By: Nick Gambino
For the first time since the launch of the video streaming platform in 2005, more users in the U.S. are watching YouTube on their TV than their mobile device.
“TV has surpassed mobile and is now the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S. (by watch time), and according to Nielsen, YouTube has been #1 in streaming watch time in the U.S. for two years,” Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, said in a blog post announcing the achievement.
This is a big shift. Users initially were watching YouTube on their computer as that was the only place it was available when it first started. But with the advent of the YouTube smartphone app, the mobile experience quickly became the norm. It was easy to watch quick videos on the fly.
As Google kept introducing new offerings on the service from sports to live TV, we started seeing a further shift. YouTube was no longer just the streamer you would go to for short viral videos or how-tos. That kind of content made its way to Instagram and TikTok. YouTube is now where you go for longer form content that other social apps simply haven’t mastered. And for longer videos, TV is best.
With this information, YouTube is figuring out new ways to allow users to engage with YouTube on their TV. A big part of YouTube isn’t just the video itself but the interactions and comments section. That’s a bit hard to engage with if you’re watching on your TV.
It looks like they’re planning to allow users to use their phones to comment or engage with a video that’s playing on their TV. It would be a kind of real-time handoff situation. They might even add a purchase option to buy what you see much like the TikTok Shop or old-time QVC (is that still a thing?)
There’s a lot YouTube is working on in 2025 and unsurprisingly that includes AI tools for creators and even an option to provide commentary or reactions on live TV. This should only increase the popularity of YouTube on TV.
