Neal Mohan is YouTube’s Chief Product Officer and will replace Susan Wojcicki who is stepping down.
I like that a Product person will lead YouTube. It is mission critical to have “product” at the center of these massive content platforms to ensure optimal user experiences (Look to Meta Platforms for examples of how to ruin user experiences – Facebook and Instagram are examples).
What I am less sure about is what this leadership change will mean for YouTube’s content strategy. Live sports and quality episodic television drive superior ROIC, so I hope YouTube does more of the types of deals they did with the NFL (Sunday Ticket), combined with original quality episodic tv content (both premium and ad supported).
I’m not a fan of blockbuster movie content generation as the risk/reward is too steep. I would add video game production to Mohan’s “To Do” list, however I am not sure if that is off the table since Google has wound down Stadia.