Reviews and approval

When submitting your assets for approval, be sure to ...

1. Review YouTube Marketing materials and guidelines on this site.

• If you have any questions regarding how to use the YouTube marketing materials please reach out to your YouTube TV Marketing contact.

2. Request review for marketing materials

• Once your marketing assets are ready for review, please submit a request via this form. The purpose of this form is to collect all the information needed to grant brand approval.

3. All assets will need to be approved for usage

• All assets with YouTube TV branding need to be reviewed and fully approved before going live. Your YouTube Partner Marketing contact will manage this process as soon as the review is requested through the form in Step 2. Estimates for approval time are as follows:
  • Logo approval: 5 business days
  • Content approval: 5-7 business days for receiving and 7 business days for approval
  • Please note that we cannot secure blanket approval for multiple touch points; we must get every placement approved.
  • Should you be interested in obtaining network content, please reach out to your YouTube TV Marketing contact.

• If there’s a UI screen with a YouTube logo, does the logo look crisp and accurately represented (correct size and placement, not stretched/skewed in any way)?
• Have you used the correct UI screen for this content? Do all pieces match the reference file?
• If there’s a logo that’s not in a UI screen, does it have the proper amount of clear space around it? See the "visual identity"
  section for details.
• If your asset features content, have you received approval from the YouTube TV marketing team?
• Is the proof resolution high enough that YouTube will be able to zoom in and check that the logo appears as intended?

Best practices to help accelerate network approvals

• Please use official network key art, episodics, and logos.
• Avoid cropping, blurring, or amending network assets.
• Avoid requesting shows that are not currently airing as networks typically forfeit the rights to the rights to the studios.
• Featuring episodics in the UI takes longer to approve than standalone key art.
• Don’t overlay imagery/footage with copy or products (especially heroes).
• Include network and show title attribution (channel logo, show name).
• Include tune-in (voice over or written).
• Avoid or keep product pricing separate.
• Avoid anti-cable messaging.
• Avoid featuring non-series regulars.
• Sports and big copyrighted properties (e.g., Oscars) are harder to clear.

Additional considerations

• Content team will champion content that performs and is a priority to YouTube TV and that is content from the current seasons only. Networks lose rights to old content.
• Networks have other sponsorships which can impact rights (e.g., NFL + mobile).
• Check the YouTube TV landing page for the very latest network logos
• Show / sports music is frequently not cleared for YouTube TV promotional use
• Emails often need to include copyright lines for top shows (e.g., Oscars).
• Avoid talent interacting/responding to product messages. This implies endorsement.
• Premium channel content featured in marketing requires a legal disclaimer.

General tips

• Each use case needs to be cleared. For example, approval for use on TV is distinct from approval for use in emails.
• Only final creatives can be approved by networks, and it cannot be tweaked later.
• Content team would like to avoid asking networks for custom assets that won’t get used (e.g., talent reads).
• Content team will promote content that matters to the network as well as YouTube TV.
• Give advance notice of plans as well as 5 days for final approval.
• Custom work or exceptions require extra network legal approvals.

Sports tips

• College football is easier to clear than NFL due to league restrictions.
• When selecting footage or stills, stick to wide stadium shots or mascot shots.
• Follow the “four player rule,” which prevents the focus from being on one player.
• Studio talent use in footage, images, and stills are far easier to clear with acquisition tactics and are evergreen in most cases (e.g., Sports Center on ESPN or Skip & Shannon: Undisputed on FS1).