Nielsen has just released their latest report on TV and streaming usage for the month of January. According to the data, YouTube has remained the top streaming service in the U.S. for the 12th month in a row with a 8.6% share of television viewing. Netflix followed closely behind with 7.9% of TV usage.
In a blog post celebrating this accomplishment, YouTube (owned by Google) announced that viewers now watch over 1 billion hours of their content every day on TV screens. This suggests a preference for user-generated videos among American consumers over traditional TV shows. In fact, a staggering 61% of Gen Z respondents reported that they prefer user-generated content over any other format.
Furthermore, content creators are also seeing a surge in viewership from TV screens. YouTube reports that the number of top YouTubers receiving the most watch time on TVs has skyrocketed by over 400%. For example, popular creator HopeScope, known for her reviews of viral products, saw a whopping 172% increase in TV watch time in 2023. This is especially good news for family-friendly YouTubers who have to compete with the likes of TikTok for children’s attention. According to a recent study, kids ages 4 to 18 spent an average of 112 minutes a day on TikTok in 2023.
While YouTube continues to dominate in the living room, TikTok still reigns supreme on mobile devices. The popular short-form video app recently began testing the ability for users to upload 30-minute videos, which could pose a threat to YouTube’s territory. TikTok has also ventured into the world of spatial reality with the launch of a native app on the Apple Vision Pro. In contrast, YouTube has chosen not to create a dedicated app for the device.
In the past few months, YouTube has reached several other important milestones. This includes surpassing 100 million users who pay for YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. Additionally, their live TV streaming service, YouTube TV, now boasts over 8 million subscribers and their new feature, YouTube Shorts, has already garnered over 70 billion daily views.
