Hollywood’s Pain Is YouTube’s Advertising Gain

The Hollywood labor strikes have proven a boon for YouTube, with Google’s video-streaming service luring television ad buyers who are worried about committing to traditional TV ads while actors and writers remain on the picket lines.

That, combined with YouTube’s push into live sports with National Football League games starting in September and growing usage of YouTube on TV sets, is prompting a dramatic reshuffling of TV ad spending this summer. Top executives at several advertising agencies told The Information they’ll commit at least 10% to 20% more with YouTube this fall than they did last year. Ad spending commitments to traditional TV networks, meanwhile, are down 15%, multiple senior ad-buying executives said.