With more people turning to on-demand video to get their news, publishers are exploring ways to reach viewers where they are and transform their digital platforms into lasting revenue drivers. As the world's largest streaming platform and biggest source of earnings for creators, YouTube is at the center of this shift. Media outlets are looking to build a cohesive strategy for growing and retaining a loyal YouTube audience.

In 2025, Google and YouTube worked with Australia-based training partner Changer Studios to host the YouTube Audience Lab, designed to tackle the specific challenges news organizations face when trying to establish or expand their YouTube channels. “The goal was to empower newsrooms in the region to develop and optimize their content for a dynamic platform,” says Farhad Meher-Homji, co-founder of Changer. “The program provided the tools and practical support they needed to adjust their approach to how people watch news on YouTube.”

Over the course of 16 weeks, the accelerator offered master classes, group and individual check-ins, and a guest speaker roster featuring YouTube experts, news leaders, and members of the YouTube News Partnerships team. Learners from 35 news organizations in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific took part in the program, ranging from individual creators to journalists from major media outlets.

Participants explored how to produce and monetize engaging YouTube content, increase viewer retention, and incorporate AI tools like Gemini and NotebookLM into their workflows. “It’s a bit of a mind shift to understand that articles might be written one way, but YouTube videos need to be written a different way,” explains Kat Wilson, YouTube strategist and facilitator at Changer. “When you understand how the platform works and how viewers respond to content, you have the confidence to say, ‘Let’s make this change.’”

The program’s length enabled participants to put their learnings into practice while still being supported by course experts and fellow attendees. In one instance, a newsroom updated an underperforming video about the British royal family, added a clear introduction, and watched the view count skyrocket from a few hundred to over 60,000. In another, swapping out cover images helped drive more engagement: “A lightbulb moment for us (and an early win!) was taking part in the thumbnail testing,” recalls Alanah Fryters from Junkee Media.

The program was a resounding success, earning a 94-percent satisfaction rate, and every single participant reported feeling better equipped to turn their YouTube presence into a sustainable revenue stream. The newsrooms also saw measurable increases in subscribers, views, and weekly uploads, with one channel reporting a 488-percent spike in subscribers and another gaining almost 10 million views. Additionally, participants came away with data-based rationales for their new or refined digital strategies to share with their teams.

With the 2026 iteration of the accelerator already underway, the plan is to offer additional programs to give media organizations in other regions the tools and information they need to optimize news content for YouTube. “News organizations have something important to say, but they need to be able to get it in front of viewers and meet the audience where they are,” Meher-Homji points out. “This program helps them put a strategy into place to create that change.”