Historical definitions of television are breaking down under the weight of digital video delivery. What was once defined by a physical hardware device and strict broadcast quality standards is now simply any screen where video is consumed.
This shifting paradigm forces advertisers to rethink how they deliver their messages across all devices and moments.
“People used to watch things and read things and see things and now they’re doing all of that at once,” said Tara Walpert Levy, vice president, Americas, YouTube, in this video interview with Beet.TV. She said this environment fundamentally “changes how brands have to invite consumers in and get them interacting with their brand and experience rather than just exposing them to it.”
Colonizing the traditional living room
The television set now represents the fastest-growing surface for digital video distribution. Media buyers are acknowledging this shift, with 69% of United States agency professionals anticipating a larger role for YouTube viewing on TV screens in their 2026 campaigns, according to eMarketer. That sentiment supports the video platform’s ongoing expansion into traditional living room advertising budgets.
Walpert Levy said the pandemic served as a major catalyst for co-viewing behaviors, while subsequent product launches like multiview maintained that momentum. “We introduced an entirely new set of audiences who watched YouTube on television together and then stayed even as the world got back to normal,” she said. “The television is YouTube’s fastest growing screen, and it also is now the majority of the watch time for many of our biggest creators.”
She explained that the hardware itself matters less than the active engagement it generates. “Today, I think TV is just where people watch video,” Walpert Levy said. “We think whether you are watching something on the television set in the living room or on your phone or on your desktop is largely immaterial.”
Maturing the creator economy
The underlying engine of this digital consumption remains the independent creator ecosystem. Advertisers are increasingly looking for structured ways to tap into this creative output, prompting the March 2026 launch of YouTube Creator Partnerships, a platform designed to help advertisers discover and scale campaigns with creators.
“Our biggest creators are now full on studios with their own capabilities and buildings and setup right next to all of the legacy studios in Hollywood,” Walpert Levy said.
She said marketers benefit substantially from the trust these modern digital broadcasters have built with their audiences. “We see tremendous opportunities for brands not just from the halo of being around these creators who have the incredible trust and loyalty and depth of affection with their fans, but through ways to interact with them directly through shopping or brand deals,” Walpert Levy said.
Navigating generative search optimization
Now artificial intelligence is rapidly altering how video assets are formulated and discovered. Technology companies are deploying advanced software, such as the Veo 3 video generation model developed with Google DeepMind, to assist creators with content ideation and adaptation. These toolsets confirm the industry focus on accelerating content creation and targeting through automated decision making.
Walpert Levy stated that the industry is currently trying to understand a new paradigm of generative artificial intelligence optimization, which is poised to rival traditional search engine optimization. “At YouTube, we’re incredibly excited about AI and its ability to essentially support both creators and brands through every step of the creative journey,” she said.
She said video platforms will heavily influence the results of these new conversational search interfaces. “YouTube as an example is a huge input on that,” Walpert Levy said.
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