iWorld
YouTube eyes the big screen as 38 per cent tune in for TV and film
MUMBAI: YouTube’s not just for prank videos and pet fails anymore. That was a point made by YouTube global head Neale Mohan earlier this year when he talked about the platform being watched more on TVs in the US than on handsets. Now, this has been confirmed by the latest consumer research from Ampere Analysis. The only difference it is beginning to spread globally.
Nearly four in ten (38 per cent) of the platform’s global monthly users watch traditional TV shows, films and documentaries. The shift signals YouTube’s growing ambitions beyond the smartphone screen—right into the living room.
Once the digital playground of vlogs and viral clips, YouTube is fast becoming a home for full-length content from major studios and broadcasters. And it’s not just padding out the platform—TV and film content now ranks among YouTube’s top five most-watched genres. Documentaries alone are pulling in 24 per cent of users each month, while 23 per cent are turning up for shows and movies.
What’s interesting is how distinct the audiences are: only 22 per cent of viewers watch both. The rest are split between docu-devotees (41 per cent) and drama-only fans (37 per cent). And while the appeal spans age groups, there’s a slight tilt towards 35–44-year-olds and family households.
The trend is strongest in Asia Pacific (45 per cent) and Latin America (40 per cent), but less so in Western Europe (28 per cent). North America sits bang on the global average at 37 per cent.
The rise of smart TVs is a game changer here. While smartphones still dominate (used by 77 per cent of long-form viewers), a hefty 34 per cent of those watching both docs and dramas are doing so on smart TVs—compared to just 22 per cent of all YouTube users.
Ampere, senior research manager Daniel Monaghan sums it up: “YouTube has come a long way from meme montages and low-res vlogs. We’re now seeing serious, studio-backed content that’s pulling in eyeballs. Sure, there’s a risk of cannibalising traditional platforms—but the ad-share potential and massive reach make it a no-brainer.”
Whether YouTube counts as TV may still be up for debate. But with your gran and your sis now watching documentaries on it from their smart TVs, it might just be time to drop the “user-generated” label.
iWorld
Meta introduces new AI tools to boost discovery-to-purchase journey
From shoppable Reels to generative video, platforms get smarter at turning attention into sales.
MUMBAI: Meta is turning “scroll and stop” into “scroll, stop, and shop” and it’s using AI to make the whole journey feel almost effortless. The company has announced several new tools and enhancements designed to help brands guide people from discovery to purchase more effectively, while delivering more relevant and personalised experiences across its platforms.
Creators can now add product links more broadly on Instagram Reels, turning their content into shoppable moments. Businesses in 22 countries, including India, will soon be able to share their product catalogues with creators, opening up a new sales channel for brands and fresh monetisation opportunities for creators.
The Creator Marketplace has also been upgraded with enhanced target audience filtering, integrated with Ads Manager. This helps businesses quickly find creators who are a strong match for their goals. Campaigns using Partnership Ads deliver, on average, 19 per cent lower CPAs, 13 per cent higher click-through rates, and 71 per cent higher median brand lift.
Meta is expanding Reels Trending Ads inventory with new content categories including TV & Movies, Travel, Business, Finance & Investments. According to Meta’s analysis of 59 studies, Reels Trending Ads delivered an incremental 6.6 percentage point Ad Recall lift compared to control groups.
AI-Powered Shopping Enhancements
- Product Set Optimisation is now in testing, allowing retail media networks to promote specific products with detailed reporting. Early results show 17 per cent lower median seller cost per purchase.
- Product Showcase is being expanded so marketers can upload one image or video and let Meta’s AI automatically add relevant products as a carousel when it improves performance.
Meta is expanding its generative AI capabilities with:
- UGC-style videos featuring avatars and voiceovers
- Easier voiceover translation and text overlay translation in a single streamlined flow
- New tools to automatically turn product catalogues into dynamic video ads for Reels
Early testing of the Advantage+ creative video generation tool showed a 10 per cent increase in CTR and 8 per cent increase in CVR on average. Campaigns using catalog product video saw 20 per cent more conversions per dollar, while Reels placements with catalog product video delivered 33 per cent higher incremental conversions.
Industry voices welcomed the updates. Vikas Chawla of Social Beat called Partnership Ads a “flywheel” for authentic content that converts. Niti Kumar of Spark Foundry and Sadhvi Dhawan of Blink Digital highlighted the power of Reels Trending Ads for cultural relevance and guaranteed share of voice. Ramasish Bhowmik of Adbuffs noted that Meta’s GenAI tools are giving teams a clear competitive edge.
In a world where attention is fleeting but shopping intent can spark in seconds, Meta is betting that smarter AI will help brands turn discovery into decisions faster than ever. The message is clear: the future of advertising isn’t just about reaching people, it’s about reaching them at exactly the right moment, with exactly the right product.
