YouTube Upfront Trots Out MrBeast, Lizzo and Other Big Creators, Platform Announces New Ad Frequency-Capping Solution

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe TV upfronts are usually a dog-and-pony show where networks unveil their new content slates.At YouTube’s Brandcast presentation for brands and agencies, held for the first time during upfronts week, the focus was on the gigantic video platform’s popular creators, its scale across internet TVs — and a new solution for marketers to set limits on ad frequency, addressing one of the most irritating aspects of ad-supported streaming services.“The audiences you most care about are coming to YouTube to watch content,” CEO Susan Wojcicki told attendees at the event, held Tuesday evening at the Imperial Theatre in New York’s Times Square.

She cited Nielsen’s estimate that YouTube overall reached 230 million people 18 and older in the U.S. in October 2021: “We are the mainstream,” she said.

Among the YouTubers appearing on stage was MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), a mega-popular creator with more than 95 million subscribers who specializes in elaborate big-money giveaways.CLICK HERE to follow Variety’s coverage of Upfronts 2022If MrBeast’s YouTube channel were its own streaming service, it would have more subscribers than each of the next most popular ad-supported services: Disney’s Hulu, HBO Max and Paramount+.

MrBeast is estimated to be 2021’s highest-earning YouTuber, raking in $54 million last year.At Brandcast, YouTube also had lined up singer-rapper Lizzo (2.6 million subs), who was set to perform for the crowd.