As Google's subsidiary, YouTube has risen to prominence as the preferred platform for both streaming and content creation in India. The tech giant is now actively pursuing significant monetisation efforts while fostering the rapid growth of the creator economy.
YouTube has firmly established itself as the go-to platform for four out of every five internet users in India. The platform's short-video-making app, known as Shorts, has also garnered immense popularity, with 96 per cent of individuals aged 18 to 44 in India using YouTube Shorts.
With a staggering average of 70 billion daily views worldwide, YouTube Shorts continues to gain traction, particularly among Indian viewers. In February, Google initiated ad revenue sharing on YouTube Shorts, directly competing with Instagram Reels. Previously, creators could only monetise long-form content on the platform.
The watch time for Shorts has surpassed traditional devices, with 88 per cent of online individuals aged 18-44 in India consuming short-form video content on their televisions over the past year.
Satya Raghavan, Director of Marketing Partners at Google India, highlighted the transformative digital evolution in India's connectivity and content landscape since YouTube's launch 15 years ago. This shift has created a seamless viewer experience spanning smartphones and connected TVs.
In 2023, the total hours of content uploaded to YouTube by Indian channels surged by over 40 per cent compared to June 2022. Adults aged 35 and above, on average, spent more than 70 minutes per day on YouTube in that month.
Creators are increasingly leveraging generative AI for fresh ideas and broader audiences, with over 1.7 billion views of videos related to or employing generative AI tools worldwide this year. Approximately 70 per cent of online viewers aged 18-44 are open to watching content generated by AI-driven creators.
Google recently introduced "YouTube Courses," offering creators in India a novel means of monetising their content while educating their audience. This online platform allows the sharing of educational materials in video format, along with supplementary files like PDFs.
In 2021, YouTube's creator economy contributed a significant Rs 10,000 crores to India's GDP and generated 7.5 million new job opportunities. Additionally, YouTube unveiled a program last year that enables creators to monetise their long-form videos featuring licensed music, set to take effect in 2023.
Google has introduced 'Creator Music,' granting YouTube creators easy access to an expanding library of music for incorporation into their long-form videos. Notably, YouTube Shorts now boasts over 2 billion monthly logged-in users, a notable increase from the 1.5 billion reported last year.
In the second quarter of 2023, Google disclosed that YouTube raked in $7.67 billion in advertising revenue, marking a 4 per cent increase from the same period the previous year.
YouTube, which originally launched on February 14, 2005, was acquired by Google for $1.65 billion in October 2006.
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