Smash that replay button: A 2024 recap of YouTube on TV
Dec 11, 2024 – [[read-time]] minute read
The living room was the place to be for entertainment this year: We watched J Balvin and Lana Del Rey rock Coachella, tuned into Chicken Shop Date with Amelia Dimoldenberg and everyone from Andrew Garfield to Elmo, and caught up on our favorite podcast interviews – all from the comfort of home.
And we weren't alone. Viewers globally streamed over 1 billion hours of content daily on their TVs, with creators right here with us — bringing their A-game to the big screen.
Since 2024 was all about the living room, we’re sharing updates and diving deep into how content thrived on TV this past year.
Sports and kids content shine on the big screen
Content that viewers traditionally watch on TV, like sports and kids programs, gained momentum on YouTube this year.
In fact, we’ve seen watchtime of sports content on TV grow over 30% year over year, as users visit YouTube to get their lineup of clips, highlights, and post-game interviews, all in one place.
We also began piloting Watch With, our newest feature that enables creators to provide live commentary, analysis, and real time reactions to games and events, for their audience. It transforms your favorite creators into sportscasters! While the feature is still in its early days, get ready for this experience coming soon to a TV near you.
Sports lovers deserve the best seat in the house — which means more choice and more ways to watch. Stay tuned for more unique-to-YouTube, game-changing experiences that will benefit not just fans, but all our viewers in 2025.
The fun doesn’t stop there! We know families love YouTube too, and our teams have also been hard at work to make the TV experience more seamless, safer and supportive for parents and younger viewers.
Families continued to watch together on TVs in 2024. In fact, the Ms. Rachel channel had one of the highest watchtimes on TVs across YouTube channels in the last year.
After rolling out an option to easily switch between YouTube and YouTube Kids profiles on TV directly from the YouTube app last year, we heard feedback from parents wanting better control. We’re now introducing a new parent code feature that gives parents the power to prevent kids from accessing content that might not be age-appropriate. Improved controls = greater peace of mind for families.
All eyes (and ears) on podcasts and creators
Viewers watched over 400M hours of podcasts monthly on living room devices.
Podcast watching is growing rapidly on TVs (yep — picture that!). Viewers watched over 400M hours of podcasts monthly on living room devices. They’ve been tuning into podcasts similarly to how one would tune into a late-night talk show.
The lines between audio-only podcasts and videos have blurred, and more creators are evolving to a multimedia storytelling approach to deepen connection with their audiences on YouTube.
Check out Bailey Sarian, for example. Bailey’s love of history, true crime, and makeup inspired her to launch a murder mystery podcast paired with makeup tutorials to her more than 7.5 million subscribers. For the true crime aficionados out there, grab your makeup brushes and tune in on Mondays.
Our creators continue to redefine entertainment for the next generation and find incredible success on the biggest screen in the house. Take Michelle Khare, whose recent premiere of "Challenge Accepted: 90 Black Belt" racked up 2.3 million views in its first few weeks, with more than 40% of those views coming from the living room – talk about must-see TV!
This surge in living room viewership is no accident. The share of videos uploaded to YouTube in 4K is up by over 35% year over year1, as creators prioritize high-quality viewing experiences that truly shine on TV screens. And that investment is paying off: the number of creators making a majority of their revenue from TV is up more than 30% year over year.
To further fuel this growth and support creators, we recently made it even easier for viewers to subscribe to their favorite channels while watching on TV by adding the subscribe button directly to the video player. Early tests of this streamlined button show more than a 40% increase in net subscribers through TVs2.
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While this year is coming to a close, our journey in the living room is just beginning. We can’t wait for you to see what’s next as we continue to bring the magic of YouTube to the living room in 2025.
1. excluding Shorts, as of October 2024
2. as of September 2024