YouTube videos.insert and videos.update can link a brand partner with the new brandPartner part

What this means for you

When a company pays a YouTuber to make a video, YouTube lets the YouTuber link that company to the video. The company can then see how the video is doing, and viewers see a "Paid promotion" label. Until now this was done by hand in YouTube's own app. Now a scheduling tool can set the link when it uploads the video for you.

The details

• New part: brandPartner on the videos resource, usable with videos.insert, videos.update and videos.list.
• Fields: channelId (the brand's external channel ID; the discovery document says it must begin with UC) and channelHandle (must begin with @). "Either channelId or channelHandle must be set when establishing a link, but only channelId is returned in the response."
• What the link does (YouTube Help): a "Paid promotion" label is added, and the brand can see viewer demographics, watch time, retention, engagement and performance data. The brand can also boost the video with the creator partnerships boost format.
• Eligibility (YouTube Help, for Studio): all creators can pick a brand deal a brand has already reported; searching for any brand is limited to YouTube Partner Program creators. The revision history does not say whether the API applies the same limits.
• Quota: Not stated; videos.insert and videos.update costs are unchanged by this entry.

What to do next

• Business owners: If you sponsor creators, ask them to link your channel to the video so you can see its results.
• Marketers and agencies: Ask your scheduler whether it can set the brand partner on sponsored uploads, and agree on data sharing with the brand first.
• Developers: Add brandPartner to the part list, send channelId or channelHandle, and expect only channelId back.