It will also direct viewers to brand-specific channels.
YouTube debuted a feature last year that allowed viewers to shop products directly from a livestream. It will expand on that feature later this year by allowing creators to co-host live shopping streams across two channels, the company announced at its annual Brandcast event. It also debuted a new “redirects” feature that will allow YouTubers to collaborate more closely with brands.
The features, according to YouTube, will assist creators and advertisers in making more “meaningful connections” with their audiences. The first allows two channels to go live and cohost at the same time, “uniting their communities in a single live shopping stream,” according to YouTube. The other is known as live redirects, and it allows creators to start a shopping livestream on their own channel, then redirect fans to a brand’s channel.
- YouTube users will be able to give paid subscriptions to one another.
- YouTube Shorts is getting advertisements.
With the new features, YouTube is taking live shopping to a new level in order to take on terrestrial shopping channels. It’s not a coincidence that it hosted Brandcast at the so-called “Upfronts” sessions used by TV channels broadcasters to promote new content to advertisers, rather than the digital equivalent, NewFronts.
While most broadcasters flaunt original programming at Upfronts (the first live version in three years), YouTube focused on live shopping, short-form video and high-profile creators like Mr.Beast, Patrick Starr and Marques Brownlee. It also noted that the Media Rating Council accredited YouTube again for content-level brand safety, making it the only platform with the rating. As mentioned, the co-hosting feature will arrive sometime in 2022, but there’s no word yet on when we’ll see the brand redirects feature.
