Google’s YouTube might be a competitive force to traditional media, including in the living room, but that doesn’t mean legacy players are ignoring or strictly trying to beat back the video platform’s might.
Instead, many are turning to YouTube as a place to reach and engage broader (and often younger) audiences and promote their premium sports highlights, TV and film entertainment clips and trailers, and other content like kids and news programming
With that in mind, we’re excited to bring StreamTV Insiders the latest installment of our exclusive monthly ranker, courtesy of Chartbeat, that tracks the top 10 U.S. traditional media channels on YouTube each month based on unique domestic viewers. “Traditional media” includes TV networks, movie studios, programs and network-owned streaming services.
Be sure to check out earlier installments of our monthly Traditional Media YouTube Ranker, and read on for the full Top 10 and to learn who took the crown for attracting audiences on YouTube in August.
News channels dominate the August Top 10
As summer came to a close, July’s sports highlight-fueled YouTube leaders, namely Fox Sports, dropped from the rankings as high-profile celebrity deaths instead drove viewership on news-focused YouTube channels from traditional media companies.
The news category accounted for six of the top 10 YouTube channels from traditional media companies in August.
Disney’s ABC News, Fox News, Warner Bros.’ CNN and NBCUniversal’s NBC News nabbed spots three through six in the ranking.
On YouTube, companies’ news channels shared coverage of celebrity deaths including Dolly Parton and Hayden Panatierre, with several of those landing among the most-watched traditional media videos for the month.
Fox Sports, which benefited in June and July from World Cup highlights on YouTube, was absent from the Top 10 in August, but its Fox Nation YouTube channel jumped up to fourth place as domestic unique viewers grew 12% month-over-month to 28.9 million.
Others in the news category, meanwhile, saw viewership grow to secure a place on the list from Chartbeat for the first time.
That includes Versant’s MS Now, which saw domestic viewers increase 15% month-over-month to 20.8 million. And Entertainment Tonight joined the list in the tenth spot with 16 million unique U.S. viewers.
Per Chartbeat, Parton coverage was also part of Entertainment Tonight’s 20% month-over-month rise in August.
Disney gets second summer podium sweep
Notably, YouTube channels owned by Disney once again swept the podium. Disney Junior, Disney+ and ABC News captured the top three spots – repeating dominance among traditional media on the video platform that was also seen in June.
With nearly 50 million unique domestic viewers, kids-focused Disney Junior secured pole position as the top YouTube channel in our ranker in August, despite a 6% month-over-month decline.
Disney+, however, saw notable 61% growth in U.S. YouTube viewers, propelling the channel to No. 2 with 43.5 million viewers.
Per Chartbeat, Disney+ put significant focus on Camp Rock 3 in the lead-up to its Aug. 13 release, helping drive the boost seen on YouTube.
And as with news, kids’ programming remained popular, with Disney Junior staying atop the chart, while Sesame Street joined at No. 8, after a 12% month-over-month unique viewer increase.
See the full Top 10 chart below and be sure to check back next month to see which traditional media-owned channels captured the most viewership on YouTube in September.
