Nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) of YouTube’s global monthly active users now watch more traditional TV and film content on the platform. Documentaries, TV shows and films are included in the top five most-watched content types on YouTube, according to consumer research by Ampere Analysis.

YouTube has the largest active user base of all online video platforms globally, with 84 per cent of internet users watching it monthly, 73 per cent weekly, and 59 per cent daily. With such an enormous global reach and currently little professional long-form audience overlap by genre, Ampere believes there is huge potential for the platform and content creators.

Key findings:

• 38 per cent of YouTube monthly active users (MAUs) watched documentaries or TV shows/films in the month prior to the latest wave of Ampere’s consumer research, fieldwork for which ran in February and March 2025
• 24 per cent of monthly active users watched documentaries, making it the fourth most popular content type. TV shows/films were fifth, watched by 23 per cent of YouTube’s MAUs
• Audiences for documentaries and TV/film are largely distinct, with just 22 per cent of their combined viewer bases watching both content types. 37 per cent watched TV/film only, and 41 per cent watched documentaries only
• Documentary, TV, and film viewing on YouTube skews slightly towards 35-44s, and to family households, though it is popular across all demographics
• The content types on YouTube are particularly popular in Asia Pacific, where 45 per cent of monthly active users have watched them, and Latin America, where 40 per cent have. This compares to more muted viewership in Western Europe at 28 per cent. North American viewership is in line with the global average at 37 per cent
• Smart TVs are a popular device for long-form viewing: 34 per cent of those who watched both documentaries and TV shows/films on YouTube in the past month used a smart TV for at least some of their viewing, versus 22 per cent of YouTube MAUs in general (smartphones and computers/laptops remain the most popular devices overall for YouTube content among this cohort, at 77 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively)
• YouTube has the most extensive active user base of all online video platforms globally, with 84 per cent of internet users watching it monthly, 73 per cent weekly, and 59 per cent daily.

Daniel Monaghan, Senior Research Manager at Ampere Analysis, says: “The behemoth that is YouTube, the most-watched online video platform globally, has come a long way since its early days of short, low-quality, user-generated pranks, memes, and vlogs. Those types of content are still extremely popular, but we now see more full-length TV shows and movies uploaded from the leading studios, producers, and broadcasters. On one hand, this risks cannibalising some owned-and-operated audiences. On the other hand, the sheer scale and reach of YouTube mean the benefits of extending the addressable audience cannot be ignored, while also opening up new revenue streams via ad-share agreements with the platform.”

“Documentaries and other TV shows and films sit within the top five video categories as surveyed by Ampere. We expect engagement to grow, especially as YouTube continues to establish itself more firmly in the viewer’s living room on smart TVs, beyond their phones and laptops,” concldued Monaghan.

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Tags: Ampere Analysis, movies, youtube