YouTube is now receiving more daily viewing time than Netflix. According to a report by Digital i titled The YouTube Era: 2025 in Review, the platform has enjoyed immense growth in daily viewing, leading to it surpassing Netflix for the first time.
YouTube’s growth has been spurred on by a change in audience viewing habits. The report by Digital i, whose findings are based on analysis of 20 international markets, has also highlighted changes in demographics that are driving YouTube’s viewership growth.
YouTube’s rise to a dominant streaming platform
YouTube’s daily viewing time grew from 87.2 to 99.1 minutes per account from 2024 to 2025. On the other hand, Netflix’s viewing time dropped from 100.5 to 93.4 minutes per account during the same period.
The growth of YouTube’s viewing time is primarily driven by the platform’s transformation from a video-sharing social media site into a streaming service that is now competing with streaming giants.
“YouTube’s evolution from a social video service into a dominant global attention platform is one of the defining media shifts of the decade. Our data shows audiences increasingly treating YouTube not as social media, but as a primary entertainment destination,” stated Matt Ross, Digital i’s chief analytics officer.
The shift has also been acknowledged by Netflix, with Ted Sarandos, the company’s co-chief executive, stating:
“YouTube is not just cat videos any more. YouTube is TV.”
Ironically, Netflix is one of the major driving forces of YouTube’s growing viewership. The streaming service’s YouTube channel recorded an engagement of 78.2 million unique accounts in 2025, the highest reach of any channel.
YouTube’s increasing consumption on connected TVs
A change in viewing habits is another factor driving the growth of YouTube’s daily viewing time. In the last year, the platform has experienced a major shift, with more and more viewers watching YouTube via connected TVs as opposed to smartphones and laptops.
According to the Digital i’s report, TVs accounted for 35% of YouTube viewing time in December 2025. This was a significant growth from January 2024, when TVs accounted for 28% of viewing time.
Conversely, the mobile viewing share shrank during the same period, dropping from 35% to 31%.
Changing demographics in YouTube viewership
The Digital i report has also revealed a change in demographics in the YouTube daily viewing time.
From the report, Gen Zs are still the most active group on YouTube, with an average of 111 minutes per day. However, the platform recorded a 15% year-on-year increase in viewing time from men aged 55 to 64 years.
There was also an increase in YouTube usage by women across all age groups.
In terms of nationality, South Korean users had the highest usage at an average of 161.15 minutes. On the other hand, France recorded the highest growth, a 33.6% increase in daily usage between 2024 and 2025.