YouTube enlists TV stars to boost video content

YouTube is enlisting Hollywood’s help to reach a generation of viewers more familiar with smartphones than TV remotes.

The online video giant is aiming to create 25 hours of programming a day with the help of some of the top names in traditional TV. The Google-owned site is spreading its wealth among producers, directors, and other filmmakers, using a $100 million (€75.5m) pot of seed money it committed last autumn — YouTube’s largest spending on original content so far.

YouTube believes it is laying groundwork for the future. While the number of traditional TV watchers has levelled off in recent years, more and more people are watching video on mobile phones, tablets and computers, especially the 18- to 34-year-old age demographic that advertisers covet.