Data: Shorts viewing grows on YouTube
May 11, 2023
Data from social video intelligence specialist Tubular Labs reveals TV’s most-watched US broadcast and cable properties on YouTube, revealing how the 2022-23 TV season performed on one of social media’s most-watched platforms.
These findings come as the TV industry approaches its Upfront commitment season, where TV media and advertisers come together to determine media buys for the upcoming autumn TV season. As brands continue to shift traditional TV ad dollars to digital video, these metrics from Tubular Labs can aid buyers and sellers with omnichannel media buys across the video landscape. Knowing how video from major broadcast and cable properties performs on social media provides unique insight into the content life cycle, and shows how certain shows or content categories may have longer staying power with specific audiences.
Reviewing the time period from September 2022 through April 2023, Tubular found:
Shorts continue to grow
Shorts (videos with a duration of 60 seconds or less) accounted for 34.8 per cent of YouTube views for the top five US broadcast and cable properties from September 2022 through April 2023, up from 27 per cent during the same period from 2021 to 2022. For context, videos running 20 minutes or longer accounted for just 9 per cent of views for these companies in that stretch, vs. 11.6 per cent the year before.
News, Telenovelas see higher viewership, YoY
TV news shows climbed significantly in YouTube viewership this TV season, up from just 3.5 per cent in the 2021-22 TV season time range, to 8.9 per cent in the 2022-23 stretch. Telenovelas also were seen to skyrocket, as views around these programmes increased nearly 21x year-over-year for these media companies. Talk shows and reality TV content both showed year-over-year decreases in share of TV show-related views, with talk shows seeing 15.7 per cent of views (down from 22.1 per cent in 2021-22) and reality TV pulling in 10.3 per cent of views (down from 13.7 per cent the previous year).
Basketball leads sporting content
Basketball continued its lead as the dominant sporting category on YouTube, accounting for 37 per cent of sports-related video views for the top five US broadcast and cable companies, up from 29.7 per cent the year prior. Other increases were seen in football videos – with the World Cup helping grow videos significantly year-over-year, from 11 per cent of sports videos to 20.4 per cent in 2022-23 – and combat sports that saw nearly a 3 per cent increase from 4.6 per cent of sports views year-over-year across top broadcast media creators.