The Young Turks, YouTube's First Partner Channel, Turns 20

A Digital Media Trailblazer Shares How to Survive on YouTube for 20 Years

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, December 22, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- TYT, the largest digital news network in the world, will celebrate a historic milestone on December 21, 2025: its flagship news and politics show The Young Turks turns 20 years on YouTube.

On December 21, 2005, TYT founder and host of The Young Turks Cenk Uygur uploaded the network’s first video to YouTube. After hurriedly faxing over a signed contract, The Young Turks became the first partner channel for YouTube, laying the foundation for what would become a revolution in online news.
In the two decades since, The Young Turks has become one of YouTube’s longest-running, most influential, and most-watched news channels, helping define what digital journalism could be long before the rest of the media industry caught up.

In 2017, former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki invited Cenk Uygur to YouTube’s headquarters for an in-depth interview talking about The Young Turks as YouTube’s first partner channel and the future of the platform, another nod to TYT’s role as a leading voice in creator-driven news. Uygur viewed Wojcicki as a visionary YouTube CEO who was kind and gracious. Uygur gave a speech as the platform’s first channel partner and was interviewed by Wojcicki for her YouTube channel. Uygur noted that she genuinely cared about creators.

Early adoption and a fearless embrace of new formats earned The Young Turks a central role in nearly every major evolution of YouTube’s news ecosystem. As the platform grew, TYT grew with it, often serving as the test case for new features and innovations.
“As the first partner channel on YouTube, we saw something special before anyone else did,” said Uygur. “We believed news could be more democratic, more accessible, and more honest and YouTube was the winning platform to do that. They incentivized creators. Twenty years later, we’re proud of how far we’ve come and even more excited about where we’re headed.”

When Uygur posted the first video on The Young Turks in 2005, YouTube itself was less than a year old. Traditional media had yet to grasp the potential of online video but Uygur saw an opportunity for a democratized distribution of news.

In 2016, Wojcicki selected TYT to debut YouTube’s newest innovation: mobile live streaming. TYT streamed Wojcicki’s VidCon keynote live from the floor, marking the product’s global reveal. When YouTube announced the launch of mobile live, TYT’s Ana Kasparian was the face of the campaign, featured in The Wall Street Journal and trades across the industry.

During the 2016 presidential election, TYT was one of a select group of creators chosen to stream from the RNC and DNC convention floors, bringing real-time analysis directly to millions of viewers. TYT’s interview with Senator Bernie Sanders, which amassed 1.9 million views, helped catapult the Vermont senator into national prominence with younger voters. It also served as an early testament to the power of digital media in engaging voters. That same year, TYT hosted a widely attended interview with Green Party candidate Jill Stein at YouTube Space LA. Notable partnerships with YouTube include Local News Academy, World Refugee Day, interviewing Jane Sanders and Rosario Dawson at YouTube Space NY.

Part of that history includes being a digital media incubator helping more than 100 recognizable news and politics commentators get their start, including: popular voices on the left Hasan Piker, Ken Klippenstein, Ryan Grim, Francis Maxwell of Meidas Touch, and well - even Dave Rubin. TYT and The Young Turks have continued to grow on YouTube because of a willingness to evolve, try something new, and make and learn from mistakes.

What began as a small experiment in digital video has grown into TYT as a network, a news powerhouse that remains true to its mission: speaking truth to power, challenging the establishment, and driving positive change, all while empowering a new generation of informed, engaged viewers. TYT has launched additional shows and channels on YouTube, including: The Damage Report with John Iadarola, Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey, Rebel HQ, TYT Sports, The Watchlist, and more. The Young Turks continues as the longest-running news channel on YouTube, with billions of views and one of the most engaged communities on the platform. Over the last 20 years, TYT has been consistently recognized by major outlets for its influence, audience reach, and pioneering role on YouTube.

Julie Avancena
TYT
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The Young Turks: The First Partner Channel for YouTube

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