George Stroumboulopoulos is moving on from televised sports by building a “sanctuary” for himself on YouTube that focuses on broadcasting live music directly from his Toronto home.
In an on-stage interview at Google Canada‘s YouTube Pulse event Wednesday night, the former VJ and late-night star — who ended his stint as host of Hockey Night In Canada in late June — confirmed he will be returning to his roots as a curator and ambassador for a variety of Canadian musical talent. His appearance included a sizzle reel of the YouTube channel set to “She Sells Sanctuary” by the Cult.
“This is the place where you can make things as you see them,” he said of YouTube. “It’s how you reach the most amount of people with the least amount of barriers.”
Stroumboulopoulos said the idea for the YouTube channel came to him after talking a walk down memory lane of sorts — seeing the boarded-up former offices of MuchMusic.
“Back then, you could come inside,” he said. “When huge stars were performing, we would raise the glass of the windows and everyone could come in. Where else do you go today to be welcomed? To be accepted?”
In the same way, Stroumboulopoulos said people will literally be able to walk in off the street and potentially catch The Strombo Show in action. “I don’t even know where the food is in my house anymore,” he said.
Stroumboulopoulos is betting on YouTube at a time when Google is reporting 81% of Canadian Gen Xers use YouTube monthly, with 80% saying they watch on their smartphones. On the flip side, one in four Gen Xers say they watch less traditional TV because of YouTube. Digital video in general is up 44% over the last four years, with mobile video up 127% over the same time period, executives reported.
In his opening remarks, Google Canada managing director Sam Sebastian said the platform is an ideal in terms of being expansive but also personal, creating opportunities for unique moments of connection. He pointed to the recent simulcast (in partnership with CBC) of the final Tragically Hip concert in Kingston, Ont., which hit a new milestone for most concurrent views. It also generated more than 26,000 friendly comments in the livestream.
“And we don’t always see friendly comments in the livestream,” Sebastian joked. “No matter how content changes, what works continues to be a skillful manipulation of sight, sound and motion.”
While Stroumboulopoulos didn’t get into any details about monetizing his YouTube channel, the company’s third annual event for approximately 500 Canadian advertisers also included an appearance from Laura Vitale, creator of the Laura In The Kitchen channel. Vitale, a self-taught cook who recently published her first book, said remaining authentic and trustworthy to viewers remains critical no matter what your videos are about.
“My audience does not see branded videos from me each week,” she said. “It’s always about showing something my audience would really enjoy.”
Vitale’s success shows that YouTube is not necessarily limited to a younger demographic that might be interested in The Strombo Show. In fact, execs said YouTube reached 6.4 million Canadian adults over the age of 50 this past June. Below is an infographic Google released following YouTube Pulse.
See an infographic with more highlights from Google’s YouTube research here.
