YouTube Makes Case Against Prominence For Broadcasters: “Creators And Publishers Will Be Pushed Down”

YouTube‘s Pedro Pina has doubled down on the case against giving prominence to British broadcasters on digital services. The Google platform’s Vice President in EMEA yesterday argued during his MacTaggart lecture that “forced prominence” would damage the content ecosystem on YouTube, and he echoed that sentiment today in a follow-up talk, saying it would threaten the “meritocracy” that has grown on the service. “YouTube exists so you can find the content that you love and everyone has a level-playing field ability to be successful,” he said. “Everyone has access to the same tools and the ability to meet their audience. “We’ve seen success from YouTubers to all the way up to linear broadcasters, which is exciting to see. The moment you have forced prominence the first thing that will happen is you are going to select a few of those content creators who will be on top of your feed. Everyone in this room will have to see the same thing, so the foundational principle is gone. You won’t have the option, regardless of who you are and what your preference is.” Watch on Deadline He said that “more importantly,” ensuring content from the likes of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 were presented prominently on the YouTube homepage would hit other creators hard. “A lot of independent creators, producers and publishers, who have spent a lot making sure their content is discoverable and make a living from it, will be pushed down,” said Pina. “We are endangering a creator economy that has been burgeoning in this country.” He referenced companies such as Goalhanger, which has built a huge following through YouTube distribution of video podcasts such as The Rest is History and The Rest is Football, and the Guardian newspaper among those who would be de-ranked by a prominence rule. “That is why we are uncomfortable with this forced prominence issue,” he said. His comments come as the UK’s government prepares a Green Paper that will seek to dictate how the country’s media systems operate in the future, with prominence among the options on the table. Yesterday in Pina’s MacTaggart talk, he warned enshrining “forced prominence” in law would be damaging to the sector. “If this becomes law, many UK-based creators and production companies will see their livelihoods threatened,” he said. “UK viewers will have to wade through content they may not want, which in itself could undermine the trust that UK public service broadcasters have built up.” YouTube has been keen to talk up its partnership with the BBC and other British networks during its time in Edinburgh this week, and positioned itself as friend, not foe to the traditional sector. “We really want public sector broadcasters to do well and we are committed,” said Alison Lomax, Managing Director of YouTube UK & Ireland in a separate Edinburgh session this morning.