Brandcast Brings Out the Stars
Held at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall in New York City, the 2025 YouTube Brandcast was filled with star power. Lady Gaga, MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), Brittany Broski, Sean Evans (host of Hot Ones), and IShowSpeed all made appearances.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell joined the stage to announce that YouTube will exclusively stream the NFL’s first Friday game of the 2025-26 season—from São Paolo, Brazil, for free worldwide (excluding Canada and a few countries).
Also appearing were former NFL stars Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, highlighting the platform’s continued investment in live sports and event-driven content.
New YouTube Features for Advertisers
At Brandcast, YouTube unveiled several new features designed to attract advertisers, especially those looking to associate their brands with major cultural events and high-engagement moments:
- Sponsorship of Cultural Moments: Brands can now buy ad packages tied to moments like the Oscars, Emmys, Black Friday, and the PGA Championship.
More details via MSN - Gemini AI-Powered Ads: Using Google’s Gemini AI, YouTube will identify “peak moments” in content to serve contextually relevant ads when users are most engaged.
The Verge explains Gemini ad tech - Immersive CTV Masthead Ads: A new “cinematic” edge-to-edge format gives advertisers high-impact visibility on TV screens. This is one of the key new YouTube features.
- Interactive CTV Shopping: Users can now shop directly from YouTube on connected TVs via product feeds integrated with Google Merchant Center, building on QR codes and send-to-phone features.
See coverage from Android Authority
New Tools for Creators
Creators also benefit from YouTube’s latest rollouts:
- Seasonal Episode Navigation on TV: Series like Good Mythical Morning and Challenge Accepted can now be watched in bingeable formats on smart TVs.
- Enhanced Exposure During Key Events: With ad buyers targeting major cultural events, creators whose content aligns with trending topics may see increased monetization and reach.
As Mohan said:
