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yesterday

YouTube Tops TV Viewing Charts with Record 12.4% Share in April

This milestone stems from a surge in smart-TV viewership driven by its exclusive first Friday NFL game streaming deal.

People hold up laptops while filming a video underneath signage outside a YouTube Inc. office in the Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. The surge in online television viewing is spurring a wave of big real estate deals, as companies such as Netflix, Amazon.com Inc. and Google snap up space to cope with increased production demands. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Overview

  • YouTube led Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge for the third straight month, capturing a record 12.4% of total TV viewing in April 2025.
  • The platform’s share rose from 12% in March and from 9.6% a year ago, highlighting its rapid year-over-year growth.
  • Disney held second place with 10.7% of TV time, followed by Paramount at 8.9%, NBCUniversal at 8.2% and Netflix at 7.5%.
  • Internal data indicates that smart TVs were the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2025.
  • YouTube’s new agreement to exclusively stream the NFL’s first Friday game of the season is poised to drive further audience gains.