emergency. This demonstrates the company’s focus on both immediate assistance and empowering affected communities with essential information.

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Parents and caregivers will soon have another way to introduce their children to engaging educational content as Ms. Rachel’s videos debut on Netflix later this month. Starting January 27, the streaming platform will offer four curated episodes featuring Rachel Accurso’s unique approach to teaching young children essential skills like talking, reading, and emotional expression.

Ms. Rachel, a beloved educator known for her popular YouTube channel, has garnered more than a billion views by combining music, play, and research-backed methods to create fun and interactive learning experiences. Her videos focus on helping children develop early language skills and build confidence while encouraging bonding with their families. With her relatable and cheerful approach, she has often been compared to iconic figures like Mister Rogers.

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In a move sure to rattle some subscribers, YouTube TV has announced a price increase for its Base Plan. Starting January 13, 2025, the monthly subscription cost will jump from $72.99 to $82.99. The search giant cites the rising costs of content and investments in service quality as the primary reasons for this adjustment.

This change is set to affect subscribers during their first billing cycle on or after the January date. However, promotional and trial offers will remain intact for their original duration, ensuring current deals are honored. Subscribers concerned about the new pricing can review their plans by navigating to Settings > Membership within their accounts.

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The nature of modern-day politics means that parties of all colors, all leanings, spend millions on advertising -- it is something that was painfully apparent during the run-up to the US presidential election. Technology firms and social media platforms are under a lot of pressure to take steps to prevent election interference, and to increase transparency.

This is something that has been playing out in Europe with regulation on Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) due to come into force in the EU. With concerns about the, “operational challenges and legal uncertainties” this could lead to, Google has announced that it will not only will stop serving political advertising in the European Union, but will do so before the TTPA comes into force.

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Attacks on content creators and online influencers have surged alongside the growing accessibility of deepfake technologies, posing a significant threat.

To combat these threats Bitdefender is launching a new Security for Creators package that safeguards content channels and social media accounts from takeovers and supports Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.

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With AI-generated content now proliferating the internet, companies are scrabbling to put polices in place to handle such material on their platforms. Among them is YouTube, and the Google-owned video site has updated its privacy guidelines to better take into account artificial intelligence.

It is now possible for anyone to issue a request to YouTube to remove content if it simulates their face or voice. This is separate to the way in which deepfakes are handled, and it is interesting to see such AI-generated content being seen as a potential violation of an individual's privacy.

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Anyone using a third-party app to block ads on YouTube is likely to find that their viewing is interrupted. Google has announced that it is further clamping down on ad-blocking tools which are seen by many people as a handy way to avoid paying for YouTube Premium.

The company says that by blocking ads with apps that violate its terms of service, users are starving creators of an income stream and, of course, failing to line Google's pockets.

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YouTube hates ad blockers, and the site has been trying to discourage visitors from using them for quite some time. After introducing warnings last year, the site now appears to be reducing performance for anyone who tries to make use of an ad blocker.

While there has been no official announcement about it, the slowdown has not gone unnoticed by YouTube users. Posts on Reddit reveal the laggy site experience for people using an ad blocker -- lag which disappears as soon as ads are re-enabled.

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Ad blockers tend to make the internet a more palatable place to explore, but in recent times there has been an increase in ad block detection. Coupled with this has been the introduction of nag screens or content being rendered inaccessible until ad blocking is disabled.

YouTube is one of many big-name sites to have ramped up its efforts to discourage -- and ultimately stamp out -- the use of ad blockers. Now the company is expanding its attack on users who try to avoid ads, and is using the effort to simultaneously promote YouTube Premium.

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