YouTube watch time and reach is surging in Australia
Contrary to what the know-it-all kid says next door, YouTube’s dominance in the streaming space is showing no signs of diminishing.
The giant user-generated platform’s reach and watch time is surging in Australia, according to numbers presented at YouTube’s annual Brandcast summit in Sydney this week.
Nielsen Australia’s head of media Monique Perry revealed the service reaches 14.6 million Australians each month with an average watch time of 20 hours and 59 minutes, according to a report published by AdNews, with younger audiences proving particularly hungry for content.
According to the findings, 87% of 18-39s spend almost 27 hours glued to YouTube each month, with a similar band of 25-54s logged on for about 23 hours. Older demographics are also chewing up time on YouTube with some 60% of consumers aged 55 and over found to spend 12 hours and 17 minutes each month.
And in a nod to its career-altering propositions for the creative community, the number of Australian creators with more than 1 million subscribers, an elite circle that includes Troye Sivan, has more than doubled in the past year to 65.
According to AdNews, Google managing director Jason Pellegrino set a “conciliatory tone” with his presentation. “This year was less loud and brash, more humble and a promise to listen,” the new title enthuses.
What the speakers didn’t address, however, was the smoking hot issue of the “value gap” and the sums generated for music creators and investors.
Some 1,800 delegates rolled up to this year’s event, which Google stages to showcase YouTube’s suite of offerings to marketers in these parts. “We need to do a better job to control ad placement on our platform. We’ve worked with you to make changes to our controls, our enforcement and our policies to make the platform even stronger,” Pellegrino said from the stage, Mumbrella reports.
“You have all taken the time to work with us to find out what works best for your brands. These conversations have not only made our relationship stronger but they have enabled us to more deeply understand your brands. It’s helped make YouTube a better place for advertisers, users and creators.”
Just last month, YouTube reported 1.5 billion monthly worldwide users and issued a handful of updates that the streaming powerhouse said would introduce a “new level of functionality and a more consistent look” for consumers. Earlier this month, YouTube’s global head of music Lyor Cohen told the MusicMatters conference in Singapore his mission at the company was to help break the artists for the labels. To increase the advertising CPMs for their content and to build a subscription business that shows the industry that our funnel converts.”
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.