YouTube continues to dominate U.S. TV viewing with a record 11.1% share of total television watch time in December 2024, according to Nielsen's Media Distributor Gauge data. This represents a 7% increase from the previous month, placing YouTube ahead of major competitors Netflix (8.5%) and Prime Video (4%).


The 11.1% share comes from the core YouTube platform alone, excluding YouTube TV's linear streaming service which has over 8 million U.S. subscribers. When including YouTube TV viewership, the platform's total television market share is even higher.

This growth is particularly noteworthy in the context of video podcasting, where YouTube has already surpassed Spotify as the leading platform in the U.S. Users watched over 400 million hours of podcasts monthly on living room devices in 2024, demonstrating YouTube's strong position in the video content space.

Spotify faces significant challenges in catching up to YouTube's video dominance, despite its recent initiatives:

• Launch of a video-podcast Partner Program
• Revenue sharing with eligible creators
• Increased focus on video content including concert specials and TV shows

However, Spotify's video expansion has encountered several obstacles:

• Content moderation challenges
• Unauthorized media uploads
• Difficulty in classifying authentic video podcasts
• Need for expanded content safety teams

The data suggests YouTube's leadership in TV viewing and video podcasting continues to strengthen, while competitors work to establish their position in the increasingly competitive video content market.

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