TVs Outshine Mobile: YouTube’s Surprising Shift to Primary Viewing Platform by 2025

The Future of YouTube: A Look at the Platform’s Big Bets for 2025

As YouTube celebrates its 20th anniversary, CEO Neal Mohan shares his vision for the platform’s future. In his latest blog post, he outlined the "big bets" for 2025, which shed light on the platform’s plans for TV, monetization, and AI.

TV: The New King of YouTube Viewing

Did you know that TV has surpassed mobile as the primary device for YouTube viewing in the US, with viewers watching over 1 billion hours of content daily? This shift is a significant change, and YouTube is adapting to provide an interactive experience that includes Shorts, podcasts, and live streams.

New Features for Creators and Viewers

In 2025, YouTube will roll out new features to improve the TV experience, including:

1. Watch With: Creators can provide live commentary and real-time reactions to games and events, a feature already being tested with NFL content.
2. Multiview and Key Plays: YouTube will continue to improve fan-favorite features and bring new benefits to YouTube Premium subscribers.

Monetization: New Revenue Streams for Creators

The platform is also focusing on monetization, with new revenue streams emerging:

1. Shopping Recommendations: This feature is becoming a key revenue stream for many creators.
2. Channel Memberships: YouTube saw a 40% increase in channel memberships last year.
3. Advertising and YouTube Premium: More than 50% of channels earning five figures or more on YouTube make money from sources other than ads and YouTube Premium.

Podcasts: The Next Frontier

As the preferred podcast listening service in the US, YouTube is committed to supporting podcasters:

• New tools: To improve monetization for creators and make it easier to discover podcasts.
• Integration with YouTube Music and Premium: To provide creators with more opportunities to grow their audience.

AI: A Game-Changer for Creators

Creators are excited about the potential of AI to help with production, and YouTube is exploring ways to integrate AI into its services:

• Veo 2: A video generation model that will be integrated into the Dream Screen app soon.
• Auto Dubbing: A feature that offers one-click video translation into multiple languages, set to be available for all creators in the YouTube Partner Program later this month.

With these "big bets" in place, YouTube is poised to continue evolving and adapting to the changing needs of its users and creators. As the platform looks to the future, it’s clear that TV, monetization, and AI will play a significant role in shaping its growth.