Are YouTube channels becoming the new specialty TV? That’s one of the theories posited by Toronto’s Solutions Research Group (SRG) after crunching through the latest wave of data from its ongoing YouTube study.
The study, which dates back to 2012, noted continued subscription growth for YouTube channels operating in traditional specialty TV strongholds such as fashion and beauty, cooking, health and family.
SRG president Kaan Yigit said YouTube videos focusing on lifestyle content are gaining traction as specialty services like Food Network Canada and HGTV abandon that type of content in favour of more competition-based reality shows.
“It’s like a format change in radio,” said Yigit. “When you change your format you leave it open for somebody else to come into your territory.”
Longer videos gaining in popularity
The SRG research found 80% of online Canadians watch YouTube content in a typical month, with 25% of respondents indicating they watched a video in the previous 12 hours.
The sweet spot for YouTube videos appears to be between 3-5 minutes, with 32% of respondents saying that was the length of the last video they watched.
However, the number of people watching videos longer than 30 minutes has doubled in the past year, to 16% from 8% in Q4 2013. The average length of the last YouTube video watched has risen to 16.9 minutes from 11.8 minutes last year.
Yigit said the trend is a reflection of the continued emergence of so-called “key personalities” offering more “Triple A content” that is both highly engaging and features TV-quality production values.
“You’re seeing a bit of a migration of the kids and cat stuff to Facebook,” he said. “It’s not just ‘I saw some guy make lasagne.’ They’re actually talking about a noted chef or somebody they’re a fan of,” he said.
While it’s commonly accepted that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter contribute to YouTube traffic, the majority of respondents (53%) said the last video they watched was the result of a search within YouTube, while 18% said they saw a link posted on Facebook and 11% indicated they received an email link from a friend.
Ad viewing on the rise too
Advertising on YouTube appears to be more prevalent, with only 29% of respondents indicating there was no ad surrounding the video content they wanted to watch, down from 32% in the corresponding year-earlier period and 44% in 2012.
More than a quarter (27%) of respondents watched pre-roll ads to completion, even though 10% of respondents indicated they thought of skipping the ad but didn’t. Seventy per cent of respondents said they skipped the ad as soon as they were allowed, while 3% said they skipped the ad when they figured out what it was for.
Yigit said since many YouTube ads are precisely targeted (a person searching for an adventure hiking video, for example, might be served an ad for MEC) the ad completion rates are significant. “If 27% of that audience sticks around to watch it, that’s a huge win for the advertiser,” he said.
Subscriptions growing
Approximately 24% of online Canadians – an estimated 6.5 million people – indicated they have a subscription to a YouTube channel or the feed(s) of specific people making YouTube videos.
Music is the most popular category, with 39% of people who indicated they subscribe to a YouTube channel saying they subscribe to a music-related channel.
Nearly one quarter (24%) of respondents said they subscribe to a beauty and fashion channel, up from 14% a year earlier, while 19% said they subscribe to a cooking and health channel. Ten per cent also indicated they subscribe to a non-English channel.
The vast majority of YouTube channel subscribers (89%) are under the age of 50, with the average age now 30.9 years. The average household income for channel subscribers is $68,127, while 57% indicated they have children under the age of 18 in the home.
The survey results are based on interviews with 1,000 Canadians 12+.
