YouTube did some flexing at this year’s NewFronts. While we expect YouTube to get a lot of watch time, we don’t expect YouTube to be thriving on TV screens.
It turns out that 250 million hours of YouTube content are watched on TV screens every single day. That is much higher than last year’s 180 million hours. YouTube added that this is important because more than 50% of 18- to 49-year-olds in the U.S. are either “light” viewers of network TV or don’t have a traditional cable package. However, 90% of the same people watch videos on YouTube.
Plus, the number of channels with more than one billion views has gone up by 400%.
“Creators are driving record audiences to YouTube,” Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s chief business officer, said in a statement. “But they aren’t just driving big numbers…they’re also redefining culture. They are using YouTube to break through to a generation of early adopters, the same way 20th-century media icons did through television and print.”
YouTube is growing in viewership while traditional TV programming is decreasing in viewership
When looking at the numbers, it is clear that YouTube is drawing in a bigger audience now. When you compare it to more linear networks, those networks are losing viewers. When you look at it, the convenience of YouTube is key. People can watch what they when whenever they want it. They don’t need to wait for what they want to watch to come on in the schedule of linear networks.
Plus, YouTube offers a wider variety of content from a lot of different sources. “The reason our content resonates so strongly with viewers is due to the diversity and richness of our offering — and the ability for fans to interact with it and with each other,” Kyncl continued.
It seems like YouTube and online video streaming platforms will only continue to grow while traditional TV programming is.
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