Plan your Big Game party on YouTube

You don’t have to be an American football fan to know that the Big Game is almost here. It’s one of the biggest sports moments of the year, and we’re doing our bit to share the authentic Big Game experience, with the Ad Blitz Pre-Game program.

All those recipes for hot wings, multi-layer dips and things-wrapped-in-bacon that you’ve been searching for? The Ad Blitz Pre-Game channel has them all in one place with videos on party recipes and ideas. We’ve also curated playoff coverage and predictions for the Big Game, so you can sound like an expert. There’s even a video on how to freeze a six-pack in under three minutes, in case you’re stuck with warm drinks at kick-off time.

Ad Blitz Pre-Game is presented by Tide, and features sports content from channels like FOX Sports and Bleacher Report, plus great food suggestions from party-planning experts like Howcast and FoodWishes. The Pre-Game runs through February 2, after that you’ll be able to watch and vote on your favorite game commercials on the same Ad Blitz channel.

Whether you’re really invested in the outcome of the game, or even more excited about all the snacks, we hope you’ll have something to cheer about.

Leena El-Omar, YouTube sports program manager, recently watched “How to Make a Fried Onion Blossom.”

Attention, cricket fans: Sri Lanka Premier League T20 comes to YouTube

The world’s attention may currently be concentrated on a certain international sporting event in London, but cricket fanatics’ minds are much closer to the equator as they mentally prepare for the first ever Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL). This Twenty20 tournament goes from August 10 to August 31, featuring Sri Lankan cricketing icons Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan, as well as 42 international players like Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Nathan Mccullum and Saeed Ajmal.

And just as we did with the India Premier League, YouTube will be streaming straight from the pitch (with slight delay) on the SLPL’s YouTube Channel. For those far from Sri Lanka in an un-friendly time zone, no worries—just catch up on the highlight videos uploaded after the match conclusion.



We’re always excited to see a new T20 tournament popping up, and we’re even more excited to help bring the action from Colombo and Kandy straight to you, wherever you are.

Manan Singhi, content partnerships manager, recently watched “Lasith Malinga’s Four Wickets in Four Balls.”

The world is playing football—American football—starting June 30 live on YouTube

The biggest thing in football right now is happening in Europe, at the UEFA Euro 2012 final. In the U.S., this form of “football” is generally considered to be “soccer.” While the Euro action has certainly been fantastic, American football fans -- the one with quarterbacks and end zones -- take heart! Beginning June 30, USA Football’s Under 19 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) World Championship series will air live on iBN Sports’ YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/ibnsportsnetwork.

The series pits eight countries against each other. In the first round on June 30, France plays Japan. France is rugby-crazy, after their appearance in last year’s World Cup, and Japan’s national sport is sumo wrestling: the players in this game may well demonstrate unique techniques and abilities based on backgrounds in these other very physical sports. The U.S. plays American Samoa that same day, and with many terrific Samoans playing pro football, the quality of football will be high. The other first round matchups are Panama vs. Austria and Canada vs. Sweden.

The winners of the first round play on July 4 (Games 1 and 2); the losers' bracket will be on July 3 (Games 1 and 2). The Gold Medal and Bronze Medal games will both be played on July 7.

YouTube is proud to host many live sports these days. Consider these world championships a warm-up for the high school football to be played across the country this fall. Be sure to subscribe to your favorite YouTube Sports Partner channel and don’t miss a minute of live action either this summer or this fall!

Roland Lange, YouTube Sports Partnerships, recently watched "Soccer training for kids"

No fresh snow? No problem with The Ski Channel on YouTube

If you’re a skier like me, you may have experienced some highs and lows this winter in your search for epic powder. Though spring has sprung, you can now get more of a downhill fix than ever by checking out The Ski Channel on YouTube.

The folks at The Ski Channel partnered with Epic Planks to create a new series called Germination. The series features some of the best young shredders around the world, doing what they do best on some of the coolest slopes and most creative urban environments. Here’s the first episode, kicking off big from Norway:



There are many more adventures to come on The Ski Channel, and you can subscribe to get the first runs delivered right to your homepage. For even more channels where adrenaline meets snow, head to YouTube Sports to keep winter alive all year round.

Julie Kikla, YouTube Sports content partnership manager, recently watched “Yard Sale skiing ski crash free skiing extreme.”

Motorsports brands kick into high gear on YouTube

Having spent years living in North Carolina, I witnessed first-hand the passion of NASCAR and motorsports fans. So it’s not surprising that auto and motorcycle racing videos are some of the most searched and viewed on YouTube. Now that racing season is in full swing with the first Daytona 500 kicking off just days ago, fans have plenty to discover on YouTube - making it the ideal arena for marketers to capture consumer attention. Here are a few brands making the most of fan interest online.

Like many businesses, RevZilla, an online retailer of motorcycle riding gear, dove into video production with nothing more than a Flip camera and an idea. While they have a showroom in Philadelphia, they were challenged to reach their online customers' need to “look under the hood” of motorcycle gear. So they turned to video to showcase detailed breakdowns of motorcycle gear -- from helmets to gloves and riding jackets, and share their deep product knowledge and how-to content.



Meanwhile GoPro, the makers of HD video cameras and accessories, use racer’s eye view of tracks like the Infineon Raceway captured by CEO Nicholas Woodman to reach fans. By building a library of videos created by the people using their cameras, GoPro was able to provide the ultimate product demo to their audience.



Even racing greats like Richard Petty of The Richard Petty Driving Experience are on YouTube to give customers a behind-the-wheel look at racing 165 mph in a NASCAR race car. The Richard Petty Driving Experience pushed the sales needle by creating a Summer of Speed package they promoted during slow summer months with YouTube video ads.



With millions of auto enthusiasts and racing fans coming to YouTube for entertainment, try out some of these ways to reach people on YouTube. Happy riding!

Baljeet Singh, group product manager on video monetization at Google, recently watched “Team Hot Wheels - The Yellow Driver's World Record Jump”

And the YouTube Ad Blitz winners are...

While America’s feelings were divided on the outcome of the game, there’s one aspect of Super Bowl Sunday that crosses team loyalties and brings us together — the commercials. This year’s commercials had something for everyone, from cute dogs to talking babies to Adriana Lima. After a week of intense competition in the YouTube Ad Blitz contest, the votes are in and you voted M&M’S “Just My Shell” commercial as your favorite ad of the Super Bowl!



Rounding out the top five commercials of the big game are spots from Chrysler Group, Bud Light, Chevy Silverado and Doritos:

2. Chrysler Group “Halftime in America”
3. Bud Light “Rescue Dog”
4. Chevy Silverado “2012”
5. Doritos “Man's Best Friend”

Give me the stats!
In its fifth year running, YouTube Ad Blitz has already surpassed previous years with 133M views from fans worldwide, up 43 percent from last year (as of Sunday, 2/12)...and still counting! In fact, during game time roughly 6 percent of all U.S. YouTube traffic came from people watching Super Bowl commercials on Ad Blitz.

The days that saw the highest volume of views were Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, making up 82 percent of total views received over the week. And it wasn’t just fans in the states seeking out the commercials — nearly 18 percent of all views came from outside of the U.S. Other interesting stats include:

• The most popular ads drove the majority of views - 65 percent of video views came from the top ten commercials.
• Google searches related to [Super Bowl commercials] peaked on Monday, but continued through the rest of the week.
• More than 32 percent 
of all mobile votes occurred on Tablet devices, our first year running Ad Blitz on a tablet-optimized channel.

Tune into the YouTube homepage today to check out the top five spots!

Mike Yapp, director, YouTube Creative Content, recently watched “The Jeremy Lin Show at MSG!”

More sports channels kick off on YouTube

Hot on the heels of the launch of four new action sports channels we’ve added more hard-hitting channels for all the YouTube sports fanatics out there. See the latest controversy in the world of soccer, watch insider interviews with basketball pros, or get smart with in-depth sports documentaries and analysis.

• Bleacher Report: From Linsanity to Tebowing, Bleacher Report has your sports fix covered. Bleacher Report's channel showcases the fun and entertaining side of sports with their flagship daily show BR5, provides a full throttle fill of football with NFL Draft 365 and their college football recruiting show Full Ride. The documentary series Why We Watch uncovers the great stories that dot the sports landscape. With in-depth opinion and analysis, top athlete and celeb appearances and much more, Bleacher Report will get you a front row seat for the latest in sports.

• KickTV: Kick is where soccer fanatics -- football for all you global diehards -- can get their regular dose of “the beautiful game”. Every day, Kick’s roster of international stars and pundits debate the hot-button topics on The Mixer. On The Whip, Kick’s experts highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly from around YouTube’s football world. History buffs can dip into the past to catch full matches on the Kick Classics channel, while aspiring stars can learn the game in the Academy channel. From London to Los Angeles, Buenos Aires to Barcelona, Kick will be covering the world’s most popular sport with unparalleled breadth and depth.

• The NOC: Bringing you the world’s most famous sports stars like you’ve never seen them before, the NOC is a 24-hour channel devoted to athlete lifestyle and comedy. Original shows include Say What, a funny take on what athletes say in social media. The Ice Bucket offers an inside look at how athletes unwind off the field. And FaceOff features athletes competing against celebrities and YouTube stars. Stay tuned for new comedy sketches every month.

Just program these new channels into your homepage now to get some of the latest and greatest on sports!

Ty Barnes, strategic partner development manager, recently watched “Lin for the Win...Jeremy Lin hits game winner in Toronto!”

Tighten your laces as we head to the “Fastest Track in the World”

The Millrose Games is regarded as the most historic indoor track & field event in the world, and is now coming to YouTube for the first time.

This event serves as a homecoming for the country’s top men’s and women’s athletes aiming for Olympic Gold in London as they sprint to the finish line on the "world’s fastest indoor track." You can watch the Millrose Games livestream in HD on YouTube starting at 1pm PT Saturday, February, 11, 2012. The premiere showcase begins at 3:45pm PT and runs through the famed Wanamaker Mile around 7pm PT.



Highlights of the event include Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt in pursuit of the first sub-minute 500m dash. Also, three of the women slated to run in the 400-meter dash have won Gold at the Olympic Games, so you can watch Sanya Richards-Ross, Natasha Hastings and Mary Wineberg go head to head.

Get your stopwatches ready as the 2012 Millrose Games are expecting to see top talent challenge long-standing records. You can get even more into track and field on YouTube Sports.

Julie Kikla, YouTube Sports, recently watched “Worlds fastest man meets his match.”

NBC Sports and YouTube bring the Super Bowl XLVI ads to you with YouTube Ad Blitz

Super Bowl XLVI will be one of the biggest moments of the year for advertisers, commanding the attention of millions of Americans tuned in to watch the game. After the big plays on the field, you can join in on the action online with YouTube Ad Blitz — where you decide the best commercial of the game.

As the premier online gallery of Super Bowl commercials, YouTube Ad Blitz puts all the commercials in your hands, letting you view and vote on the top ads of the Super Bowl, whether you’re on a computer, mobile phone or tablet. This year, NBC Sports is the official partner for YouTube Ad Blitz, adding online promotion to its Super Bowl coverage.

Troy Ewanchyna, Vice President, Business Development & Digital Strategies, NBC Sports Group, noted, “YouTube’s Ad Blitz is the perfect platform for us to extend our online promotion for our coverage of Super Bowl XLVI. The post-game Ad Blitz and the next-day Google+ Hangout allow us to extend our coverage and continue to serve viewers even when the game has concluded.”

The Ad Blitz gallery will be hosted on NBCSports.com and the YouTube Ad Blitz Channel, where you can watch your favorite commercials after they’ve aired on NBC. Voting begins after the final whistle and will continue until Midnight ET on February 13. We’ll also host a Google+ Hangout after the game where you can chat face-to-face with an NBC celebrity. Stay tuned to our blog for details.

Let the ad game begin!

Suzie Reider, head of industry development, global video team, Google, recently watched “6 tips for an awesome football party - Super Bowl XLVI.”

Make the most of the NFL Playoffs with Ad Blitz Pre-Game

If you want to get even more excitement from the NFL Playoffs, check out YouTube's new Ad Blitz Pre-Game program, sharing news coverage, party tips and videos from YouTube partners and sponsor Dodge Durango. The Pre-Game program is the warm-up for our annual Super Bowl Ad Blitz advertising extravaganza, which kicks off February 5.

On Ad Blitz Pre-Game we’ve got fan-friendly recipes from food partners like FoodWishes and AverageBetty. You’ll also find football news, opinions and predictions from partners like ProFootBallWeekly, and JRSportBrief, as well as early predictions for the big game. To get started, check out this PB&J-flavored chicken wings recipe for a lip-smacking twist on a tailgating favorite:



If you’re looking for a place to call home over the NFL Playoffs, stop by Ad Blitz Pre-Game and enjoy the YouTube Channels getting you ready for kickoff!

Mark Day, program manager, recently watched "The Topic: NFL Playoff Predictions, Week Two."