Hello everyone. There were a few follow-ups to yesterday's discussion regarding paid video streaming. We will look at how paid streaming is performing relative to the elephant in the room: YouTube. We will then turn our attention to the momentum found with ad-supported tiers. A question that is being asked more frequently is if Apple will bring advertising to Apple TV and Apple TV+. The update covers Neil’s thoughts on the topic.

Let's jump right in.

YouTube Gaining TV Momentum

Here's Variety:

“YouTube, already the most popular streamer on big-screen TVs, last month built on its lead as one of the only major services to see viewing time among U.S. TV households increase, according to new Nielsen data.

For the period from March 27-April 30, 2023, TV viewing of YouTube videos (excluding YouTube TV) was up 1.5%. That translated into an increase of 0.3 share points, with YouTube ending the month with 8.1% of total time spent watching television, according to Nielsen measurements.

Time spent viewing on most other streaming platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Prime Video, Peacock and Hulu, was flat or down compared with March 2023, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge report for April. Along with YouTube, two free, ad-supported TV (FAST) services had month-over-month gains: Fox’s Tubi was up 6% from March, adding 0.1 share point to capture 1.1% of overall TV viewing, and Paramount’s Pluto TV viewing increased 3.9% for the month to hold at 0.8% share.”

Given potential seasonal effects on those numbers as we move from March to April, it makes sense to compare April 2023 figures to April 2022 data (via Nielsen).

April 2022 (share of TV time)

Cable: 36.8%

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