Over 20 mn Indians stream YouTube content on connected TVs, up 40% YoY

With people spending more time at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 20 million Indians streamed their favourite YouTube content on their connected televisions, a growth of over 40 per cent since May last year.

The Google-owned video platform also saw high growth in watch times of cricket, comedy, beauty, and educational content through connected TV, underscoring the increasing propensity of users to tune into YouTube from their living rooms, the firm said at its largest advertising event called YouTube Brandcast 2021.

Overall, 85 per cent viewers used the platform more than ever since the outbreak of Covid-19, and 93 per cent of YouTube viewers prefer watching content in Indic languages, said Satya Raghavan, Director, YouTube Partnerships.

YouTube’s growing use amongst both urban and rural audiences, subscriber engagement with the vibrant ecosystem of YouTube creators, and expanding content categories catering to the interests and language preferences of users across geographies are coming together to pave the way for brands to leverage the platform for incremental reach, creative collaborations, and localization for business impact.

With 85 per cent of video viewers coming to YouTube to learn or improve their skills, and channels such as ‘StudyIQ’ and ‘Don’t Memorise’ among many others garnering sizable subscription bases, increasingly, YouTube is empowering one of the largest learner communities in the country.

In line with this, watch times of career videos have also grown by more than 60 per cent in May 2021 when compared to the same time last year. The platform is now experiencing the emergence and growth of several new verticals within learning such as farming, finance, food and engineering. Furthermore, existing verticals like technology, beauty and comedy are evolving to serve hyper-local content in regional languages.

With YouTube users increasingly utilizing the platform for product awareness, research and demos, brands are tapping into this unique cross-section of demand and engagement to target their customers where they spend time.

Today, more than 140 YouTube channels have over 10 million subscribers. In addition, YouTube creators are also leveraging new formats of personalized video content, such as YouTube Shorts, to unlock imaginative ways to tell their stories.

Marking a year since the YouTube Shorts Beta was first launched in India, the number of Indian channels using creation tools more than tripled since the beginning of December as creators continue to create engaging content and reach new audiences.

As of July 2021, videos in YouTube’s new Shorts player – which helps people around the world watch short videos on YouTube – are receiving over 15 billion daily views, driving greater discovery, fan engagement and monetisation opportunities for creators. Business Standard