If YouTube Is the New TV, Where Is the TV Ad Budget?

Published: February 9, 2026

By Shawn Smith

Last year YouTube hit a milestone as it became the most-watched video provider on TV sets with over billion hours of YouTube content watched per day.

Despite the Google-owned juggernaut’s TV takeover, it has yet to see the advertising budget of traditional TV.

“The rapid shift in viewership toward YouTube, however, hasn’t been matched by a commensurate movement in spending among many big brands, according to marketers, YouTube creators and others,” Patrick Coffee wrote in the WSJ.

“The disparity is a common point of frustration for not only creators and the talent agencies that represent them but also some marketing executives trying to convince their companies to do more with YouTube,” he continued, noting that TV campaigns still have a budget four to five times higher than YouTube.

“Those executives worry that failing to stay close to audiences means missing opportunities or, worse, leaving openings for rivals,” Coffee added.

Coffee cites that part of disparity is how marketers look at viewership of YouTube’s short videos as compared to other social media platforms, with viewers spending an average of 45 minutes per day scrolling through TikTok and 29 minutes a day on Instagram, while YouTube Shorts gets about 22 minutes per day.

“And YouTube doesn’t look as good from some angles when marketers compare it against big digital players instead of TV,” he stated.

Research shows that people watch more of the long-form videos YouTube video as as opposed to short-form ones, and many content creators are more than happy to give viewers what they want, as longer videos means more mid-roll ads and more money.

“There has been a deluge of interest in long-form YouTube content with creators,” Andrew Graham, an agent at Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency, said. “Short-form content doesn’t monetize nearly as well.”

Content creators also look to diversify their income with creators making five figures or more earn income beyond traditional advertising and paid subscriptions with other avenues such as merch sales and affiliate marketing— over 50%, Forbes reported.

YouTube’s has caught on to the trend as well, saying that one of their goals for creators is to help diversify their income.

“This year we’ll continue to invest in different ways to earn, from shopping and brand deals to fan funding features like [j]ewels and gifts,” Neal Mohan, YouTube’s CEO wrote on the company’s blog.

“We’re focused on making YouTube a premier shopping destination because viewers trust product and brand recommendations from creators…Soon, when a creator like Christen Dominique recommends a product, you’ll be able to buy it without leaving the YouTube app,” he added.