YouTube adds new ways for channels to hype their ‘Premieres’
By now, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered YouTube Premieres. First announced in 2018, the feature is a way for content creators to hype an upcoming pre-recorded video by creating a landing page where their fans can gather and chat before the new clip comes out. Starting today, YouTube is adding three new enhancements to Premieres to make them more valuable to channels.
The first, Live Redirect, allows creators to livestream a preshow before they release a new video and then automatically redirect viewers to their Premiere right before it starts. YouTube has been testing this feature for a couple of months with artists like BTS and Cardi B, so there’s a chance you may have already seen it in action.
Next, is a feature called Trailers. As the name suggests, they are short clips channels can append to a Premiere before it goes live. They can be anywhere from 15 seconds to 3 minutes in length, and their primary purpose is to encourage people to set a reminder to tune in. Lastly, the company is giving creators the option to set a custom countdown for their Premiere while adding additional theming options so that channels can ensure the countdowns match the style of their new video.
The new features come as more and more channels take advantage of Premiers. According to Google, there’s been an 85 percent increase in the number of daily Premieres since March 1st. And it’s easy to see why. With the pandemic forcing a lot of events online, organizations have turned to YouTube to connect with their audiences. Content creators can access the new Live Redirect and Trailers features starting today. Custom countdowns will be available sometime in the next few months.
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