YouTube Shorts reaches over 2 billion monthly users, surpassing TikTok and Instagram Reels :
Google said today that more than 2 billion logged-in monthly users are watching YouTube Shorts, giving it an edge over competitors like TikTok and Instagram Reels. This number is up from 1.5 billion monthly logged-in users for YouTube Shorts announced last year.
During its Q2 2023 results, Google also said that YouTube brought in $7.67 billion through ads, beating analyst estimates and registering a growth of 4% year-on-year. The company is also bringing 30-second unskippable ads to its premium ad offering YouTube Select.
The company is focusing on multiple offerings through YouTube apart from ads. In April, it started offering pre-sales of the NFL Sunday Ticket subscription, which will stream in the Fall. YouTube has also reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to offer a Max-NFL Sunday TIcket bundle on YouTube TV.
A lot of people are watching short-form videos on YouTube after nearly two years of YouTube giving creators lucrative cash bonuses and expanding features to be increasingly like TikTok.
1.5 billion users who are logged in to an account :
1.5 billion monthly users who are logged in to an account are watching short-form videos on YouTube’s TikTok clone, the company announced today. That’s compared to around 2 billion logged-in users who visit the platform monthly as of April.
Launched in 2020, YouTube Shorts is the platform’s answer to TikTok’s ascent. Since then, Shorts have gradually made their way across the platform, including in recommendations, and the company has added additional features mimicking TikTok, like sampling. As of April, Shorts were racking up 30 billion views a day, according to Google.
The company is focusing on multiple offerings through YouTube apart from ads :
The company is focusing on multiple offerings through YouTube apart from ads. In April, it started offering pre-sales of the NFL Sunday Ticket subscription, which will stream in the Fall. YouTube has also reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to offer a Max-NFL Sunday TIcket bundle on YouTube TV.
Google said that it is reaching 150 million people on Connected TV screens in the U.S. with signs of global growth. Last year, the company announced it had 80 million paid users across YouTube Premium and Music, but didn’t provide an update on the number during the Q2 2023 earnings call. Last week, YouTube raised the prices of the individual premium plan by $2 and the Music plan by $1in the U.S.
How is YouTube aiming for even greater goal?
A new initiative by YouTube to pay Shorts creators a portion of ad income was launched on February 1. More artists might be encouraged to produce original content for the platform as a result. The video site also started experimenting with commerce and affiliate marketing services with Shorts in November
Philipp Schindler, chief business officer of Google, stated that the company is “pleased with our continuing progress in early monetization” during the results call. YouTube is “prioritising continued growth in Shorts engagement and monetization,” according to the company’s Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat.
The top brass at Meta listed Instagram Reels and the company’s algorithmic recommendation system as its main goals in the upcoming months, echoing the attitude expressed by Google’s executives.
