The Latest YouTube Stats on When, Where, and What People Watch

Myth: When people watch YouTube on their mobile devices, it's during the day and "on the go"

Reality: The majority of watch time on YouTube is mobile, yet many marketers still believe mobile viewing translates to short, daytime, on-the-go sessions. In fact, when it comes to YouTube viewing behavior, mobile is a lot like TV: The world watches at home, during prime time, and on horizontally oriented screens.

On mobile alone, in an average week, YouTube reaches more adults 18+ during prime time than any cable network does.

3 in 4

adults report watching YouTube at home on their mobile devices.

Home mobile YouTube viewing occurs primarily during prime time.

7 in 10

people default to horizontal viewing when watching videos on their phones.

2 X

YouTube mobile users are 2X as likely to pay close attention while watching YouTube compared to TV users while watching TV.

Myth: YouTube is only for watching viral videos

Reality: People get lost spending time on YouTube for a lot of reasons. Whether they want to learn, laugh, catch up on pop culture, jam out to their favorite music, or lean back for a show, people can find whatever they're looking for on YouTube.

Almost 4X as many people prefer watching video on YouTube as on social platforms that are less video-centric.

The top two reasons viewers watch YouTube are "to relax" and "to feel entertained."

The top four content categories watched by YouTube users are comedy, music, entertainment/pop culture, and "how to."

of YouTube users watched YouTube to help make a purchase decision.