The outdated pipes running beneath the world’s largest video site were making it trickier to build the kind of new features that could keep users watching more, rather than browsing over to, say, Netflix or Hulu.
“As a business, it’s kind of a vulnerable situation to be in,” says Christos Goodrow, a director of engineering at YouTube. “We’re not building as strong of a relationship with viewers. We have very little leverage to try to make the experience better for users.”
Source: To Take On HBO And Netflix, YouTube Had To Rewire Itself | Fast Company | Business + Innovation