<\/p>\n
When the first YouTube video was uploaded in 2005, the only way to watch it was on a desktop computer.<\/p>\n
Now, 20 years later, YouTube has moved on to other screens. It\u2019s the No. 1 streaming service on connected TVs (CTV), and in a recent blog post, CEO Neal Mohan called YouTube \u201cthe new television.\u201d Even older folks are in on the trend, with the 65+ crowd doubling their YouTube consumption on TV sets in the last two years alone, according to Nielsen.<\/p>\n
At the same time, almost every major platform has embraced short-form vertical video\u2014and YouTube is no exception. It unveiled its TikTok competitor, Shorts, in 2020, and counted more than 2 billion logged-in users watching them each month since July 2023. With TikTok\u2019s future still uncertain, that number could continue to grow.<\/p>\n
The platform is also becoming increasingly synonymous with the booming podcasting industry: More than 1 billion viewers tune into YouTube to watch podcasts each month, according to company data from February.<\/p>\n
Kurt Wilms, senior director of product management at YouTube, told us in an email that the company isn\u2019t hyperfocused on any one format as it seeks to grow viewership numbers and ad revenue, but is focused on \u201censuring that viewers find the content they want to watch when they come to YouTube, whether that\u2019s a long-form video, a podcast, or a Short.\u201d<\/p>\n
Creators, publications, and brands that rely on YouTube say increased TV viewing and the emphasis on Shorts are prompting them to continue shifting their strategies to take advantage of the different formats. But it can be harder than it looks to keep up with rising production costs and determine whether short-form or long-form content is better for business.<\/p>\n
Sharon Mussalli, CEO of media company NowThis, sees YouTube\u2019s dual emphasis on Shorts and CTV as a strategy to take over what has become memeified as \u201cbig and little screen.\u201d In other words, the platform is looking to capture consumers\u2019 very short attention spans by providing content for any and all devices.<\/p>\n
NowThis joined YouTube in 2013 and over the years has posted what Mussalli called \u201cTV-style content.\u201d In the last year since taking over as head of the company, though, she\u2019s made a conscious effort to shorten NowThis\u2019s YouTube content; so far, she has seen promising results with Shorts, including \u201can increase in follower count and a lot of passive revenue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
NowThis still posts long-form content, like its celebrity interview series The Hangout<\/em>, which averages around 10 minutes per video, but Mussalli said Shorts have allowed the company to experiment with concepts before committing to longer series, which, she noted, often require multiple episodes to gain traction.<\/p>\n \u201cA cost per long-form piece of content will always be much higher than a cost per short-form piece of content,\u201d she said. \u201cFor new IP, it\u2019s really risky to spend quite a bit of money on a new concept for a long-form version.\u201d<\/p>\n But lower costs can also come with smaller payoffs, author, tech reporter, and creator Taylor Lorenz, who has 68,000 subscribers on YouTube, told us, so much so that Shorts can be at odds with some creators\u2019 business models.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an existential threat to the creators\u2019 business model on YouTube because it\u2019s short. You can\u2019t monetize as effectively on Shorts as you can with long-form content,\u201d she told us. \u201cI am trying to get away from short-form content, because of the simple fact that you cannot monetize it as well as long-form content, and you don\u2019t develop that deep relationship with the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n Creator Gianna Christine, who has been posting to YouTube for more than 10 years and has more than 700,000 subscribers, said that Google AdSense, which helps creators monetize their YouTube channels, as well as product tagging, has allowed her to earn more on YouTube than other platforms and has become her highest revenue stream through both view monetization and affiliate revenue. Still, she agreed with Lorenz about the need for longer content to build community.<\/p>\n \u201cI really like how [YouTube has] the option for both short-form and long-form because I think there\u2019s advantages to both,\u201d Christine said. \u201cShort form is really great for growth and exposure, but I do feel like longer videos are what really helps you build that connection with your audience, which is really important as a creator.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent months, Christine has posted exclusively Shorts, which she said has led to a \u201chuge amount of growth;\u201d her account has accrued more than 150,000 new subscribers and 140 million views since Thanksgiving, she told us. But her biggest reach is still on TikTok, where she has 2.7 million followers.<\/p>\n Christine said posting Shorts consistently and multiple times a day has helped her grow her following, and she\u2019s been using the medium, as well as YouTube\u2019s polling capability, as a testing ground for long-form content. Still, it can be harder for creators just starting out on Shorts to stand out compared to on TikTok, where the powerful For You page algorithm can quickly rocket creators to virality, she said.<\/p>\n Mussalli agreed: she said that Shorts makes sense as a complement to other short-form platforms as a way of reaching and engaging audiences, while TikTok remains king when it comes to discoverability.<\/p>\n Despite the popularity of short-form video, there is still plenty of demand for long-form content on YouTube\u2014or at least videos that last as long as it takes to eat a meal. According to a report from streaming data analysis company Digital i, as of last October, videos 30 minutes or longer in length accounted for 73% of all viewing time on YouTube.<\/p>\n Christine told us she\u2019s noticed more people have been watching her videos on TV. In 2024, TV viewing accounted for 9.8% of Christine\u2019s video views; between February and March, that number nearly doubled to 18.3%.<\/p>\n YouTube\u2019s ascension to its status as the most-watched streaming platform on TV for two years running is a \u201c10-year effort in the making\u201d for the platform, according to Wilms.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen YouTube launched, everyone thought it would be the new TV, but then came the rise of smartphones, so we shifted to mobile, but we still made a long-term investment in connected TV,\u201d he said. \u201cNow we\u2019re seeing viewing trends shifting back to TV.\u201d<\/p>\n Later this year, YouTube will begin to offer creators the option to organize videos into seasons and episodes when viewing content on TV, Wilms said.<\/p>\n Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Creators and publishers alike have made their presence on the platform known by posting long-form and episodic content, ranging from Michelle Phan and the early days of YouTube makeup tutorials to NPR\u2019s ongoing Tiny Desk<\/em> series. Some creators, like MrBeast, have transcended success on YouTube to create more traditional content on platforms like Amazon Prime Video.<\/p>\n This propensity for episodic content even inspired creator investment company Spotter to hold a first-of-its-kind upfronts-style event for creators and TV advertisers earlier this year. At the Spotter Showcase, CMOs from major brands heard from participating creators about their planned series, formats, and ideas, and saw audience data from popular channels like MrBeast, Dude Perfect, and Colin and Samir, according to Spotter president Nic Paul.<\/p>\n \u201c[Creators] are studio execs,\u201d Paul said, noting that regular uploads and production schedules help support \u201cappointment-based viewing\u201d that\u2019s similar to traditional TV. \u201cIf we can actually help the industry understand, on a creator basis, the opportunities, we think that the ecosystem is going to be even better.\u201d<\/p>\n YouTube\u2019s streaming dominance means there is increasing competition for eyeballs on the platform: some TV shows, like NBC\u2019s Saturday Night Live, <\/em>upload entire episodes cut into short clips on the platform each week, and there are plenty of free movies and TV shows to watch on the platform.<\/p>\n Competing with more traditionally produced content can mean that the costs of creating long-form content can be daunting. Chef and cookbook author Carla Lalli Music recently shared that as of late January, since starting her YouTube channel in October 2021, she had amassed more than 18 million views and earned $187,997 in revenue\u2014not enough to outweigh the costs of production, with each long-form video costing more than $3,500 to produce, shoot, and edit.<\/p>\n And advertisers, it seems, aren\u2019t alleviating that cost burden as much as some creators might hope. \u201cThe hurdle that I think we all want brands to get over is this idea that there\u2019s some difference between eyeballs that exist on YouTube versus eyeballs that exist on linear TV,\u201d Sean Evans, the host of the digital series Hot Ones<\/em>, said during a panel at SXSW earlier this year.<\/p>\n Brands creating content on YouTube are facing the same budgetary pressures. Beauty brand Jones Road recently released I Am Me<\/em>, a branded interview series for YouTube featuring founder Bobbi Brown speaking with other women about empowerment and self-confidence. Though CEO Cody Plofker said that YouTube offers an opportunity for brand storytelling and deeper audience connection, he noted that creating on it is expensive, and the brand doesn\u2019t view its content creation on the platform as a revenue source like a media company might. . To help offset the cost of production, the series was made possible through a partnership with JPMorgan Chase.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have giant budgets, but we also have high expectations,\u201d Plofker told us. \u201cSo we said we\u2019re only going to do this if we get a sponsor\u2014not even to make money, but just to cover costs, to be able to invest in making the best content that we can have.\u201d<\/p>\n As both creator and brand, the Jones Road team also buys media across the platform. Plofker said programmatic YouTube ads are about 15% of the brand\u2019s media mix, which allows it to reach a more diverse demographic that tends to show up on site. As YouTube watchers continue to choose TV screens, that can present an attribution challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople aren\u2019t going to be able to click, so that won\u2019t always look great in measurement tools,\u201d Plofker said. \u201cBut there\u2019s ways to test it, and the value can totally be there.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Wilms, YouTube has paid creators, artists, and media companies more than $70 billion in the last three years overall. Last month, it announced plans to automate mid-roll ads, which it has said could improve creators\u2019 ability to monetize their content.<\/p>\n YouTube\u2019s living-room presence has also been bolstered by a radio-meets-TV hybrid: video podcasts. The platform jumped from the third-most-accessed by podcast listeners in 2021 to the No. 1 podcast platform in 2023, before hitting the 1 billion monthly active podcast viewers mark in February.<\/p>\n Scott Newman, founder and creative director of creative agency Work x Work, said that brand marketers continue to diversify their channels, and video podcasts are a piece of that. In his experience, video platforms like YouTube can help unlock bigger audiences, which in turn could mean greater profit.<\/p>\n \u201cAs podcast publishers continue to add video, I\u2019m not being asked [by brands] for video podcasts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s more like, \u2018I want more reach. I want to reach this audience. How can I engage in custom ways to address this audience or this vertical of content?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Media and investment company FlightStory works with both podcast creators and advertisers, and CRO Christiana Brenton has seen the value of a YouTube-first approach.<\/p>\n For creators, Brenton said video-centric podcasting changes how content is filmed from the start. \u201cIf you have the default assumption that more people are going to be watching this content than they are listening, then that changes everything with regards to set design, creativity, lighting, the opportunity for more of a documentary-style feature,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But that extra effort can also bring a wider set of potential marketing materials, and therefore costs, she told us.<\/p>\nChanging channels<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Get marketing news you’ll actually want to read<\/h5>\n
Tuning in<\/strong><\/h2>\n