YouTube continued adding to its sporting portfolio with announcements of two upcoming YouTube Originals during the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s week of advertiser pitches.
The Google-owned video site will air a docuseries called Best Shot that stars former NBA player Jay Williams as a mentor to the Newark Central High School Blue Devils. Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James’ production company, SpringHill Entertainment, is co-producing the eight-part series with James and his friend/business partner Maverick Carter serving as executive producers. Though developed for the YouTube Red subscription service, Best Shot will premiere outside the paywall this summer.
The other sports-centric show coming down YouTube’s Pipeline is Training Days. The program stars comedian Jack Whitehall as he visits a series of iconic Premier League soccer clubs, trains with elite players and offers a lighthearted look at their lives away from the pitch, too. The show, created in advance of the World Cup, debuts May 9.
Very excited for you guys to see this show I did for the World Cup, coming soon… pic.twitter.com/W7Uz9tH004
— Jack Whitehall (@jackwhitehall) April 30, 2018
At the event, YouTube shared some of its research indicating that an increasing number of viewers were watching its content on a TV screen — nearly 70 percent — which suggests a willingness to watch longer-form content like a series rather than just short cat videos.
“Today, more than ever, users are seeking out content online,” YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said on stage. “And with an open platform, we see an opportunity to inspire creativity, to share valuable information and to build meaningful communities at scale.”
SportTechie Takeaway
YouTube has made an aggressive push into live sports in the past year with YouTube TV sponsorships of baseball’s World Series and basketball’s NBA Finals, not to mention the addition of Turner networks, NBA TV and MLB Network to its skinny package and exclusive carriage of streaming rights for MLS’ Seattle Sounders and LAFC.
That programming is an attempt to capture the coveted live viewers with game action, and now YouTube Originals, in its second year of operation, is endeavoring to lure sports fans in with some unscripted programming as well. Whitehall’s show is, notably, YouTube’s first ad-supported original show for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region — a pilot to see what the reception of this content will be internationally. This complements the live broadcasts on YouTube TV and the user-created content that proliferates the site and includes dozens of pro athlete channels.