To celebrate its 20th birthday, YouTube has revealed that over 20 billion videos have now been uploaded to the video sharing platform. From the 19 second trip to the zoo that started it all (see image), the platform has now played host to a myriad of content offerings including music, podcasts, animation original long form and short form videos and shoulder content related to film and TV productions.
Among other data highlights released this week, YouTube said that users averaged a staggering 100 million comments a day on videos in 2024. Underlining how engaged the YouTube community is with its creators, YouTube videos also received, on average, over 3.5 billion likes from users per day.
According to YouTube, more than 300 music videos on YouTube are in the billion views club, but that fastest to reach this milestone was Adele’s Hello (88 days).
In terms of upcoming features being introduced, YouTube said: “In the next few weeks, YouTube TV members can experiment with building their own Multiview with select non-sports content, starting with a small group of popular channels and expanding in the coming months”. Also, an increasing number of creators will be able to voice-reply to comments on their videos from later this year.
Underlining its shift to the big screen, YouTube is also promising “a TV viewing upgrade this summer. Easier navigation, playback, quality tweaks, plus streamlined access to comments, channel info, and subscribing are heading to your screens”.
For anyone interested, Jawed Karim’s ground-breaking video about elephants and their ‘really, really long’ trunks has now been viewed 356 billion times. Go Jawed!
