Social Video Tops TV for YA Audiences

Consumers between the ages of 13 and 24 spend about 21 percent of their screen time on non-premium online video, namely YouTube and TikTok, with just 16 percent on traditional TV content, according to Hub Entertainment Research’s annual Video Redefined survey.

Among audiences 35-plus, meanwhile, about 39 percent of screen time is spent on traditional TV content, with 14 percent on non-premium video.

The research also found that 60 percent of audiences under 35 see short videos as being as much fun as “premium” TV, and about a quarter of those videos are being watched on a TV set.

Hub also discovered that 57 percent of audiences 13 to 24 spend less time watching “regular TV” because of the time they spend watching services like YouTube and TikTok. But they are watching traditional shows or movies, with more than 60 percent indicating they found those titles via clips on social platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Conversely, just 35 percent of those 35-plus found new content via social video.

“While consumers embrace social video as essential entertainment, many are aware that it may be at the expense of watching longer form TV and movies,” said Jason Platt Zolov, senior consultant at Hub and one of the study authors. “Studios have an opportunity to continue to lean into short-form to build connections with audiences—but bringing consumers back to longer-form content can potentially deepen engagement with brands in meaningful ways.”

“These findings underscore why YouTube became the first streaming platform to crack 10 percent share of total viewing on Nielsen’s Gauge,” said Jon Giegengack, Hub’s founder and co-author of the study. “The next generation of TV consumers recognize the difference between ‘premium’ and ‘non-premium’ content. They just don’t see premium as inherently ‘better.’ Either one is a perfectly legitimate way to spend the time you have available to watch TV.”