YouTube chief: mobile will soon eclipse TV The online streaming service drew the battle lines with traditional broadcasters this week by launching 60 channels full of programmes made by some of the UK's most respected broadcasters. Yesterday, Robert Kyncl, head of content for the Google-owned platform, made the scale of its ambition clear. He dismissed the idea that smartphones and tablet devices are becoming the so-called "second screens," battling for people's attention while they watch television. Instead mobiles are the first screens, and televisions belong further down the pecking order, he claimed. Picking up his own smartphone as demonstration at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit, Mr Kyncl said: "This is the first screen, so when you talk about second screen, you are talking about the television. He said that people would watch content on their smartphones as a matter of course, or use them to control their televisions, which would become their second port of call for watching programmes. When you're making your selections on your phone and you're sending them to the TV, something that is coming very soon [on a mainstream basis], when that transition is seamless, this becomes the first screen. His comments are likely to worry television executives, who are rapidly losing viewers and advertisers to online companies such as YouTube. Until recently, the streaming service was best known for short clips uploaded by members of the public, but it is now chasing television's advertising revenues with unprecedented urgency and focus. The company is ploughing around $150m (£94m) into channels filled with programmes from companies that usually make shows for the likes of the BBC and ITV. Mr Kyncl said the channels would help YouTube charge for content.