YouTube launches 'breaking news' feature

YouTube is launching its own 'breaking news' feed, which will provide users with a scrolling loop of the current most popular news stories each time they open up the website or app.

Google, YouTube's owner, is most likely making this move to help provide some order to the latest videos uploaded to the site, as 300 hours' worth are currently uploaded every 60 seconds.

The move also reflects the changing way in which consumers access breaking news, more often turning to social media rather than TV news channels.

However, it does mean that brands will need to ensure they are thinking more carefully about how their YouTube videos are optimised and promoted so that they continue to perform well and appear in users' search results, despite them being immediately presented with breaking news.

Android Police first noticed the new breaking news feature on the video-sharing platform; it is not yet clear whether it will be used to show news on all current events, or just when a story is initially breaking. Either way, it is still an extra algorithm for brands' videos to hold their own against.