Currently youtube is the most popular video streaming service. Youtube was created back in February 2005, by three former PayPal employees: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. Later google bought youtube in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion.
The revolutionary idea about youtube is that anyone can create channels and upload videos and it was available for view to everyone. It gave creative people the opportunity to publish their video contents without going through complicated procedures and earn revenue from Google AdSense(hyperlink). It;s popularity boomed with the rise of the smartphone industry and smart TVs.
Almost all types of videos are now available on youtube including video clips, TV show clips, music videos, live streams, video blogging, educational videos etc. Videos that are age-restricted are only available to registered users affirming themselves to be 18 years old.
Some interesting facts:
As of 2023, some interesting facts about YouTube are:
- It is the 2nd most visited website in the world.
- The first YouTube video was uploaded on 23 April 2005.
- Over 3 million visitors per day.
- Almost 5 billion videos are watched every day.
- The average number of mobile YouTube video views per day is 1 billion.
- 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute.
- The total number of users is 1.3 billion.
- In an average month 8 out of 10 18-49 years old watch YouTube videos.
- The total watch hour each month is 3.25 billion.
- The average viewing session lasts 40 minutes.
- Male users are 62% and female users are 38%
- Users percentage by age 18-24(11%), 25-34(23%), 35-44(26%), 45-54(16%), 50-64(8%), 65+(3%), unknown age(14%).
- The watch time on YouTube is up by 60% every year.
- Only 20% of the total viewers are from the U.S.
- The annual cost of running YouTube is $6.35 billion.
- Google’s annual revenue from YouTube is $4 billion.
- YouTube generates 6% of Google ad revenue.
YouTube services:
The simple YouTube service has diversified its portfolio over time and now offer some other services under YouTube name such as:
- YouTube Premium
- YouTube Originals (shows exclusively for YouTube)
- YouTube Music
- YouTube Music Premium
- YouTube Kids
YouTube Premium:
YouTube Premium offers these additional features for $12.99/month (single plan) and $17.99/month (family plan of six members)
- Ad-free content
- Background play
- Offline downloads including download of the whole playlist
- YouTube Originals
- YouTube Music Premium
- YouTube Kids
YouTube Music:
YouTube Music is a music streaming service to compete with Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon music, Deezer, Tidal, Pandora etc. it’s largely an updated version of Google Play Music.It has Google’s excellent recommendation engine music video viewing functionality.
YouTube Music Premium:
It is a paid service of YouTube Music which includes additional features for $9.99/month (single plan) and 14.99/month (family plan of six members)
- Ad-free experience
- Offline download
- Screen locked playback
YouTube Kids:
It is a service dedicated for kids. It restricts the available videos to make it family-friendly and proper for kids. The app’s interface is colorful with large images which kids will like. The search option uses google’s YouTube inventory but only shows the videos appropriate for kids. You can also block videos that you consider inappropriate for your kid. Google has disabled comments on the service to prevent your child from viewing inappropriate comments. Parents can create profiles for kids customized for different age groups and switch among profiles.YouTube Kids provide parental control which can only be accessed by providing the passcode or signing into your google account to verify your identity.
Parental control includes:
- Offline videos inventory
- Timer
- Setting
- Feedback
Under settings you can manage:
- Offline video resolution setting
- Content control for different age groups
- Enabling or disabling search
- App music and Sound effects
- Option for enable casting to other screens
- HD playback over Wi-Fi only option
- Subtitles and closed captions options
- Passcode setting
- Unblock videos
- Clear and pause history option
Since launch, YouTube Kids has become very popular for its unique service and has been growing very rapidly.
YouTube TV:
YouTube TV is google’s attempt to enter into the entertainment services. If you want to cut the cord or ditch cable or satellite subscription, then YouTube TV is probably for you. Though it is competing with Playstation Vue, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, Hulu + Live TV, Direct TV etc, it has some additional features, which makes it a very lucrative option.
YouTube TV offers :
- Unlimited Cloud DVR (letting you record as much content you want for up to nine months)
- Multiple users (six users with three simultaneous playback)
- On-Demand watch of TV shows.
- Voice control functionality
- Watching on mobile devices
Currently youtube TV offers over 70 channels with a basic subscription which costs $49.99/month with a 14-day trial. In February 2023, Google announced that HBO and Cinemax will be added as premium add-on options. It is a great alternative to cable TV, but the only downside is that it doesn’t provide the option for offline viewing unlike other internet-based TV services.
Final Thoughts:
In Spite of many shortcomings, YouTube is the most popular video streaming platform for the time being. With the rise of other video streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music etc, Google felt the necessity to diversify YouTube’s services. YouTube Premium’s offering, which is only $3 more than YouTube Music Premium, offers a lot more value and additional features. If you can spend a little bit more, we suggest you to go with YouTube Premium. But if you are someone, who just wants a good music streaming service with a powerful recommendation engine and don’t care much about additional benefits than YouTube Music Premium is the way to go.
