Accounting for a personal best 12.7% of all U.S. TV watching in April, according to Nielsen, it’s no secret that YouTube has transitioned from mobile video sensation to the most-used app in connected TV.
Along with that evolution has come a change in consumer perception about the very nature of the YouTube platform. Looper Insights recently polled 1,115 U.S. consumers, asking them if they view YouTube as a “realistic destination” for long-form movies and TV shows. Sixty-six percent of consumers indicated at least some level of agreement with that contention. Nearly half of surveyed consumers, 47%, said the living room is now the main place they watch YouTube.
The research company also asked the same question of a panel of 65 media executives, with 88% answering in the affirmative. As for whether they’d consider releasing long-form premium content on YouTube themselves, 86% of the executive panel indicated a willingness to do so, with 30% saying they were actively exploring the option.
“Once only considered a short-form or creator-led powerhouse, YouTube has grown to become like television — across TV screens, tablets and phones — with a growing focus on films, series, and longer-form entertainment,” Looper Insights wrote in its report, titled “How YouTube Took Over Your TV.”
“The scale is significant,” the research company added. “In just one week, the top 10 YouTube channels generated a combined 6.7 billion views. One channel alone — Fufu Squishy — sees an average of 800 million weekly views, far surpassing peak numbers for many major streaming series.”
Notably, while 61% of surveyed U.S. consumers already include YouTube in their streaming routines, Looper found, most don’t see the platform as offering the same level of premium content that Netflix or Disney+ do.
But the research company says that perception is “changing fast,” with 52% of surveyed TV watchers saying they would consider replacing SVODs like Netflix or Disney+ with the free ad-supported YouTube service. Eighty-five percent of executives polled, meanwhile, said they envision the Alphabet video giant soon displacing premium subscription streaming offerings in American homes.
Finally, the research company found that YouTube’s most high-profile creator/influencers don’t tend to transition well to premium streaming platforms. Fifty-four percent of surveyed consumers and 74% of media execs said high-profile “YouTubers” like Molly-Mae, Liza Koshy and Dude Perfect — brands that have expanded into platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Disney+ — are better off sticking to YouTube.