5 ways media companies are growing audiences and revenue on YouTube

1. Build multiple streams of YouTube income

On YouTube, media companies have many flexible ways to earn money. Just like millions of creators globally, they receive the majority of the ad revenue their videos generate. They can also sell premium ad slots directly to advertisers when that fits their strategy, or set up Channel Memberships so viewers can pay to subscribe in exchange for exclusive perks and content. Crucially, companies can use auto-dubbing tools to make their content scale globally — unlocking even more ad revenue — and use tools like Content ID to automatically find, protect, and monetize their uploaded intellectual property.

A prime example is the UK's Goalhanger, home to hit podcasts like The Rest is History and The Rest is Politics. With 63 million watch hours so far this year and 1.4 million subscribers across their channels, they've unlocked significant revenue through the strong community they've built on YouTube — with nearly a quarter of revenues coming from Channel Memberships.

2. Share archive shows to help new viewers discover them

Sharing select full episodes, live events, and older, archived shows with YouTube’s global audience of billions. This helps new viewers find your content and often sends them back to the broadcaster's own subscription apps and traditional television.

For example, France Télévisions makes available on YouTube its national and local news programs such as "13h" and "20h," as well as flagship current affairs shows such as “Envoyé Spécial” and "L'Heure de Vérité. As a result of this new strategy franceinfo YouTube channel generated 110M views in September alone and surpassed the 1 million subscribers mark. Similarly, the iconic Dutch series Fabeltjeskrant is bringing all 1,600+ of its episodes to the platform, restored, enhanced and dubbed, so new generations around the world can discover it.

3. Use viewer feedback to test new ideas

Before committing major budgets, savvy producers try out new concepts and pilot episodes, paying close attention to YouTube Studio’s real-time video analytics with second-by-second audience retention data. It’s what the most successful creators do, refining formats, tone and content based on viewer feedback.

Filmmaker Curry Barker took the world by storm with the release of Obsession, which brought in over $100 million on its opening weekend. Barker used his YouTube comedy channel as a real-time testing ground, analyzing second-by-second viewer retention data to refine his storytelling before directing the blockbuster.

4. Work with creators to build highly-engaged fan groups

In news, sport and entertainment, where media companies combine their institutional credibility with the authentic voice of creators, they often gain a bigger, more engaged audience.

Take Dutch national broadcaster NPO. Instead of adapting a TV format for YouTube, they backed The FOMO Show with creators Daan Boom, Tobias Camman and Jasper Demollin, reaching millions of young fans and winning a top television award. Now the creators are regular faces of their own streaming platform, NPO Start.

5. Tailor your shows for YouTube’s living room audience

Over 1 billion hours of YouTube content are watched on smart TVs daily.

Media companies such as Banijay and BBC are using features like Shows to package some of their most popular content such as Mr. Bean and BBC Earth for these viewers. And music festival Coachella uses the Multiview feature so fans can watch up to four musical acts at the same time — creating the music festival experience that they want from their couch.

Forward-thinking broadcasters who are already adopting some of these strategies are doing so in a complementary way to their existing businesses. Because this is not about moving away from traditional television; it is about building a collaborative approach where traditional broadcasters and YouTube work together to grow the entire industry.