By Michaela Gordoni
Streaming platforms are looking at overall engagement to measure success, putting YouTube at the top of the totem pole.
The biggest fight used to be between Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and other streamers. It was all about who had the best original content, but now success is measured by overall user engagement.
Over 62% of Americans use streaming services exclusively, eMarketer reported.
YouTube has more viewing time than any traditional media company or streamer.
Related: Nielsen Report Reveals YouTube’s Quiet Streaming Dominance
Americans spend an average of 12.6% of their TV time on YouTube, according to Nielsen’s September measurements, and compared to Netflix (8.3%) and Disney+ (4.5%), that’s a pretty good chunk of time.
At this year’s StreamTV Show in Denver, Wurl Americas GM Dave Bernath said, “One in four hours of streaming in the United States today is on YouTube. Based on the current growth trend, within two years, that’s going to be one in three hours.”
“The key thing about YouTube is its sheer availability. Accessible on any device with the internet, browser agnostic so no app required, and forget a login—you don’t need that either,” said The Kids StreamerSphere writer Emily Horgan. “Access to YouTube basically tracks in line with household internet penetration.”
Screen Rant said there’s “no chance” for other streamers to catch up to YouTube. However, Netflix and Disney+ have their own YouTube channels, which let them sneak into that 12.6% of viewing traffic.
And YouTube isn’t just being used on mobile devices.
“We’re not talking about your mobile phone, your laptop, that I’m sure you see your kids using all the time, but on the biggest screen in the house, the TV,” said LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield. “Every [media] executive has to be paying attention.”
Almost half of all YouTube videos are now 11 minutes longer, and 60% of all TV viewing sessions are at least half an hour long. Viewers 55 and over make up 75% of TV viewing on YouTube, Lowpass reported.
“I do think it snuck up on people that YouTube was as important a presence in people’s lives and people’s viewing experiences not just on the phone but in the living room,” said Tara Walpert Levy, YouTube’s vice president of Americas.
“When Nielsen first noted that YouTube was winning the streaming wars in terms of viewing, full stop, not just for ad-supported platforms, I had a ton of my friends from advertising, from media, who were like, ‘Can you believe it?’ It exceeded even our expectations,” she said.
YouTube won the streaming wars, and now other streamers will have to be creative about how they can captivate YouTube audiences in an ecosystem where attention — not content — is the real currency.
Read Next: Streamers Have Something to Say About YouTube’s Dominance
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