YouTube will be looking a bit different for everyone moving forward. The company recently launched a major logo overhaul, the largest in the company’s history. The new logo removed the red tube around the word tube and replaces it with a red play button placed right before the word “YouTube” in bold font. The update is now live on YouTube’s desktop and mobile versions.
While a new logo is exciting, the most exciting news from a business perspective comes from the services virtual MVPD that debuted in April, YouTube TV. YouTube recently announced that YouTube TV is now in 50% of U.S. homes following an expansion into 14 new markets, with plans to expand into 17 more markets in the coming weeks. According to CNET, these additional markets will bring YouTube TV’s reach up to 64%.
The 14 most recent market expansions include: Baltimore; Boston; Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville-Brunswick, Fla.; Las Vegas; Louisville; Memphis; Nashville; Pittsburgh; San Antonio; Seattle-Tacoma; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota; and West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla.
The 17 markets next on the expansion list include: Austin; Birmingham; Cleveland-Akron; Denver; Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek; Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem; Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York; Hartford-New Haven; Indianapolis; Kansas City; Milwaukee; Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News; Oklahoma City; Raleigh-Durham; Salt Lake City; San Diego and St. Louis.
YouTube TV currently retails for $35 a month, and includes access to a cloud DVR and live locals from ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC and VOD programming if you are in an area without live-programming access.
While these expansion numbers are impressive, they don’t detail any specific dollar amounts, leaving the actual fiscal impact of these expansions up in the air. It’s safe to assume, that these numbers are likely to transfer to profit for YouTube, which may then lead to more investment in original content. Time will tell.
Sources:
http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/youtube-tv-adds-14-markets-17-deck/414679
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-24/apple-said-to-plan-4k-tv-box-reveal-in-renewed-living-room-push?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socia
