YouTube has announced a big revamp of its television app experience that includes a dual column. It makes the main video smaller, rather than obscuring it with fringe content.
The update, announced in a blog post today, is designed to enable viewers to interact with comments, stats and descriptions without covering the main display.
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In images published by YouTube, the video window itself will cede around a third of the display for a new tab featuring all of that vital information.
Currently, the video takes up the whole screen with the stats overlaying. While it might be handier for some viewers, it does appear if YouTube is a little preoccupied with showing viewers the stuff they’re, primarily, not there to see.
“We began tinkering with the idea of reducing the size of the video player and simplifying the interactions, so signature features such as comments can live alongside the content rather than obscuring it.
“This became the foundation for how we could bring the best of YouTube directly to the living room. Rolling out over the next few weeks, our new design will not only improve existing functionality like accessing video descriptions and comments, but also open the door for a broad range of new experiences such as shopping for your creators’ favourite products and viewing live scores for sports fans.”
Reading between the lines here, YouTube wants to open up more opportunities for you to buy stuff using the platform.
The update is coming to YouTube TV too, which might be a more natural fit for enjoying live sports. If users come to a game late, for example, they’ll soon be able to catch up on key plays in the side tab. You could also check out the stats from the game in real time without moving away from the game itself.
“On the YouTube app on TV, viewers can use this new experience to read through comments and video descriptions, and in the next few days we’re also bringing this to our YouTube TV subscribers so they can explore Views without disrupting the game they’re watching,” YouTube said.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
