YouTube wants sports fans to watch even more content on its platform.
People across the world already consume tens of billions of hours of sports content on YouTube annually according to its CEO Neil Mohan, but the video sharing site is coming for live sports now, too.
In a blog post published to its website recapping YouTube users’ increasing viewership on televisions in 2024, the company announced it is testing a new feature that would allow creators to provide live commentary and analysis during sporting events. The feature, called Watch With, “transforms your favorite creators into sportscasters,” according to the post.
“Sports lovers deserve the best seat in the house — which means more choice and more ways to watch,” YouTube senior director Kurt Wilms wrote
YouTube is testing a feature called “Watch With,” which allows creators to do live commentary and analysis during live sports content on YouTube. pic.twitter.com/Z1EqxnCaI0
— Zach Bussey (@zachbussey) December 13, 2024
YouTube also noted sports-specific content was among the biggest growth areas of television viewership this past year. Sports content viewership on televisions grew 30 percent, according to the Google sister company.
While YouTube continues to develop subscription-supported Primetime channels with exclusive content in partnership with leagues (like the NFL) and networks (like DAZN), it is also investing in live sports. Starting in 2023, YouTube has been the exclusive home for NFL Sunday Ticket. The platform also owns broadcast rights for Brazil’s Campeonato Paulista soccer tournament. Popular soccer content creator Casimiro is the lead announcer for that competition, a move that hints at YouTube’s future plans for live sports.
As this new Watch With feature expands, YouTube will more directly compete with alt-casts like Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli as well as digital watchalongs popularized by Barstool Sports and the AllCity Network. Smaller startups like Playback, which sought to effectively be a Twitch competitor for sports and partnered with the NBA last year, will be challenged by YouTube’s entry into the space.
Given YouTube’s relationships with most prominent sports leagues, driven by the Sunday Ticket deal, its Watch With experiment will be an important one to watch in 2025. For years, sports broadcasters have known young people are increasingly consuming sports online and through social media rather than live on television. YouTube is perhaps the best platform to bring those two forms together, and it is ready to try that now.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.