"More than half of all YouTube viewing through a domestic wifi connection is now done through the traditional TV, making it the top-ranking YouTube device across all age groups. The findings, from a Barb Audiences review, found that YouTube viewing is still skewed towards children, with whom the platform has been popular for some time. It has led to some concerns about the platform's dominance in children's TV, as well as the kinds of shows its algorithm serves up."
"Despite YouTube's rise, the Barb data suggests traditional television viewing is far from dead. It found live TV still made up 45% of all identified viewing on TV sets in December 2025. Last year's live TV viewing was driven by sporting events such as the Women's Euro 2025 final and entertainment including BBC One's Celebrity Traitors and Channel 4's Gogglebox."
"What emerges from the evidence is not a paradigm shift, but a rebalancing. Live viewing remains a substantial part of the mix, even among younger audiences. YouTube, too, resists easy categorisation. It is neither simply TV' nor something entirely separate from it What is true is that the TV set is now the primary way YouTube is watched in homes around the country."
Television sets have become the primary device for YouTube viewing at home in the UK, with over half of domestic wifi YouTube traffic now on TVs. The shift reached over-55s in October 2023, 35–54s in April 2024 and 16–34s in December 2024. YouTube viewing remains popular with children, prompting concerns about platform dominance and algorithmic content. Despite the platform's growth, live traditional TV still accounted for 45% of identified TV-set viewing in December 2025, driven by major sports and entertainment programmes. YouTube hosts podcasts, short-form clips and broadcaster content, complicating simple categorisation of the platform relative to TV.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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