The trend: YouTube dominated in many areas in 2025, including connected TV (CTV) engagement, ad spend, and streaming time.

Let’s recap some of the company’s achievements—and where we expect it to grow in 2026.

• In February, CEO Neal Mohan announced that YouTube users watch content on TVs more than on any other device, including smartphones.
• By September, YouTube accounted for 12.6% of all time spent streaming in the US, up 18.9% YoY and greater than any other streamer, per Nielsen.
• In May, YouTube introduced a low-cost Premium Lite tier for $7.99 per month that will likely help it capture a greater share of viewership.
• At the end of Q3, Google reported $10.26 billion in revenues from YouTube ads during the quarter, up 15% YoY from $8.92 billion.
• Throughout the year, YouTube introduced a revamped TV app, multi-channel viewing, and improved playback tools for TV viewing.

Why it matters: YouTube’s momentum in 2025 marks rising CTV relevance, competitive pricing, and strong ad monetization. Its interest in attracting viewers across formats and continued investment in the TV experience suggests YouTube is shifting from a mobile-first platform to a living room staple.

We forecast US YouTube CTV viewers will surpass Facebook users by 2027, attracting 183.4 million users to Facebook’s 181.3.

The challengers: YouTube’s CTV success has kick-started an intensive effort to compete with legacy streamers like Apple TV and Prime Video and increase engagement for both long- and short-form content.

Although YouTube is currently in a tug-of-war with TikTok for teens’ attention, it’s expected to see continued growth in time spent viewing content on TV screens in 2026 that will boost its lead over other streamers.

Among children under 12, YouTube will remain far ahead in social time in 2026, per our data, averaging 26 minutes a day compared with less than five minutes on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook. Recent child safety controls on YouTube could boost parental trust, though they could frustrate adult users.

YouTube has grown its share of TV screen viewing more than any other streamer, per Nielsen. Netflix remains its closest competitor, but YouTube will widen the gap: US adults will spend three more minutes watching YouTube than watching Netflix in 2026, per our data.

Looking ahead: These trends reinforce YouTube’s position as the leading streaming destination going into 2026. Its cross-demographic reach suggests a structural advantage of hosting both user-generated content (UGC) and theatrical content that competitors struggle to match.

While TikTok pressures YouTube on short-form attention, the latter’s strength on the TV screen and its widening lead over Netflix show the platform is both defending its share and expanding it across both social and streaming ecosystems.

To capitalize on YouTube’s dominance, advertisers should expect more efficient reach as YouTube’s share of streaming time increases and as affordable options like Premium Lite attract new users.

• Shift more 2026 video budgets toward CTV placements on YouTube, where engagement is rising fast.
• Focus on varying content length: long-form units built for the TV screen and Shorts content to capture on-the-go audiences.