New data shows average daily YouTube viewing has overtaken Netflix globally for the first time, and most of the growth is on the TV screen. For advertisers, the biggest screen in the house is now creator-led, not studio-led.
For the first time, people are spending more time each day on YouTube than on Netflix. Digital i's report, The YouTube Era, shows average daily usage per account climbed from 87.2 to 99.1 minutes between 2024 and 2025, while Netflix slipped from 100.5 to 93.4 minutes, measured across 20 international markets.
The more telling shift is where it is happening. YouTube's share of viewing on the TV screen rose from 28% to 35% over the same period, while mobile fell. Viewing of longer videos, over 20 minutes, also climbed. This is not phone-in-bed snacking. It is lean-back, big-screen watching.
Why it matters
The story brands tell themselves is that YouTube is for short clips and Netflix is real television. That line is gone. The biggest screen in the lounge room is now serving creator-led content as much as studio-led content, and the audience is sitting back to watch it.
For advertisers it reframes where television money should sit. A connected TV campaign on YouTube reaches people on the same screen as a streaming ad, against content they actively chose, often made by creators their audience already trusts. The fastest growth is not where you would guess either. Men aged 55 to 64 lifted their YouTube viewing 15% in a year. This is no longer a young-only platform.
Share of YouTube viewing time now happening on the TV screen, up from 28% two years earlier
What to do about it
The living room screen is no longer owned by the studios. Plan your television money for the platform people are actually watching.