Why Does YouTube Call Them Channels?
November 17, 2025·0 comments·zg
YouTube originally called creator accounts “channels” to compliment their slogan, “Broadcast yourself”.
Now, this is all after the original “Tune in, hook up” dating site idea, and even post the stroke of genius that was solving the “where’s video proof of the Janet Jackson / Justin Timberlake wardrobe malfunction” moment but - I want to remind you how YouTube corporate strategy was a make-it-up-as-you-go thing.
Creator accounts were channels because people knew what TV channels were, way back in 2005. The metaphor fit. More importantly, the metaphor stuck.
Around the same point in time, social media was taking off too.
Some etymology can help. “Media” is related to the Latin “medeus,” which - think medium and middle. The idea of media is the idea of the way an idea is captured and shared. “Channel” is rooted in old French, and references the bed of a waterway. It’s the groove by which all things flow.
So when YouTube considered itself as a medium of sharing cat videos with friends online, in the form of channels, the logic kind of makes perfect sense. YouTube is the hosting place, and then one idea flows to whoever. Everybody is happy.
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