YouTube appeals to UK broadcasters and TV producers to reach audiences of all kinds
With YouTube dominating media consumption and conversation it was perhaps only natural that the UK and Ireland’s chief gave the keynote to Creative Cities Convention (CCC), a conference for the UK TV industry. It may have come as a surprise to some in the audience that YouTube is not for kids but is intergenerational, said Alison Lomax, claiming the platform reached over 90 per cent of all age groups each month.
“We see less predictable splits across the generational line these days so we are seeing young people like longform content and podcasts, and older people watching shorts on their TV,” Lomax said. “It’s a place where people go for their passions and to find the communities and it’s happening organically. What’s more everyone’s experiences are different and curated.”
Lomax outlined three changes that have happened over the 20 years of YouTube’s existence. “Back then there was no such thing as a creator economy. Now it supports 45,000 jobs in the UK.”
Lomax joined Google in 2011 as part of its creative agency team and was promoted to her current role in January 2023. She has been named as a potential new CEO of UK public service broadcaster Channel 4, when current boss Alex Mahon steps down this summer.
Her knowledge of the social media and the creator economy would be seen as a strong asset by the broadcaster as it seeks to increase viewing among younger demographics with initiatives such as on its digital only platform 4.0 and partnerships for the Paralympics.
At CCC in held this year in Bradford, West Yorkshire, she charted the evolution of creators from individuals in a bedroom making unboxing videos to next-gen production companies like The Sidemen.
What she called the “creative toolkit” has gone from poor quality video to a whole variety of highly produced long form and short form, live and podcasts. The growth of podcasts have been phenomenal and unexpected, she said. Over 1 billion people watch podcasts every month worldwide on the platform, she said.
And she pointed to the breadth of production partners including broadcasters. “We were a promo platform and now we are a technology and distribution platform.”
She acknowledged that in 2016 Google had launched YouTube Originals then closed it down six years later. YouTube’s partner programme, which launched in 2007, enables artists or creators to monetise their content “once they get to a certain level” of follower count. This is primarily through advertising (of which creators get the major share) and can also be via channel membership in which exclusive content is put behind paywall, or super chats and stickers which are especially popular in Asia.
YouTube has paid out $70 billion globally to creators over the last three years, she said.
Broadcasters and production companies who reach a certain threshold are able to sell their own YouTube inventory. “We sell it to them for rate card. They can mark it up, bundle it with other inventory, sell it to media agencies.”
Eleanor Neale, a YouTuber with 2.8 million subscribers who makes primarily true crime podcasts, said she would she be tempted to work with broadcasters provided she had creative control. That wasn’t the case when she was approached a few years ago.
“They wanted my numbers [followers] but not me,” she said. “They had a fully fleshed out idea, sometimes even a script. I just felt like an actor. What creators need is to be involved from ideation to execution and for the connection be a lot more collaborative.”
Neale has just rebranded her business to OUTLORE to reflect that she has a team working for her (including researchers, an editor and a MD) and to expand her remit outside of true crime. She had advice for producers wanting to engage audiences with social content.
The UK has a new Online Safety Act coming into force in July with social media and other platforms hosting UGC becoming subject to a range of duties that require them to protect users, and in particular children, from seeing harmful or illegal content. Firms who breach the new rules face fines of up to $25 million or 10% of global revenue – whichever is greater.
Lomax called YouTube an open platform, “but that doesn’t mean anything goes. We have very robust community guidelines which act as a guiderail for our partners. We have been using AI since 2018 to flag content and we have 20,000 people globally to flag content. We also work with NGOs and independent advisors so that any content that violates [our policies] are removed.”
In Q4 2024 0.08 percent of content on the platform violated its policies, she said. “There is a perception that compliance is all run by machines. Machines are actually phenomenal but it’s also important to have people reviewing content.”
Lomax encouraged producers to distribute their archive content on YouTube, including long form drama and documentaries. “The living room TV is the most popular device for watching YouTube in North America with more opportunities for producers to monetize, such as midrolls ads.” Over 85% of watch time for UK creators comes from outside the UK, Lomax said. “That global opportunity is massive.”
She revealed that YouTube recently consulted with its creators in the UK and had around 9,000 responses, with the findings to be published next month.
Channel 4 has around 30 YouTube channels including digital-first brand, Channel 4.0 targeting 13–24-year-olds with UK creators like Harry Pinero, Nella Rose and Specs.
“Success comes when you hire commissioners who understand this content and who collaborate with creators,” said Matt Risley, MD, 4Studios. “It is not about broadcasters telling creators what works. Legacy media need to be open about thinking differently, about working with the creator and leveraging data and insight to build an audience.
“We have shows on C4 that did not find an audience when broadcast or streaming on demand but have huge numbers on YouTube. We think there is tremendous opportunity to reach new people and build audiences and create new revenue streams using content you already have. YouTube is vital to any media business’ future.”
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