YouTube Soon to Bow New Smartphone Control for Connected TVs

The living room “is another area of opportunity” for YouTube growth, said Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on a Q1 earnings call Tuesday. “On average, viewers are watching over 700 million hours of YouTube content on televisions every day,” he said. Within the next year, “we will give YouTube's connected TV viewers new smartphone control navigation and interactivity features, allowing people to comment and share content they are watching on television directly from their devices,” he said. Brands are turning to YouTube “to tap into the shift to streaming and reach new audiences in smarter and more efficient ways,” said Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler. “We've recently rolled out new tools to help advertisers consistently plan and measure” their connected TV spend across platforms, he said. “Later this year, in partnership with Nielsen, we'll help brands directly compare their YouTube reach to linear TV, including the ability to measure co-viewing. This apples-to-apples comparison will be a game changer in helping advertisers make smarter investment decisions.”