Whether in public transportation heading to work or at home to pass time during confinement, YouTube has surely become one of the most used streaming platforms all around the world. What exactly places it among the most successful entertainment options towards its 1,3-billion-people user base?
With 50 millions of creators uploading content on the platform since its creation in 2005, there is an infinite amount of videos to choose from: availability of such diverse content for free is one of the main reasons why YouTube is so popular among all generations. Until the 2010s, most uploads found on the platform came from individuals sharing funny but poorly-edited videos; it was only then that the rise of high-quality content became an observable trend, either from individual creators or from collectivities sharing professional content. The level of work put into videos prior to their upload improves year after year and leads to impressive audiovisual entertainment, again, for free!
Its convenience of use and existence across devices definitely weigh in the balance when users choose to watch a video on YouTube over switching the TV on. By 2025, it is predicted that 50% of viewers under 32 will not subscribe to any TV channel plan. Feeling like watching your favorite YouTuber’s latest video on your phone while walking in the street? Or perhaps listening to your favorite artist’s last album while studying at home? Whether on tablet, mobile phone, TV, laptop or desktop computer, the only condition to watch videos on YouTube is a reasonably functioning Internet connection.
Obviously, if you do not pay with your credit card to access video content, you pay it with your time. Ads have become ubiquitous at the beginning and the middle of videos’ length, which does not prevent about 30 million visitors per day from enjoying their watching session. The average ad time per video never exceeds 30 seconds if skipped by the viewer; a much attractive bargain when most TV commercial breaks reach an average of 7 minutes in the US.
Although most users are satisfied with the free version, Youtube still managed to attract 20 million users to its Premium version for videos and music; it basically allows viewers to access exclusive content from YouTube creators but also music albums, as well as skip ads and even watch videos with no internet connection, all for a monthly fee of 11,99€ per month.
So how will YouTube maintain its position in the entertainment industry for the years to come? According to Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer of the company, the subscription model will remain as it constitutes their second major revenue stream. Sports streaming will become another important division of their available content; events such as the Super Bowl or basketball matches will be streamed via partnerships with Sports clubs and TV channels.
The red-logo-company also innovates thanks to new technologies. Since a few years, Artificial Intelligence enables users to get suggested a set of videos that could be of interest to them based on previous viewings, subscriptions and personal data. As of 2020, more than 70% of what people watch on YouTube is determined by its recommendation algorithm! And it will only get more and more accurate with the improvement of data collection; content makers will soon be provided with real-time feedback and sentiment analysis.
For both video makers and viewers, YouTube has and will continue to represent an incredible opportunity to share creative entertainment content. Only time will tell if the platform will find ways to innovate while allowing its millions of independent content creators to thrive on it too.
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