YouTube has become a leading force on connected TV, but is the audience attention and engagement on par with what advertisers can expect from those touted as “premium" video streaming services?
While defining “TV” and YouTube’s role continues to entice debate among some in the industry, robust consumption of the Google-owned video platform on the living room’s largest screen is less of a question (as evidenced in part by YouTube’s consistent pole position among streamers in Nielsen’s The Gauge U.S. monthly TV time share tracker).
Consumers themselves may not care much about classifying YouTube videos watched on CTV as distinct from so-called premium streaming services, but marketers investing ad dollars across the CTV ecosystem may be more keen to understand if and how audience behavior compares between platforms, in part to help gauge which impressions are working hardest. As do streaming services that compete against the likes of YouTube for consumer time, attention and want to capture their share of marketer CTV ad investment, which is forecast to grow 13.8% in the U.S. this year.
To that end, on Tuesday the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) released a commissioned study, fielded July 2024 to June 2025, by measurement and attention analytics provider TVision to examine CTV audience consumption habits on what it dubs as Premium Video Platforms compared to YouTube.
TVision’s study for VAB defines “premium video platforms” as hybrid AVOD/SVOD services, virtual MVPDs and free ad-supported streaming (or FAST) services.
Understanding different audience behaviors with YouTube viewing versus premium streaming platforms could also be useful to marketers at a time when some are feeling pressure to maximize and prove value of CTV investments as they work to figure out where ad budgets are best spent.
A separate report from Pixability last year showed how YouTube’s vast library of user-generated content alongside the evolving nature of its platform to incorporate more long-form and what could be considered “premium” content and growth on CTV meant the video platform had become a bit more of a puzzle for marketers since it no longer fits neatly into one box for video ad investments.
As for VAB and TVision’s new study, a top line finding is that premium video platforms do indeed consistently outperform and deliver stronger results for marketers than YouTube when looking at metrics like co-viewing, attention and session lengths. Based on this (and reflected in the report title of “The Impression Gap”) VAB determined that marketers can get more out of their CTV ad impressions on premium streaming video platforms than on YouTube.
“Attention and co-viewing are important factors in understanding the quality, impact and total reach of ad impressions. To maximize campaign performance, it is necessary for marketers to understand attentive engagement levels,” said Yan Liu, CEO of TVision, in a statement. “The analysis presented in The Impression Gap delivers substantive clarity and context on the true value of streaming ad impressions.”
The report analyzed audience data across major SVODs Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+, Prime Video and 16 other platforms (including vMPVDs YouTube TV, Spectrum, Xfinity, and FASTs Pluto TV, Tubi, Roku, among others) and compared it with YouTube. Note, the analysis does not include virtual MVPD YouTube TV in the “YouTube” category comparison, where the cable-like pay TV service is considered a premium video platform.
One aspect TVision analyzed and findings VAB zeroed in on to support the conclusion of more effective CTV impressions on premium streamers is that people and households tend to watch content on those types of platforms together, whereas YouTube viewing by comparison is more often a solo activity.
Per the study, premium video streaming services consistently bring multiple viewers into the room, with average co-viewing on premium platforms representing about 60% of total impressions vs 45% of impressions on YouTube.
YouTube ranked 18th for average co-viewing percentage of total impressions among the 22 platforms TVision analyzed. That’s about 7 percentage points behind the next-closest platform which had 52%, and it compares to highs of 73%-75% co-viewing on the top 3 ranked premium video platforms for the metric.
Considering premium video platforms see 33% stronger co-viewing than YouTube, VAB suggests that more eyeballs in the room and on the screen means more ad exposures and more efficient impressions for brands on those types of services.
And since watching content together can also mean watching ads together – the co-viewing nature of premium video can help spark conversation and amplify CTV spots.
VAB noted 43% of consumers say they’re likley to discuss ads with others when co-viewing while watching with others in the living room drives a 23% boost in ad recall compared to watching alone.
It is worth noting that while not as robust as premium video, co-viewing was still near or well above 50% of total impressions on YouTube across key demographics.
Another element analyzed is how long audiences are watching content – where premium video streamers reason to benefit from catalogs of full-length TV series, films and other content compared to the large amount of shorter-form videos available on YouTube.
Per the report, premium video platforms have 49% longer viewing sessions on average in the aggregate than YouTube, which VAB said maximizes the marketer opportunity for meaningful impressions. In contrast, the organization found shorter viewing sessions on YouTube limit impressions opportunities, with YouTube ranking last in viewing session length among platforms analyzed.
That said, the study also showed that average CTV session lengths on YouTube aren’t what one might typically consider all that “short”. Although it ranked last, average session lengths over a 12-month period on YouTube still tallied at 52 minutes (compared to an average of 1 hour and 49 minutes at the No.1 ranked vMVPD platform for the metric and the 1 hour averaged in aggregate across SVODs analyzed).
When it comes to viewers being physically present in the room when content and ads are playing on CTV, TVision found premium video platforms and YouTube deliver similar levels on the metric.
But there’s also a general understanding that these days audiences, and younger viewers in particular, often multitask – potentially with a second screen mobile device in hand – while watching entertainment content.
And although people in the room while video is playing on the TV is key, ad impressions aren’t likely to be as effective if viewers aren’t actively paying attention.
For the “attention presence” metric – which tracks if eyes are on the TV screen when a person is in the room watching CTV content - premium video platforms performed 14% stronger than YouTube.
TVision’s analysis – which can get very specific on the attention side as its measurement tools include eye-tracking capabilities –also found premium video streaming platforms drive greater consistent attention across the duration of content than YouTube.
In a ranking on the metric, YouTube placed 14th behind the top 10 premium streamers, in sustained time spent with eyes on screen. TVision found the so-called Attention to Duration metric was 18% stronger on premium video platforms than YouTube – meaning more likely to covert viewing time into meaningful attentive minutes.
The study authors noted that higher attention on CTV correlates with lifts in brand awareness, consideration and purchase intent, meaning “attention ins a cornerstone of a successful campaign.”
“The data shows that Premium Video Platforms on CTV are much more likely to generate higher levels of co-viewing, enabling advertisers to get greater efficiency out of every CTV impression they buy,” said Benjamin Vandegrift, SVP, Measurement Strategy & Innovation at VAB. “While attention on YouTube tends to underperform, Premium Video Platforms deliver elevated attention across session durations, which unlocks deeper engagement and greater brand storytelling opportunities for marketers.”