YouTube goes after more TV advertisers with new program

Alphabet’s Inc YouTube on Tuesday launched a new program to help advertisers reach more valuable viewers who watch content on their TV screens, in an effort to retain advertising revenue at a time when brands are slashing budgets due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The program called YouTube Select will let brands buy ads that will reach people watching on their TV, whether they are streaming individual YouTube videos or watching YouTube TV, the company’s live TV service. Since viewers are likely to watch more content while sitting on the couch in front of the TV rather than on their smartphones or laptops, TV viewers are generally considered more lucrative in the ad industry.
Viewers are turning even more to YouTube as they stay home during the pandemic, and over 100 million people watched YouTube on their TV screens in March, said Tara Walpert Levy, vice president of agency and brand solutions for Google.