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First Video to Reach One Million Views
In September 2005, Nike's promo video of Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho became the first YouTube video to be viewed a million times (Phrasee, 2016). This was a huge milestone for the platform, essentially marking the beginning of YouTube's global explosion. -
Creation of 'YouTube' Domain Name
YouTube was founded by three PayPal employees: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in 2005 (Engadget, 2015). The three realised that there wasn't a platform which allowed for public video sharing in one location, sparking the idea to create YouTube (Engadget, 2015). As a capital-funded startup, 'YouTube' received an $11.5 million investment from Sequoia Capital in 2005 (Engadget, 2015). The domain name 'YouTube' was activated on the 14th of February 2005 (Domain Tools, 2005). -
First Video Posted
The platform introduced video upload options on the 23rd of April 2005. YouTube founder Jawed Karim posted the first video ever on the platform - an 18-second clip of him at the zoo - appropriately titled "Me at the zoo" (Phrasee, 2016). -
Google's Acquisition of YouTube
Dubbing the platform as "The next step in the evolution of the internet", Google purchased YouTube on the 9th of October 2006. YouTube was sold to Google for US$1.6 billion dollars (Phrasee, 2016), and, at the time, it was Google's second-largest acquisition (The Age, 2006). -
First Ads on YouTube
In 2007, YouTube introduced semi-transparent banner ads at the bottom of videos, which appeared for approximately 110 to 15 seconds (Dickey, 2013). This was one of YouTube's first responses as to how they would make money from the site (Dickey, 2013). -
Introduction of the 'YouTube Partner Program'
In 2007, YouTube introduced their Partner Program, which enabled the site's content creators to monetize their videos through advertisements served on their videos (YouTube Help, 2018) (Phrasee, 2016). This not only prompted the creation of higher-quality videos, but it offered creators the chance to gain 'YouTube fame', ultimately allowing creators to make a living off of the platform. -
First YouTube Awards
On the 25th March 2007, YouTube ran it's first YouTube Awards, an awards night in the U.S. which acknowledged and awarded the top user-generated videos of the year (USA Today, 2007) -
Full Launch of HD Video
In 2009, YouTube introduced the full launch of HD video (now up to 1080p rather than just 720p) - meaning that creators could upload high definition footage (Engadget, 2016). -
Vevo Music Video Service
In April 2009, YouTube and Vivendi collaborated to form the YouTube channel 'Vevo', which distributes its music videos from big labels (Dickey, 2013). -
Dominant Provider of Video in the U.S.
Market research company comScore announced that YouTube had a market share of approximately 43 percent, with more than 14.6 billion videos viewed during May (ComScore, 2010). Their research outlined YouTube as the dominant provider of online videos in the United States (ComScore, 2010). -
YouTube Film Rental Service
YouTube introduced an online film rental service in January 2010, where content providers set their own prices (most renting at $5), while YouTube takes a cut of the revenue (BBC, 2010). The online rental program offers over 6.000 films to users in the US, Canada and the UK, enabling them to view the rented films over a 48-hour period (BBC, 2010). -
Premium Channels
In late 2011, YouTube launched more than 100 "premium" channels for celebrities such as Madonna, Shaquille O'Neal, Amy Poehler and Ashton Kutcher, as well as original companies such as Lionsgate and WWE (Nakashima, 2011). -
Interface Redesign
YouTube launched a new platform interface similar to the feeds of social networking sites in December 2011. Putting a focus on the channels, the new redesign saw video channels displayed in the centre of the homepage (BBC, 2012). Additionally, YouTube changed their logo to a darker red (BBC, 2012). This was the first design change since October 2006 (BBC, 2012). -
YouTube App
In September 2011, YouTube announced the release of their own YouTube app, which would allow users to search for any video on their platform (Taylor, 2012). While Apple had created a native YouTube app on their iPhones, it offered a limited selection of videos and many users just searched YouTube.com in their Safari browser (Taylor, 2012). -
Google+ Intergration
In November 2011, the Google+ social networking site paired with YouTube to integrate YouTube on the Google+ platform - making videos accessible from the Google+ interface (Whitney, 2011). -
First Video to Reach One Billion Views
After YouTube had announced their site was recieving four billion views daily in 2012, Psy's 'Gangnam Style' became the first ever video to hit one billion views (Engadget, 2016). -
First Live Stream
On the 3rd of October 2012, YouTube partnered with ABC News to broadcast a live stream of the U.S. presidential debate, marking YouTube's first ever live stream (TechCrunch, 2012).
