Key Points
- Older streamers are flocking to YouTube for long-form TV shows and movies, according to Ampere Analysis.
- The trend has accelerated adoption of YouTube in the homes of streaming consumers who are looking for entertainment, news and sports across different platforms.
- In countries like Brazil and Mexico where broadcasters have been slow to launch streaming apps, YouTube plays an outsized role in connecting networks with streaming audiences.
YouTube is experiencing a surge in viewership as older audiences flock to the free video sharing platform to find full-length television shows and movies, according to a report released on Monday.
The report, from Ampere Analytics, said 85 percent of online users are now watching content on YouTube every month, and nearly one in five users are turning to the platform for long-form content like TV episodes and films — a notable shift for a service that once limited uploads to no more than 10 minutes each.
Older viewers between the ages of 35 and 64 years old are driving adoption of YouTube at a breakneck pace, Ampere said. Engagement peaks within that age group, and households that have young children present are also reporting an uptick in time spent on the platform.
“YouTube’s vast audience makes it an attractive partner for content owners seeking to monetize their catalogues and reach beyond their regular audience,” said Ed Ludlow, a senior analyst at Ampere. “But that same scale means viewing behaviors vary widely across demographic groups — it’s crucial that content owners understand who they’re really engaging when distributing content on the platform.”
YouTube’s film and TV viewers tend to be “content super-consumers,” engaging with more genres than the general online population. This makes them an appealing target for studios and distributors aiming to expand their reach without relying solely on subscription-based platforms.
It also explains why, in some markets, YouTube has sought to court traditional media producers, like broadcast television shows, cable networks, news channels and sports leagues, in an effort to bring more traditional TV content to the platform — and why parent company Google has thrown its support behind YouTube TV, a streaming pay TV service that offers many of the same broadcast and cable networks as cable and satellite platforms.
While it is easy to consider the trend prominent in the U.S., Ampere reports users in Europe, the Middle East and Asia are among those who are using YouTube to watch traditional, long-form content on a regular basis.
India leads with 32 percent of users watching films and TV shows on the platform, followed by Saudi Arabia at 20 percent. The United Kingdom sits at 12 percent, while Sweden records the lowest share at 7 percent. (The United States falls somewhere on the lower end, with 15 percent of users watching films and TV shows.)
The findings are based on various consumer surveys involving 56,000 adults across 29 countries and territories.
Ampere said geography plays a large role in whether users gravitate to YouTube for long-form content or are able to satiate their entertainment and informational needs through platforms offered by traditional broadcasters and networks. In places like Brazil and Mexico, where broadcasters are only now starting to offer their own online catch-up services and streaming apps, YouTube plays a bigger role in forging relationships between professional content distributors and users, Ampere said.
Brazil and Mexico are among the countries where YouTube viewership on smart TVs has skyrocketed in recent years, Ampere said — which might present a long-term challenge if networks want to recapture certain audiences for themselves.
