YouTube to Add 3 New Features to Its Premieres Option

Product manager Derek Yang said in a blog post Wednesday that YouTube has seen growth of more than 85% in daily Premieres since March 1, from over 8 million channels, adding that more than 80% of those channels had never used Premieres previously.

A new Live Redirect feature enables creators to host a livestream as a preshow prior to a Premiere, with the audience seamlessly directed to the Premiere once the livestream concludes.

Yang said YouTube has tested this feature over the past few months with channels including Justin Bieber, BTS, Cardi B, New York Comic-Con and the We Are One Film Festival, finding that it brings the community together.

Trailers enable creators to upload prerecorded hype videos of 15 seconds to three minutes that will be played on the watch page prior to Premieres.

Finally, YouTube is enabling creators to customize the countdown videos that play prior to Premieres to help build excitement, debuting Countdown Themes with a range of moods, themes and vibes.

Live Redirect and Trailers began rolling out to eligible creators Wednesday, while Countdown Themes will be available in the coming months.