Overview
- Barb’s December 2025 data show YouTube reached 51.9 million people in the UK versus about 50.9 million for the BBC, marking the third consecutive month YouTube led on this metric.
- The comparison is based on Barb’s definition of monthly reach as at least three consecutive minutes of viewing across TVs, phones, tablets and PCs.
- The BBC disputes the significance of three-minute reach, citing its 2025 averages for 15-minute reach (47 million vs 40.8 million for YouTube), weekly viewing time (351 million hours), and December TV-set-only reach (50 million vs 37.5 million for YouTube).
- Industry analysts attribute YouTube’s gains to increased viewing on connected TVs and a growing slate of long-form, higher-production creator content.
- Barb’s December figures also marked record reach for Netflix at 47.1 million and for Disney+ at 29.2 million, and the UK culture secretary has signaled possible action on public-service prominence on dominant platforms.