Nearly one in five (18%) of YouTube users watch full-length movies and TV shows on the platform, according to research by Ampere Analysis.
The findings reveal that older audiences are driving a surge in long-form viewing.
YouTube’s film and TV audience skews older than its overall user base, with engagement peaking among 35-64-year-olds.
Households with children are another key driver of this viewing, suggesting that both parents and grandparents are increasingly tuning into YouTube for family viewing.
Ampere said that viewers of film and TV shows on YouTube are “content super-consumers”, engaging with more genres than the general online population.
The share of internet users watching films and TV shows on YouTube varies widely in the 29 markets in Ampere’s survey. It stands at 32% in India, 20% in Saudi Arabia, 15% in the US, 12% in the UK, and falls to its lowest in Sweden at 7%.
A range of factors influences YouTube viewing uptake in each market. In general, countries with fewer on-demand services and a weaker presence of broadcaster catch-up platforms see higher viewing of films and series on YouTube.
Brazil and Mexico stand out, said Ampere, offering attractive distribution opportunities for content owners. These markets not only have large audiences for films and series on YouTube but also report high levels of YouTube viewing on smart TVs, indicating a broad audience engaging with the platform to watch broadcast-style content in premium viewing environments.
According to Ampere Analysis’s latest global consumer tracker of 56,000 adults, 85% of internet users now watch YouTube each month,
Ed Ludlow, Senior Analyst at Ampere Analysis, said: “YouTube’s vast audience makes it an attractive partner for content owners seeking to monetise their catalogues and reach beyond their regular audience. But that same scale means viewing behaviours vary widely across demographic groups – it’s crucial that content owners understand who they’re really engaging when distributing content on the platform.”
An estimated 10 million YouTube TV subscribers recently lost access to Disney-owned channels after contract-renewal talks collapsed. Discover more here.
.jpg)
UPDATED - IBC2026: Writers announced for IBC Daily!
The IBC Daily – the official show newspaper of IBC2026 – will be returning in both print and digital formats this year, with a team of experienced industry journalists covering the show by hall number.
BBC names Rhodri Talfan Davies as Deputy Director-General
Rhodri Talfan Davies has been appointed as the BBC’s Deputy Director-General.
Netflix forecast to reach 400 million subscribers by 2031
Netflix is forecast to reach nearly 400 million subscribers worldwide by the end of 2031, reinforcing its position as the world’s leading subscription streaming platform despite growing consolidation across the industry.
Early Freeview switch-off would be “unprecedented gamble” for UK TV
Switching off Freeview in the 2030s would be far more complex, costly, and risky than the UK’s digital TV switchover, according to a report by Christy Swords, the former Director of Change at ITV Broadcasting, who was involved in the original process.
RTS names Chair of Student Television Awards at annual ceremony
At the annual awards ceremony, the Royal Television Society (RTS) welcomed Rhuanedd Richards as Chair of the Student Television Awards.
 MyAmi Nails, Reality Bunker.jpg)
