YouTube turns 20 years old. How it changed TV as we know it

The grainy 19-second YouTube video that started it each hardly had the makings of a viral sensation.

Shot astatine the San Diego Zoo, the primitive video clip showed Jawed Karim, the platform’s co-founder, complimenting the elephants successful the framework down him. “The chill happening astir these guys is they person really, really, truly agelong trunks,” Karim said.

The clip, titled “Me astatine the zoo,” was the archetypal video uploaded onto YouTube 20 years ago, opening the doorway to a caller mean of television.

From those humble beginnings, the tract opened the gates for users from astir the satellite to station funny, viral videos that could instrumentality the net by storm, racking up millions of views and earning immoderate millions of dollars.

YouTube has evolved into not a specified tech operation, but a formidable unit successful television.

Popular euphony artists specified arsenic Justin Bieber roseate to fame connected YouTube and societal media stars including MrBeast turned their ample followings into almighty amusement companies. The destination for homemade videos specified arsenic “Charlie spot my finger” is present the streaming location to ample euphony festivals similar Coachella and NFL shot games.

Google-owned YouTube’s gross past twelvemonth was estimated to beryllium $54.2 billion, which would marque it the second-largest media institution down Walt Disney Co., according to a caller study from probe steadfast MoffettNathanson, which called YouTube “the caller king of each media.”

“We tin ne'er underestimate what a large happening YouTube was erstwhile it came out,” said Robert Thompson, manager of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. “When that debuted 20 years ago, that was a motion of large important changes, not lone successful the mode that we ticker TV, but successful what we adjacent thought of arsenic TV.”

YouTube, tally by Chief Executive Neal Mohan since 2023, accounted for 12% of U.S. TV viewing successful March, much than different rival streaming platforms including Netflix and Tubi, according to Nielsen.

More radical are watching YouTube connected TV sets alternatively than connected smartphones and machine screens, consuming much than 1 cardinal hours connected mean of YouTube contented connected TV daily, the institution said connected its website.

“Its unmatched reach, beardown brand, and omnipresent organisation channels mean that it tin link creators, advertisers, and viewers similar nary different level can,” MoffettNathanson analysts wrote successful their report.

Head accumulation manager Ruben Ortiz astatine Burbank-based Dhar Mann Studios. The institution creates household affable programs for its YouTube channel.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

That has opened up opportunities for video creators similar Dhar Mann, a erstwhile weed entrepreneur who started posting videos connected YouTube successful 2018 with nary movie background.

Today, his company, Burbank-based Dhar Mann Studios, operates connected 125,000 quadrate feet of accumulation space, employs astir 200 radical and works with 2,000 actors a twelvemonth connected household affable programs that interaction connected however students and families woody with topics specified arsenic bullying, narcolepsy, chronic inflammatory bowel disease and hoarding.

Mann made $45 cardinal past year, according to Forbes estimates. The bulk of his company’s gross comes done YouTube.

“I didn’t person to hold 2 years for a workplace to greenish airy my woody and nonstop maine a check,” 40-year-old Mann said. “I was capable to get instant entree to monetization arsenic soon arsenic I got radical watching my videos, truthful YouTube has changed my life. I don’t deliberation it’s conscionable the aboriginal of TV — it is TV, and the satellite is catching on.”

Humble origins

When YouTube archetypal started successful San Mateo, its founders weren’t reasoning they would instrumentality connected the tv industry.

They envisioned it arsenic a dating site wherever radical would upload videos and people them. When that didn’t work, the founders decided to unfastened up the level for each sorts of videos. Users drove postulation to YouTube by sharing videos connected MySpace.

“We’ve fixed creators and folks this mode to find a planetary assemblage and stock their passionateness with the world,” said Amjad Hanif, vice president of merchandise for YouTube successful an interview. “Before YouTube, determination was nary mode to bash that. And now, whether you’re successful the U.S., oregon successful Thailand, Southeast Asia, South America — you person entree to this planetary web of creators to learn, educate, entertain.”

One of the cardinal ways YouTube built a ample pursuing was by embracing (and, crucially, paying) its video creators — the radical who were posting contented connected the site.

In 2007, YouTube launched a concern program, providing a mode for creators to marque wealth done ads. This financially motivated creators to support posting, which brought much eyeballs and advertisers to YouTube.

“YouTube was the spot wherever you went to for an breathtaking caller creation form,” Thompson said. “This thought of the user-generated video, whether it’s thing idiosyncratic made, whether it’s immoderate clip they conscionable recovered and posted, it was different. It wasn’t conscionable different sitcom oregon world show.”

Getting that archetypal paycheck encouraged immoderate aboriginal creators to prosecute YouTube arsenic a career. The quality to easy grounds oneself and station videos online for the satellite to spot changed the mode caller endowment could beryllium discovered by Hollywood.

“The walls broke down for maine wherever it’s not conscionable 5 places wherever you tin spell and observe talent,” said Sam Grey, CEO of drama workplace and endowment absorption steadfast Stapleview, who has signed drama clients based connected societal media videos. “You don’t person to determination to 1 of the large cities. You tin truly bash it from anywhere, and the pick volition rise.”

Patrick Starrr, who produces constitution tutorial videos, said helium made his archetypal $1 cardinal through YouTube astatine the property of 25. He near his occupation astatine retailer MAC Cosmetics successful Florida and moved to L.A.

“I’m surviving impervious that you tin crook your passionateness into a profession, and your intent into power,” wrote Starrr, 35, successful an email. “YouTube gave maine the mic, and I haven’t enactment it down since.”

It was inactive a fledgling vocation way astatine the time. Creators learned arsenic they went, figuring retired who to prosecute for their teams and however to negociate their ain marque deals. Some dealt with skeptical parents.

“My ma would ever springiness maine truthful overmuch crap astir it — she would say, ‘Why bash you privation to bash YouTube?’” said Chucky Appleby, present an enforcement astatine MrBeast. His reply: “Mom, you tin marque a surviving from this.”

MrBeast’s holding company, Beast Industries, which employs much than 400 people, made $473 cardinal successful gross past year, according to Business Insider. In the past 28 days, MrBeast contented — which includes challenges and stunt videos — received 3.6 cardinal views connected YouTube, Appleby said.

Appleby, 28, said he’s since bought a Jeep for his mom.

Piracy and information concerns

But arsenic YouTube’s popularity skyrocketed successful its aboriginal days, truthful did threats of copyright infringement lawsuits.

YouTube worked rapidly to scope deals with euphony labels similar Universal Music Group. In 2007, Paramount and MTV proprietor Viacom sued Google, which bought YouTube the twelvemonth earlier for $1.65 billion, for copyright infringement. That lawsuit was later settled successful 2014.

Google tried to code the amusement industry’s concerns by launching Content ID, which flags unauthorized contented for media partners and allows them to take whether to instrumentality those videos down oregon cod gross from ads placed connected them.

That, on with the YouTube Partner Program, “really ended up creating that afloat rhythm that allowed the system to thrive and YouTube to grow,” Hanif said.

The institution besides navigated concerns from parents implicit what kids could spot connected the platform.

In 2015, YouTube launched a kids app with child-appropriate videos and parental controls. In 2019, YouTube and Google reached a $170-million colony with the Federal Trade Commission and the New York lawyer wide that alleged YouTube collected information connected children younger than 13 without their parents’ consent. Since then, YouTube has changed the way it handles advertizing connected contented meant for children.

The institution says it limits information postulation of videos for kids to lone what is needed to enactment the cognition of the work and doesn’t service personalized ads connected those videos.

Growing competition

YouTube’s ambitions expanded erstwhile it launched YouTube TV successful 2017, a work with much than 40 unrecorded tv networks. The offering was charismatic to a increasing fig of cord-cutters and radical who grew up watching YouTube.

YouTube besides progressively became the location for must-see events, including Coachella starting successful 2011. In 2023, YouTube began streaming out-of-market web TV broadcasts of NFL Sunday summons games.

Once considered a cheaper enactment for cable-less young people, YouTube TV present costs $82.99 a period aft an summation that frustrated galore users.

YouTube benefited from being a video pioneer, but it faces growing competition from societal media rivals including Instagram and TikTok that effort to woo influencers to station contented connected their platforms.

In 2020, YouTube launched its ain signifier of shorter videos called “Shorts” to amended vie with TikTok. Today, YouTube says Shorts has connected mean 70 cardinal regular views.

The institution has besides diversified the mode that creators tin marque wealth beyond ads and marque deals, including done idiosyncratic transmission memberships. Creators accidental that YouTube stands retired from the contention based connected the magnitude of gross the institution is consenting to stock with creators, its information analytics and its reach.

Not each strategy was successful. Starting successful 2016, YouTube announced a slate of premium scripted shows to its subscription work to compete with Hulu, but astir of the shows didn’t summation capable traction connected the platform. “Cobra Kai,” a bid based connected the “Karate Kid” movie franchise, began arsenic a YouTube Original and ended up becoming a deed for Netflix.

Media companies are noticing what works connected YouTube too, including the popularity of video podcasters. Spotify is trying to capitalize connected the video podcasting space, portion Netflix is besides exploring ways in.

Ian Hecox, president of drama web Smosh, described the past 20 years connected YouTube arsenic waves, with up periods, down periods and algorithmic shifts. Still, helium feels assured astir the future. Smosh’s YouTube assemblage includes radical who watched Hecox arsenic teens who present are adults with children who ticker too.

“It’s truly conscionable benignant of a chaotic happening to see,” 37-year-old Hecox said. “I person full-grown adults travel up to maine and archer maine that I was their childhood.”