Ampere research finds 38% of YouTube users watch traditional TV and film content on platform
Research by UK-based Ampere Analysis has found that 38% of YouTube’s global monthly active users are watching 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.
In the research period, across February and March 2025, Ampere found that 24% of YouTube’s monthly active users watched documentaries, making it the fourth most popular content type. TV shows and films were fifth, watched by 23%.
Audiences for documentaries and TV/film are largely distinct, Ampere noted, with just 22% of their combined viewer bases watching both content types. 37% watched TV and/or film only, while 41% watched documentaries only.
Although documentary, TV and film viewing on YouTube is popular across all demographics, it skews slightly towards those aged 35-44 and to family households.
The three content types are also particularly popular in Asia Pacific, where 45% of monthly active users have watched them, and Latin America, where 40% have. This compares to more muted viewership in Western Europe at 28%, while North American viewership is in line with the global average at 37%.
Meanwhile, 34% 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% of monthly active users in general. Smartphones and computers or laptops remain the most popular devices overall for YouTube content among this cohort, at 77% and 37%, respectively.
Ampere’s findings also confirmed that YouTube has the most extensive active user base of all online video platforms globally, with 84% of internet users watching it monthly, 73% weekly and 59% daily.
Daniel Monaghan, senior research manager at Ampere Analysis, said: “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 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.”
