YouTube’s mobile app is less popular than the YouTube app on TV. There’s a good reason for that. YouTube on mobile doesn’t know what it wants to be. It’s a sign that YouTube should look to emulate Netflix more than it does TikTok.
YouTube’s yearly letter, credited to CEO Neal Mohan, says more users are now watching YouTube on TV than on mobile. The company didn’t provide specific monthly user metrics in its letter, though it cited data from market research firm Nielsen, which indicated that viewers were watching more than 1 billion hours of YouTube videos from the big screen every day. Mohan also commented that TV users still watch Shorts on TV.
The Alphabet-owned app also mentioned that Nielsen data has been number 1 in streaming watch time in the U.S. for two years. That’s on top of the second-biggest streamer, Netflix. YouTube may like to think this is due to UI facelifts that make YouTube on TV work more like a typical streaming service than it does on the app. You can also continue watching content on your phone or TV. Mohan mentioned that his team is working on a “second screen” experience” where you can interact with a video while watching it fullscreen on your TV. The company is also testing a “Watch With” feature to let creators do live commentary to further take on Twitch.
In Alphabet’s last quarterly earnings report from December 2024, the company said, “The number of creators making the majority of their YouTube revenue on TV screens is up more than 30% year-on-year.” YouTube is among the most consistently profitable portions of the entire Google empire. Last year, YouTube ad revenues rose by 12% year-over-year. There’s a reason YouTube has been trying to kill ad blockers, and it’s why it would really prefer you to use the app on your more restricted Smart TV.
YouTube on mobile is a far worse experience than YouTube on TV. The mobile version has slowly morphed to emphasize vertical swiping and push users to more algorithmically focused content. Over time, I have watched my mobile feed transform into another app pushing shorter-form content. If I scroll down on my YouTube feed now, I’ll find 30 Rock clips, West Wing clips, and more highlight videos that don’t come from original creators.
The main YouTube mobile feed is essentially YouTube Shorts-lite. But that’s not why people come to YouTube. Long-form content is still as popular as ever, but it does not result in driving engagement the way the consistent, mind-numbing TikTok algorithm does. The TV app offers more room for diving through your subscriptions, helping you find the content you actually want to watch (again like the best movie or TV streaming apps do).
The Netflix app promotes some content directly to the user but is also better at organizing content you may want to watch in horizontal rows. This offers more choice without slipping into a rabbit hole of dumb videos made to turn my brain off.
YouTube on TV offers users a broader range of content to see and choose from. If I load up the main feed of the YouTube app on my smart TV, I still don’t see a majority of the sources I subscribe to, but at least I’m offered more choices through the recommendation or “continue watching” tab. The brain rot of the YouTube mobile app turns me off more than it turns me on. If I truly wanted dumb, quick hits to shock my brain with numbing dopamine, I would turn to TikTok.
It’s strange to consider YouTube’s popularity on TV when the company keeps raising the price of its YouTube TV service. As of December last year, YouTube TV now costs $83 a month, up from $73. The live TV service now costs as much as Hulu Plus Live TV, though you don’t even get a YouTube Premium subscription when you pay for it. Hulu Plus Live TV at least gives you access to the ad-based tiers of Disney+ and Hulu. It seems inevitable we’ll see another YouTube Premium price hike. If I’m going to be forced to watch ads because I can’t afford a premium subscription, I wouldn’t want to do it on my TV or phone.
