TV has surpassed mobile as the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S.
The stat was revealed by CEO Neal Mohan as he marked the platform’s milestone 20th birthday and laid out its goals for 2025.
Mohan highlighted YouTube’s role at the “epicenter of culture” and referenced its increasing importance to Hollywood. “Creators are bringing that startup mindset to Hollywood: leaning into new models of production, building studios to elevate their production quality and exploring new creative avenues,” Mohan said in the blog post. “They are creating a whole new playing field for entertainment and the businesses behind them.”
Mohan went on to say that “YouTube is the new television,” with viewers consuming more than 1 billion hours of YouTube content on TV sets daily. “As more creators produce content for the big screen, we’re bringing the best of YouTube to TVs, including a second screen experience that lets you use your phone to interact with the video you’re watching on TV—for example, to leave a comment or make a purchase,” Mohan said. “We’re also experimenting with a new feature called Watch With, which enables creators to provide live commentary and real-time reactions to games and events.”
Mohan also pointed to gains at the company’s subscription services, with YouTube TV at more than 8 million subscribers and YouTube Music & Premium at more than 100 million subscribers.
AI will be key for improving the YouTube experience going forward, Mohan explained. “As we look ahead, we’ll continue investing in AI tools that empower creators and artists throughout their creative journey. As impressive as the generative models are, creators tell us they’re most excited about the ways AI can help with their bread-and-butter production. That’s why we’re investing in tools to help them in the everyday work of creation, like coming up with a new video idea, title or thumbnail. We’re also using AI to help creators find new audiences. For videos with dubbed audio, more than 40 percent of the total watch time comes from viewers choosing to listen in a dubbed language. Last year, we launched auto dubbing, which helps creators translate their videos into multiple languages with a touch of a button. Later this month, we’ll make auto dubbing available for all creators in the YouTube Partner Program. We’ll continue to make improvements here and expand to more languages throughout the year.”
