YouTube reveals makeover
December 2, 2011
To complement its launch of TV channels YouTube, Google has launched a significant redesign of the video site for a more TV-like feel, with customisable channels.
In October, Google announced that YouTube would be expanding its original content with plans to launch some 96 new video channels over the next year from a variety of entertainment, sports and news partners.
“With our announcement last month that more of them [channels] are coming to YouTube, we want to make it easier for you to find and keep tabs of what you want to watch,” Google said. The blog also noted that “in July, we unveiled an experimental design called Cosmic Panda. We’ve used your feedback to improve our overall design, and today, we’re presenting a cleaner and simpler YouTube, with a consistent gray background, bigger video thumbnails and a more streamlined watch page.”
The redesign comes at a time when the site continues to see significant growth that Google hopes to turn into more engagement and additional ad revenues.
Google’s YouTube currently gets over three billion views a day, up over 50 per cent from a year ago. Mobile usage is also growing, with the site attracting some 400 million mobile views each day.