YouTube Turns 20

YouTube yesterday celebrated the 20th anniversary of its first-ever video: a grainy 19-second clip of cofounder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo.

Since 2005, YouTube—bought by Google for $1.65B in 2006—has grown from a simple video-sharing site into a media powerhouse influencing culture and entertainment, with more than 20 billion videos uploaded. YouTube now leads America's TV viewing time, surpassing networks like Paramount, Fox, and Disney. Last year, YouTube was the second-largest media company by revenue ($54.2B) behind Disney and is expected to take the top spot this year. 

YouTube propelled the careers of stars like Justin Bieber, popularized trends like ASMR and unboxing videos, and broke viewership records with music videos like Psy’s “Gangnam Style” (the first to reach 1 billion and 2 billion views) and Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” (the first to hit every billion-view milestone from 3 billion to 8 billion). See the 100 most viewed videos here.

YouTube also announced new features, including a personalized radio for Premium and Music users and a TV viewing upgrade. See 1440's overview on YouTube here.