Here are some interesting statistics on TV watching over the last few years:
- Adults watched an average of four hours and 51 minutes of live TV per day in Q4 2014, down 13 minutes from Q3 2013. The same downward trend presented itself from 2012-2013,
- 40% of U.S. homes currently have some streaming service, including Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, or Hulu
- The same statistic (US comes that currently have streaming service) was up in 2014, from 35% in 2013
- 18-49 year olds’ time spent watching TV fell by almost 10 percent between December 2013 and December 2014 - according to Nielsen’s Google-comissioned analysis
So streaming services are on the rise, live TV viewing is on the decline.
Compare that to these stats of YouTube viewing over a similar time period:
- In 2014, YouTube reached more 18-34, and 18-49 year olds than any cable network
- Time they spent on YouTube shot up 44% percent, with mobile viewing making up the largest source of growth
- YouTube accounted for 51 percent of time spent watching premium digital video* in December 2014 across desktop streaming, smartphones, and tablets among key adult demographics, specifically adults 18-34 and 18-49.
Where does this leave us?
Live TV viewing in on a downward trend, streaming services are on an upward trend, and YouTube is the clear leader in digital video platforms. Researchers across the industry believe these trends will continue year over year in the near and distant future.
Time spent watching TV content is down overall. It is important to note however, that the popularity of this content is not in question, but where the eyeballs go, that’s what is changing. Moreover, viewing TV content on YouTube is increasing year over year, along with using YouTube to consume new content.
So, how can you capitalize on the YouTube train? Here are a few ideas.
- Replace some TV ad spend with YouTube ad spend. This doesn’t mean spend more, just allocate differently. According to a study done by Google of 3,000 U.S. companies, they found that had companies taken this approach dual ad approach, they would have reached 42% more millennials alone.
- Invest in YouTube ads. A recent Google study found that people were 23x more likely to visit or subscribe to a brand channel if they watched a YouTube ad. So, invest in a YouTube Ad, and create a valuable platform to increase brand awareness and potentially dedicated audience to market to.
- A similar study showed that YouTube Ads increased the value of past content. When brands ran YouTube Ads, they saw views of their previous content increase up to 500%!
Do you Youtube? We’d love to know. Let us know how YouTube fits into your digital marketing strategy in the comments section below.