Key Points
- Google sent cease-and-desist letters to Barb and Kantar Media, halting UK measurement of YouTube creator content on TVs.
- The move limits insight into what audiences actually watch on YouTube compared with broadcasters like the BBC.
- Advertisers face growing opacity as YouTube claims TV dominance while withholding detailed content-level data.
When British streamers use YouTube on their TVs, what exactly are they watching?
It would appear that is a question that YouTube’s parent company Google doesn’t want anyone to know.
The technology giant sent a cease-and-desist letter to audience measurement firm Barb and market researcher Kantar Media this month, arguing their measurement of creator-driven content on YouTube went beyond an agreement signed last summer.
That agreement gave Barb and Kantar Media a significant amount of data relating to how British households were streaming content from YouTube on their TV sets, and allowed both firms to evaluate that data against traditional networks like the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
Barb called the arrangement a “landmark initiative” that would allow advertisers to better understand how their campaigns were reaching audiences across apps and services. Some of that measurement was used as fodder in recent news reports that suggested YouTube had overtaken the BBC as the biggest content platform on TV in the United Kingdom, though the reports were based on three-minute viewing habits.
It appears that data rankled officials at Google, which have never publicly released specific data about how its creator content performs relative to other apps and services.
Kantar Media received a cease-and-desist from Google’s attorneys arguing the measurement of its content violated the agreement reached last summer, according to the Financial Times, which was the first to report on the matter.
Barb and Kantar Media have put that measurement on ice while their attorneys evaluate the merits of Google’s accusations. No formal complaint has been brought in court.
Nielsen, a measurement firm that is similar to Barb, routinely lists YouTube as the top app used on American TV sets and compares the amount of time spent with YouTube to broadcast and cable networks and other streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video and Disney Plus.
That comparison is published on a monthly basis in two reports: The Gauge, which tracks individual streaming apps and the broadcast and cable sectors as a whole, and the Media Distributor Gauge, which evaluates consumption on TV by company.
While Nielsen offers a significant amount of information on what people are watching across measured apps like Netflix and Prime Video, it doesn’t offer the same level of insight about what people are streaming on YouTube, despite claims that the app is the most-used on TVs.
The lack of information makes it difficult to know whether Americans are streaming premium entertainment, news and sports clips from traditional TV programs on YouTube or independently-produced, creator-driven content. That distinction matters as YouTube tries to position itself as a top-tier TV service in pursuit of advertising dollars from large companies and Madison Avenue firms.
On Tuesday, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wrote that YouTube “has been number one in streaming watch-time in the U.S. for nearly three years,” citing Nielsen data.
“We’re the new TV because YouTube Creators are the new prime-time,” Mohan affirmed. “(It’s) great to see more brands and advertisers choosing YouTube to meet audiences where they are: the living room.”
On social media, Mohan linked to a Business Insider article that carried the headline: “The line between TV ads and YouTube ads is getting very blurry.” The irony that YouTube deliberately obfuscates what people are watching on the platform was apparently lost in the post.
