YouTube has new features and partnerships up its sleeves.
Today, the social and video sharing platform hosted its annual Brandcast event at the David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center, closing out upfront week once again.
Several executives took the stage, including YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, YouTube Chief Business Officer Mary Ellen Coe, and Google President of Americas and Global Partners Sean Downey, to highlight the power of creators and showcase how the platform drives culture.
The evening featured plenty of talent from YouTube creators Brittany Broski, IShowSpeed, MrBeast, and Sean Evans, with performances by Lady Gaga and Alex Warren. Other appearances included NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski.
There was also a red carpet pre-show, which was cohosted by YouTube creators Haley Kalil and Julian Shapiro Barnum of Recess Therapy. Adam W, Casey Neistat, HopeScope, and Jordan Howlett were among the other creators in attendance.
More sports, sponsorships, and shoppable CTV
During the Brandcast presentation, YouTube announced it is expanding its partnership with the NFL. It will exclusively stream the league’s first Friday game of the 2025-2026 season, hosted in São Paulo, Brazil, bringing the NFL to a global audience on YouTube and YouTube TV subscribers in the United States. This will mark YouTube’s first time as a live NFL broadcaster, and the game will stream live on the NFL’s YouTube channel for free.
YouTube also announced that it teamed up with the NFL for a multi-year deal for the annual Super Bowl Flag Football Game, which features creators and artists, with additional international flag football games also on the way. The platform previously partnered with the NFL on their Super Bowl LIX Flag Football Game, which received over six million live views. According to global YouTube Internal Data, people spent over 350 million hours watching official NFL content on the platform last year.
YouTube also announced a new package that allows advertisers to further integrate themselves in major cultural moments like awards season, Black Friday, or the PGA Championship, which is a big initiative for the company.
The streamer is also extending its current offering of shoppable CTV, which includes QR codes and send-to-phone functionality, with the introduction of an interactive product feed. Google Merchant Center will power the feature, which lets viewers shop directly from the big screen.
