Google says YouTube Shorts has over 2 billion logged-in monthly users, according to a recent announcement. This is a significant increase from the 1.5 billion users reported in 2021. YouTube Shorts is a short-form video feature launched in 2020 as a response to TikTok’s popularity. The platform has gradually added features to mimic TikTok, including sampling and recommendations.
The rise in YouTube Shorts’ viewership is good news for Google, but it will need to monetize those views as well. In February 2023, YouTube Shorts had surpassed 50 billion daily views, up from 30 billion a year ago. However, YouTube’s Q4 2022 revenue was down 8% from the previous year. In response, YouTube enabled creators to generate ad revenue from their Shorts videos starting in February 2023.
YouTube is positioning Shorts as a feeder to long-form content, enabling creators to attract viewers for other monetizable content. Channels that upload both long-form videos and Shorts are seeing longer overall watch time and subscriber growth compared to creators who only upload long-form videos.
Google’s announcement of Shorts’ 2 billion monthly users is a significant milestone for the platform. The rise in viewership is a testament to the popularity of short-form video content and the success of YouTube’s efforts to compete with TikTok. However, the company will need to continue to innovate and monetize the platform to maintain its growth and profitability.
