Has YouTube’s dominance run it’s course?

Has YouTube’s dominance run it’s course?

19 June 2020 |

Display, Video, Audio

It’s no surprise, particularly of late, that YouTube has dominated the video space but what does the future hold for the Video sharing platform?

In the wake of the era of Cord Cutting, recent surveys conducted by IPSOS depict that only 9% of Australian cord cutters are very likely to watch free to air TV & Video again, bringing about a clear demise of traditional linear TV formats and the organic surge in SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand, such as Netflix).

YouTube, which has been around for more than 15 years, needs to be innovative if they want to continue to dominate and compete with SVOD. The launch of YouTube Select last month is the first step; this brings together Google Preferred and Connected TV viewing into a global offering. Google Preferred represents the top 5% of YouTube inventory across a variation of categories and until last month was accessed as a stand-alone product.  The culmination of this with specific Connected TV inventory is in response to the evolving consumption trend across the largest screen in the home.

Is SVOD YouTube’s biggest threat though? We’ve seen this week, the latest additions to the TikTok Australian team which clearly indicate that TikTok, as a video platform, are here to make an impact.

It would seem that it has not come as a surprise to YouTube, with plans already underway to unveil a short form platform at the end of the year- ‘shorts’ as its answer to TikTok’s snackable videos. Shorts may be able to pose a real threat to TikTok, it means that users will not have to be convinced to download another app and creators who have built up millions of subscribers on their existing YouTube channels won’t have to convince their fanbase to migrate to another app for more content.

It’s set to be an interesting time ahead – may the battle of video platforms commence!