YouTube says it now has bigger 18-49 audience on mobile alone than US cable TV networks
CEO of Youtube Susan Wojcicki speaks at Brandcast event in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/FilmMagic for YouTube)
YouTube celebrated its tenth birthday with a clear pitch to US media buyers: it now reaches more people in the coveted 18-49 demographic on mobile alone than any American cable TV network through broadcast channels.
Last night the video platform put on one of the biggest Newfront events at this year’s festival, with more than 2,000 people attending its Brandcast show at Madison Square Garden, with CEO Susan Wojcicki pushing the strength of the platform on mobile.
“Last year, we announced YouTube reached more people between the ages of 18-49 than any cable network,” she told the audience. “So, good news is according to Nielsen, that’s still true… but this year, our mobile growth has been so strong in the US that YouTube now reaches more 18-49 year olds on mobile alone than any cable network.
“Our users and fans and people all over are commenting, sharing, texting, tweeting, liking and coming back for more. That’s one of the reasons the number of people visiting YouTube daily is up by over 40 percent year-on-year.”
The Brandcast event has since been imported to other markets including Australia, as YouTube’s owner Google looks to monetise the platform and draw more advertising dollars away from traditional TV networks, as evidenced with its GroupM deal in Australia last year.
Last night’s US event saw Robert Kyncl, head of content and business operations for YouTube, making predictions that are likely to impact other markets outside the US.
“With cord-cutting gaining momentum, I predict that within five years, the majority of advertising-supported video will be delivered either on mobile devices or mediated through them,” said Kyncl.
“That means, that in the not-so distant future, ad-supported video equals mobile video. And that shift requires partnering with a new set of players who are as successful today on mobile as Hollywood has been in the living room.”
Kyncl also trumpeted its mobile growth noting that it was strongest within the younger demographic.
“Last year our total watchtime grew fifty percent, but mobile watchtime grew even faster, at 90 percent year on year. And the audience you care about the most, millennials, are more than twice as likely to choose to watch a mobile video on YouTube than anywhere else.”
Google also rolled out a number of publishers such as Buzzfeed, who also presented at Newfronts earlier in the week, to talk about how Youtube was informing their revenue strategy.
Ze Frank president of Buzzfeed Motion Pictures told the audience that they were now releasing over 50 videos a week to Buzzfeed’s YouTube channels and had just passed five billion total YouTube views, with 60 per cent of their video audience now on mobile.
“We are a multi-platform company, but YouTube is still the centre of how we think about how content spreads, how content impacts audience and how modern brands are built,” said Frank.
Nic Christensen in New York
