By Gavin Boyle
On its 20th anniversary, YouTube shared just how much it has to celebrate as it revealed some shocking statistics emphasizing the site’s massive popularity.
“When people turn on the RV, they’re turning on YouTube. Television really is YouTube” YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said in March, expanding on comments from 2024.
“We’re redefining what TV looks like, helping creators reach new heights and using Ai to expand creativity,” he said in May 2024. “Creators are drawing audiences on the big screen because they’re the new Hollywood. They have business strategies, writers’ rooms, and production teams…Creators are redefining what we think of as ‘TV.’”
These two quote from Mohan highlight exactly what the platform has become as it enters into its 21st year: an entertainment juggernaut that outshines its streaming and linear television rivals.
April 23 marked the 20th anniversary of the first video being uploaded to the site, “Me At the Zoo,” a grainy, 20-second long clip featuring YouTube’s creator standing in front of the elephant exhibit at the San Diego Zoo.
Since then, over 20 billion more videos have been uploaded to the site, with an average of 20 million videos now going up per day, according to Variety. These videos receive over 100 million comments per day and an average of 10 million likes. The site now also averages 3.5 billion views per day, showing just how popular it has become.
These statistics highlight why the platform has become the leader in the television industry, beating out both streamers and linear television in TV share month after month. In February, 27% of all streaming took place on YouTube, accounting for 11.6% of all TV usage, per Nielsen, and in March, its total television share jumped to 12%.
Multiple factors enabled YouTube to reach this point, such as content creators who now focus on creating shows to compete with TV and YouTube’s investment in live sports, which has driven a major uptick in YouTube TV subscribers. Meanwhile, Mohan’s comments about the platform becoming the “new Hollywood” are more accurate than ever as multiple YouTube stars have been signed to deals with major studios.
Last December, Amazon Prime Video began releasing a 10-episode game show series hosted by Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, the largest content creator on YouTube. The show dominated Prime Video’s charts as Donaldson handed out over $10 million in prizes to the contestants. Meanwhile, kids content creator Ms. Rachel released a show on Netflix in January, another example of a streamer poaching YouTube talent.
At the moment, there seems to be nothing in YouTube’s way as it continues its historic takeover of the entertainment industry, and 20 years after its launch, the future of the platform looks extremely bright.
Read Next: A Look at YouTube 20 Years After Its Launch
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +1