SAN FRANCISCO—New data from Tubular Labs indicates that short videos under 60 seconds in length are the best performing content on YouTube that originates from the top five U.S. broadcast and cable properties.
The new Tubular Labs study found that shorts accounted for 34.8% of YouTube views for the top five U.S. broadcast and cable properties from Sept. 2022 through April 2023, up from 27% during the same period from 2021 to 2022.
In contrast to the growing viewing share of shorts on YouTube from the major broadcast and cable networks, videos running 20 minutes or longer accounted for just 9% of views for these companies in that stretch, vs. 11.6% the year before.
The new findings are notable in the run-up to the Upfronts. As brands continue to shift traditional TV ad dollars to digital video, these metrics from Tubular Labs could aid buyers and sellers with omnichannel media buys across the video landscape with insights on how video from major broadcast and cable properties performs on social media.
The data also provides unique insight into the content life cycle, and shows how certain shows or content categories may have longer staying power with specific audiences, the researchers said.
In contrast to the growing viewing share of shorts on YouTube from the major broadcast and cable networks, videos running 20 minutes or longer accounted for just 9% of views for these companies in that stretch, vs. 11.6% the year before.
The study also found that TV News and Telenovelas saw higher viewership compared to a year earlier.
TV news shows climbed significantly in YouTube viewership this TV season, up from just 3.5% in the 2021-22 TV season time range, to 8.9% in the 2022-23 stretch.
Telenovelas also were seen to skyrocket, as views around these programs increased nearly 21x year-over-year for these media companies.
In contrast, talk shows and reality TV content both showed year-over-year decreases in share of TV show-related views, with talk shows seeing 15.7% of views (down from 22.1% in 2021-22) and reality TV pulling in 10.3% of views (down from 13.7% the previous year), the company reported.
Basketball continued its lead as the dominant sporting category on YouTube, accounting for 37% of sports-related video views for the top five U.S. broadcast and cable companies, up from 29.7% the year prior, the study found.
Other increases were seen in soccer videos – with the World Cup helping grow videos significantly year-over-year, from 11% of sports videos to 20.4% in 2022-23 – and combat sports that saw nearly a 3% increase from 4.6% of sports views year-over-year across top broadcast media creators, Tubular Labs reported.
The researchers examined YouTube views with a U.S. audience for the top five U.S. broadcast media properties from Sept. 2022 - Aug. 2023, including Fox Corp., Comcast, The Walt Disney Co., Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
More information is available at www.tubularlabs.com.
