The Business of YouTube

A weekly strategic lens for senior leaders into how YouTube is reshaping the business of technology, sports, music, entertainment, and culture.

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To your favourite newsletter, The Business of YouTube, brought to you by Paola Marinone and Bengü Atamer, founders of BuzzMyVideos and previously at YouTube and Google. We are bringing our exclusive insights from 20 years of experience leading strategy at YouTube and Google.

The Euro 2025 x YouTube playbook | A breakdown

As England defended their European crown, the real victory might have been on a different battleground, YouTube.

This summer’s Women’s Euros gave us a unique window into how national teams are evolving their digital content strategy. And while some were still warming up, a few nations, most notably England and Germany, went all in.

So what made their YouTube strategies stand out? And what can other federations learn?

Let’s break it down.

Before we discuss strategy, lets talk numbers!

Here’s how the YouTube stats stacked up during the tournament window looking at the final 4 teams and the last 5 weeks of uploads:

• Germany: 106 uploads | 25.9M views | +15K subs

• England: 100 uploads | 18.3M views | +20K subs

• Spain: 95 uploads | 2.5M views | +3K subs

• Italy: 75 uploads | 1.5M views | +1K subs

The story is clear, those who invested in content saw audience growth.

But it wasn’t all about volume, it was about execution.

1. Focus on format, not volume

England didn’t try to do everything. They focused on a few signature formats, and executed them well:

• The Lionesses Podcast

• Lionesses Unfiltered - a candid, player-led interview series

• Match highlights

• Shorts that complemented longer content

This gave fans a rhythm. They knew what to expect following each game and building hype into the next.

Importantly, they were all player first, giving us a true insight into the England camp.

Key takeaway: You don’t need 50 formats. Just a few great ones, consistently delivered. Make them bingeable, shareable, and personality-driven.

2. Use Shorts like a pro

Germany's strategy showed the power of Shorts at scale. They leaned into snackable, native content with Shorts accounting for around 80% of total views.

Their strategy wasn’t complex, it was leveraging their long form player challenges, behind the scenes and reactions & celebrations to gain the benefits of shorts.

Bengü talks here that shorts are still largely under leveraged, but Germany showed what is possible.

It made the team feel more human, more fun, and more there. And the algorithm noticed.

Key takeaway: Shorts aren’t a bonus, they’re the battleground for attention. When used smartly, they fuel discovery, engagement, and growth.

3. Show us what we can’t see on TV

One of Italy’s best-performing videos? Not a goal. Not a press conference. But a behind-the-scenes short after a quarter-final win.

Meanwhile, France and Switzerland, despite earlier exits, found their voice through stylised “Inside” series.

This content isn’t new or revolutionary but it works and teams who didn’t invest (Spain we’re looking at you!) missed a critical opportunity to connect and inspire the new generation of Womens national team fans.

It’ doesn’t have to be a loss making exercise either, the Swiss version even brought in a title sponsor (Zurich) to back it.

Key takeaway: Give fans access. What does it feel like after the whistle blows? What happens in the tunnel? In the hotel? In recovery? That’s the gold.

Final Thoughts

This summer proved one thing: if you treat YouTube as a side channel, you’ll get side channel results.

But if you build with intention, format-first, player-led, algorithm-aware, your YouTube presence can rival your on-field performance.

Germany and England followed the playbook, and it’s ready for anyone to use to grow the Womens game going forward.

This week Marion Ranchet, the ‘Queen of Streaming in Europe’ and founder of Streaming Made Easy joins Paola on The Business of YouTube podcast.

We go deep on:

• The real metrics that matter

• The need to maximise IP

• Multi-platform strategies

• Fandom, brand affinity, and YouTube's identity crisis

And more, one great thing about Marion, she doesn’t hold back on opinions or truly actionable advice.

• YouTube Trending is gone. YouTube’s trending page has now officially been retired. This follows the algorithmic trend of content relevance over mass appeal.

• Is animation the new content meta? Mr Beast has just launched ‘Beast Animations’ with the trailer racking up almost half a million views. The full series will drop in October. Will this spark a new wave of animation first content from creators?

• YouTube has become the UK’s second most-watched media service. The platform has overtaken ITV and is now only behind the BBC, don’t say we didn’t warn you!