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👍 Google is rolling out a large TV-focused update to help creators make the most of the medium
📈 This is because revenue from TV-based YouTube has soared in the last year
🙌 Changes include a bigger thumbnail file size limit, new AI upscaling features, and QR codes for shopping
📆 The new changes roll out today, although it may take time for everyone to see them
Google is rolling out a brand new update for YouTube to help creators maximize the burgeoning audience of TV users.
YouTube’s TV presence has grown exponentially in recent years, with it seeing more TV viewers than big streamers such as Netflix and Disney+, and it seems Google is now intent on helping creators make the most of the opportunity with a raft of new features.
A recent YouTube blog post has remarked that the number of channels earning more than $100,000 annually from TV screens is up 45 percent in 2025 versus 2024 – a huge jump, it needn’t be said.
For instance, to fit better with the larger-screen (and potentially higher resolution) viewing experience, YouTube has upped the thumbnail file size limit to 50MB from the measly 2MB it was before.
Creators will also be automatically enrolled in YouTube’s new video upscaling programme, which initially rolls out to upscale lower-quality videos to 1080p. Google is intending to support a “super resolution” upscaler to 4K in the near future.
Google had previously admitted to secretly upscaling YouTube videos with AI, with viewers seeing issues with YouTube Shorts from an upscaler that relied on “traditional machine learning” to reduce blur and noise while sharpening the displayed image.
With this system, Google has stressed that it isn’t modifying original files, and that creators will be able to access both the original and upscaled versions of a video. They can also opt out of upscaling completely.
Moreover, when the “super resolution” upscaler launches, the videos upscaled with it will be clearly labelled, and users will be able to select the original video if they prefer. It appears Google is going all-in on transparency after the fiasco earlier this year.
From a viewer’s perspective, the YouTube homepage is also seeing a change on TV. It’s moving more into the realm of traditional TV, where you’ll be able to see previews of popular channels and get a snippet of their content.
Google has said this homepage change will also respect the new Shows design, where creators can bundle videos together into a collection for binging. YouTube’s TV search will also prioritize content from a specific creator if one is selected, rather than mixing in everything as normal.
A surprising change to the TV experience on YouTube is the return to the age of TV shopping – Google says that YouTube users have watched 35 billion hours of shopping content on the platform in the last year.
The problem is that shopping from YouTube isn’t as easy on TV as it is on desktop – users can’t click links in a description, for instance. To combat this, Google will employ QR codes that creators can add to their videos to provide a direct means of accessing a product page. YouTube will include tools to surface the codes at specific time codes in the video, simplifying the YouTube shopping experience.
These new features should be in the YouTube Studio backend today, although it may take some time for everyone to see the new features. Creators who want to opt out of the AI upscaling need to make sure to check the Advanced Settings to do so before all of their videos are processed and become the default version shown on TVs.
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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.
