YouTube Users Watch 4 Billion Hours Of Video Content Per Month

Sites include YouTube.com . Published on August 16th, 2012. Written by Anthony West.

There was never any doubt about how much impact video would have in terms of online behavior but YouTube has taken that potential impact and made it into something of a phenomenon.

A recent report in the Wall Street Journal highlighted just how popular YouTube is among video enthusiasts. More than 4 billion hours of video content is watched each month on the platform. That is an unprecedented level of video views and the good news for Google/YouTube is that the number is growing.

The platform has upped the ante with the introduction of new channels that would rival any production coming out of Hollywood. Clearly branded for making money, these channels are expected to increase engagement as well as attract a host of new people to YouTube.

YouTube hasn’t forgotten what made it the number one video sharing platform on the planet either. The familiar video featuring some type of amateur footage and lots of cats and dogs are still the main staple on YouTube. So too are the legions of new video bloggers, many of whom make their living entirely from the platform.

The next few years will be very interesting not just for YouTube but for video in general. There are lots of other platforms many of which are premium or have a heavy mix of premium content. One only hopes that the model doesn’t transition from free to paid especially on sites like YouTube.