Cricket videos garner over 50 billion views over last year: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan

At the Brandcast event held in New Delhi, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan highlighted the platform's success and engagement, particularly in the cricketing domain. "Cricket videos had more than 50 billion views over the last year," Mohan stated in the event held on August 7 where creators and brand fans gathered.

He emphasised that this impressive figure includes a variety of content that fosters community around cricket, such as livestream watchalongs of the T20 World Cup win, creators reenacting significant IPL matches, and personal moments from players' lives off the field, like wedding proposals.

Mohan also noted that over 11,000 Indian channels now boast more than a million subscribers, a stark contrast to the mere 11 channels that had reached this milestone nine years ago when he started at YouTube.

Launched in India in September 2020, YouTube Shorts has accumulated trillions of views in just three years, becoming one of the most popular platforms among Indian users. The platform's growth in India is not confined to mobile devices; it has also become one of the most streamed applications on Connected TVs, with viewership increasing fourfold in the last three years.

“Indian creators are making videos inspired by local trends that go on to define global culture. YouTube is number one in reach and watchtime in India. And we just passed a huge milestone. Shorts, which we first launched in India, now has trillions of views here,” Mohan said, underscoring the platform’s achievements in the Indian market.

During his address, Mohan affirmed YouTube's commitment to continuous innovation. Encouraged by the platform's exceptional growth, he expressed excitement about future developments. Mohan hinted at the integration of generative AI capabilities, stating that everything from creation to fandom is set to become even bigger. He mentioned the recent rollout of AI tools designed to enhance human creativity, including the July launch of Dream Screen, a feature allowing users to create AI-generated backgrounds for Shorts by simply typing an idea.

He shared that this is just the beginning and the team is committed to develop AI technology that builds on their track record of responsibility and creative expression.