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YouTube: Our Primetime Audience Is Bigger Than the Top 10 TV Shows Combined (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the growing-trend dept.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki: "Today, I'm happy to announce that on mobile alone YouTube now reaches more 18-49-year-olds than any network -- broadcast or cable. In fact, we reach more 18-49-year-olds during primetime than the top 10 TV shows combined. At a time when TV networks are losing audiences, YouTube is growing in every region and across every screen." Ben Popper, writing for The Verge: Those numbers are a bit vague. We don't know exactly how many people are watching, or whether any individual channel comes close to matching the reach of network TV programming. Most importantly, that doesn't break out what percentage of the audience is watching Google Preferred content, the pre-approved brand-safe stuff that nets big ad dollars, versus the long tail of cat videos and home movies that have steadily dwindling value. Still, it seemed clear that YouTube's clout was not lost on the agencies handling big budgets. Wojcicki used her time on stage to announce that Interpublic Group, one of the world's largest ad holding companies, planned to shift $250 million from traditional TV networks to YouTube over the next year.

20 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Oh good grief... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Whereas the networks and cable are limited to time locked programming YouTube can serve up MILLIONS of shows immediately. It's not a fair comparison.

    Nor is it a fair comparison because 99.2% of them are cute animal videos being watched!

    I watched YouTube prime time last night - not because I felt like "Hey, let's see what's on YouTube" but because somebody had uploaded scenes from a 20 year old show that few people know about and fewer ever watched regularly. Did I watch that because of YouTube's super smart employees knowing to put that there? No. Did I watch that because YouTube recommended it to me? No. I would've preferred to watch the actual show but I was content with a VCR - digitized copy on YouTube.

    Susan Wojcicki seems to have forgotten that the people made it great and now she and google are trying to capitalize on their efforts much like Gracenote did with CDDB.

    1. Re:Oh good grief... by Dadoo · · Score: 2

      YouTube can serve up MILLIONS of shows immediately. It's not a fair comparison.

      Completely irrelevant, if you're an advertiser. The only thing that matters is where the eyeballs are.

      --
      Sit, Ubuntu, sit. Good dog.
    2. Re:Oh good grief... by rsborg · · Score: 1

      Whereas the networks and cable are limited to time locked programming YouTube can serve up MILLIONS of shows immediately. It's not a fair comparison.

      It's only "not fair" because those networks choose to limit themselves this way to promote a select few shows.

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
  2. I didn't realize cat videos were that popular by mykepredko · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The human race is doomed, Doomed, DOOMED!

    --
    Mimetics Inc. Twitter
    1. Re:I didn't realize cat videos were that popular by Livius · · Score: 1

      At the beginning of cinematic technology, the leading edge was a few minutes of poor-quality video on a screen smaller than the size of your hand. Cat videos were leading the way back then, too.

    2. Re:I didn't realize cat videos were that popular by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Since you apparently know how to make better videos, I am sure your videos are top ranked on Youtube while generating millions of dollars for you to live off of.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  3. The Young Turks rock by gQuigs · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They have a YouTube Channel (with almost 3 million subscribers)
    https://www.youtube.com/user/T...

    And a whole network of channels
    https://www.tytnetwork.com/

    I really enjoyed the Open Debate they participated in
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  4. shot across the bow by inode_buddha · · Score: 1

    Earlier today, the FCC and Tom Wheeler finally gave the go-ahead for the merger between Time-Warner cable and Charter Communcations.

    The timing of the statement from Youtube is interesting; its a "shot across the bow" (a warning) IMHO directed towards the big content + delivery cartels. And Youtube may in fact win in the long run, just IMHO.

    --
    C|N>K
  5. All this proves is how many have no taste by kheldan · · Score: 1

    Most of the 'content' on YouTube is garbage, isn't it?
    We sure this didn't come from some North Korean knock-off of YouTube? Sure sounds like Best Korea flavor of bragging to me.

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    1. Re:All this proves is how many have no taste by Livius · · Score: 1

      Most of the 'content' on YouTube is garbage, isn't it?

      I.e. better than most of what's on television. (With a few exceptions on both sides.)

    2. Re:All this proves is how many have no taste by kheldan · · Score: 1

      I know I'm probably feeding a troll by asking you this, but if 'everything is garbage' then how about you give a few examples of what YOU think is good?

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    3. Re:All this proves is how many have no taste by indi0144 · · Score: 1

      We are entirely sure you have something as simple to do as a podcast to show us made by yourself, right? OH! how about you create a video log teaching people to create av content. I'm sure linux has 100% of the toolset required to create TOTL content so whats limiting any of the people that bash youtube quality in here? Thats the point, if you think you can do better, you do, and people decide, if people don't know better you can blame education, education decided by those who you vote for, so, if anything, I blame *you* for the north koreization of youtube.

  6. Re:That's because TV is for LUDDITES. by NotInHere · · Score: 1

    You know that TVs have appy apping apps these days itself as well?

  7. Re:How in the heck do that many people have... by avandesande · · Score: 1

    well Seattle is 'special' this way. The rest of us don't have this issue.

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
  8. Many TVstations tried to reach quality rock bottom by ffkom · · Score: 1

    ... but failed, because anyone with an IQ > 90 could working there just not imagine how incredibly stupid you need to make broadcasts to reach the masses of those who are either naturally

    But YouTube succeeded! Now you can choose between countless hours of totally senseless videos, way dumber than any game show or advertisement has ever been before! Now, at last, content is produced by the braindead, for the braindead!

  9. Re:Many TVstations tried to reach quality rock bot by ffkom · · Score: 1

    (I have no idea why my above posting is missing half a sentence after "naturally". I typed it, Slashdot ate it.)

    ...either naturally under IQ 90 or are (due to sleep deprivation, alcohol or exhaustion) when they switch on television.

  10. Or you could watch by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    any one of several excellent channels on game design like Extra Credits or Game history like Kim Justice.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  11. Re:How in the heck do that many people have... by 91degrees · · Score: 1

    Have you tired a wired connection? Fixed my youTube speed issues. The amount of interference on Wi-fi in populated areas is a serious problem.

  12. Re:Many TVstations tried to reach quality rock bot by crimson30 · · Score: 1

    YouTube will recommend shitty videos to you if you watch shitty videos.

    I suppose if you're just getting started, it will assume you're an idiot and recommend terrible content from the start; in which case, where were you around 2005-2006?

  13. Re:Many TVstations tried to reach quality rock bot by ffkom · · Score: 1

    (a) I of course do not allow Youtube to associate me with a previous session - that's what "self destructing cookies" are for. (b) I have never clicked on a video "recommendation" from Youtube. But I have taken a look at videos that were referenced as particularily successful by other media, and that was sad enough...