In another two-fingers move to traditional linear broadcasting, YouTube head of content Robert Kyncl told an audience, smartphone in hand: “This is the first screen. So when you talk about second screen, you are talking about the television.
“When you’re making your selections on your phone and you’re sending them to the TV, something that is coming very soon, when that transition is seamless, this becomes the first screen.”
In the last 18 months, YouTube has seen mobile increase from six to 25 per cent of all views of its video content. 
The video-streaming service recently launched 60 channels in the UK, spending around $150m (£94m) on programming from companies that usually provide traditional broadcast content. It signed a similar deal with US firms last year. Subscription charges for the content is intended as another revenue stream for YouTube, which has mostly relied on advertising for income until now.
