TikTok has passed YouTube in average watch time

TikTok’s users now spend more time each month watching content than those on YouTube.

A new report from App Annie showed that as of June 2021 U.S. TikTok users watched 24+ hours per month, compared with 22 hours and 40 minutes on YouTube.

In the UK, TikTok users watch almost 26 hours per month versus less than 16 on YouTube.

With 2 billion users vs. 700 million for TikTok, YouTube is still ahead in overall time spent.

How did TikTok do it?

“Short-video, authentic content and live streaming,” according to App Annie.

Consumers will spend roughly 548 billion hours live streaming on top social apps in 2021 according to the report which shows how it is fueling the latest boom in social media and “sowing the seed for a new creator economy.”

Read the full App Annie report here.

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.