YouTube overtakes Netflix in average daily viewing time, report finds

(Sharecast News) - Alphabet's YouTube topped the list in for global daily audience viewing attention in 2025, overtaking streaming giant Netfix, according to a trend report published on Wednesday by the Digital i agency.

The data, which is based on measurements across 20 international markets over the past two years, found that YouTube's average daily viewing time rose from 87.2 to 99.1 minutes last year, while Netflix fell from 100.5 to 93.4 minutes.

YouTube engagement improved amid YouTube's ongoing shift from laptops and phones to the living room. By the end of December 2025, 35% of all YouTube viewing time took place on TV, up from 28% in January 2024, while mobile's share of viewing fell from 35% to 31%.

Generation Z was YouTube's most engaged age group, according to Digital i, spending 111 minutes a day on average on the app, though growth was strongest among men aged 55 to 64, whose viewing increased 15% year-on-year.

"YouTube's evolution from a social video service into a dominant global attention platform is one of the defining media shifts of the decade," said Matt Ross, Digital i's chief analytics officer.

"Our data shows audiences increasingly treating YouTube not as social media, but as a primary entertainment destination."