YouTube to introduce 'Watch Page' for news to help users access credible news

Google-owned YouTube has announced that it will be introducing a 'Watch Page' for news with an aim to gather and showcase content from authoritative sources across various formats, including video on demand, live streams, podcasts and Shorts.

"In today’s digital news landscape, viewers are increasingly seeking out many different types of content, and we’re seeing newsrooms and journalists evolve to meet that need. Now, we’re sharing two initiatives to further improve the news watching journey on YouTube," YouTube said.

"First, we’re introducing an immersive watch page experience for news stories on YouTube. The news watch page will pull together content from authoritative sources across video on demand, live streams, podcasts, and Shorts, allowing viewers to deep dive and explore multiple sources and angles. All on one watch page, people will be able to find relevant long-form video, live coverage, and Shorts to quickly catch up," it added.

The video streaming platform emphasised that to open the watch page for a specific news topic, click on a video with the newspaper icon on the homepage or in search results. This feature is rolling out over time for mobile users in approximately 40 countries, with desktop and living room integration to come.

"We believe this updated news experience will help viewers access a range of credible and diverse voices when they want to dive into a news topic," the video sharing platform added.

Additionally, YouTube is launching the Shorts Innovation Program for News - an initiative to strengthen news organisations’ short-form video capabilities through financial grants and specialist support.

"To start, we are working with over 20 organisations across 10 countries, providing a total of $1.6 million. Participants are selected based on having a strong existing long-form video presence on YouTube, but are looking to improve and expand their Shorts news content creation. Over the next year, YouTube specialists will work with news organisations, including Univision in the U.S., AFP in France, and Mediacorp in Singapore on Shorts content strategy and video production best practices," YouTube said.

"We’ve already seen the groundbreaking coverage that can happen when outlets lean into short-form. Our goal with the Shorts Innovation Program is to jumpstart innovative news publishers who are interested in embracing short-form news capabilities, but haven’t had the resources to do so. We look forward to getting feedback from publishers on the opportunities and challenges to short-form content, as we work together to support an innovative news ecosystem," it added.

According to the video streaming platform, together, these updates help underscore YouTube’s commitment to connecting viewers with credible, timely and substantive news content as well as our dedication to supporting news publishers in experimenting with emerging video news formats.

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