YouTube sets out five ways media companies grow audiences and revenue.
YouTube names five tactics European broadcasters use to grow on the platform, from Channel Memberships to archive shows on the TV screen.
YouTube has published guidance on how media companies are growing audiences and revenue on YouTube, released as MIPCOM 2026 took place.
The post on the YouTube Blog, dated 28 October 2026, sets out five tactics and names the broadcasters and producers using them, most of them in Europe.
The figure that frames it: YouTube says over 1 billion hours of its content are watched on smart TVs every day. The post presents the advice as complementary to traditional television, not a move away from it.
The five tactics
Several income streams. YouTube says media companies, like creators, receive the majority of the ad revenue their videos generate. They can also sell premium ad slots directly to advertisers, run Channel Memberships, use auto-dubbing tools to reach more countries and use Content ID to find, protect and monetise their uploaded intellectual property. The UK’s Goalhanger, home to The Rest is History and The Rest is Politics, has 63 million watch hours so far this year and 1.4 million subscribers across its channels, with nearly a quarter of revenues coming from Channel Memberships.
Archive and full episodes. France Télévisions makes national and local news programmes and current affairs shows available on YouTube. The post says the franceinfo channel generated 110 million views in September alone and passed 1 million subscribers. The Dutch series Fabeltjeskrant is bringing more than 1,600 episodes to the platform, restored, enhanced and dubbed.
Testing ideas against retention data. Producers are pointed to the second by second audience retention data in YouTube Studio before committing major budgets. The post cites filmmaker Curry Barker, who used his comedy channel as a testing ground before directing Obsession, which it says brought in over $100 million on its opening weekend.
Working with creators. Dutch national broadcaster NPO backed The FOMO Show with creators Daan Boom, Tobias Camman and Jasper Demollin instead of adapting a TV format. YouTube says it reached millions of young fans and won a top television award, and the creators now front NPO’s own streaming platform, NPO Start.
Packaging for the living room. Banijay and the BBC use the Shows feature to package content such as Mr. Bean and BBC Earth for TV viewers. Coachella uses Multiview so fans can watch up to four acts at the same time.
What the post does not say
Nothing in it changes a rule or launches a feature: it is guidance built on case studies. It gives no figures for the BBC, Banijay or NPO beyond those above, and no detail on how the premium ad slots are sold.
What it means for publishers
YouTube is telling publishers where it wants their long-form catalogue: on the TV screen, grouped as Shows, and paid for partly by members. Goalhanger is the number worth taking into a planning meeting, because it puts Channel Memberships at nearly a quarter of revenues for a UK podcast publisher. This week, pick one archive series you already own and check two things on its channel: whether its episodes are grouped as a Show, and whether Channel Memberships is switched on.
Sources
The NBK Social briefing
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