Television has made laptops, tablets and smartphones the most common device for UK viewers to watch YouTube at home, according to data confirming the platform’s place as a living room mainstay.
More than half of YouTube viewing via a domestic WiFi connection is now done via conventional TV, making it the top YouTube device across all age groups.
Findings from Barb’s audience review found that YouTube viewing is still skewed toward kids, with whom the platform has been popular for some time. This has led to some concern about the platform’s dominance of children’s TV, as well as the types of shows that feed its algorithm.
However, TV sets became the first device of choice for viewing YouTube for those over 55 in October 2023, those between 35 and 54 in April 2024, and finally in December 2024 for 16- to 34-year-olds.
Despite the rise of YouTube, Barb’s data suggests that traditional television viewing is far from dead. It found that live TV will still account for 45% of viewing identified on TV sets in December 2025.
Last year live TV viewing was driven by sporting events such as the Women’s Euro 2025 final and entertainment including BBC One’s Celebrity Traitors and Channel 4’s Gogglebox.
“Commentary about television is too often based on a binary premise: Nobody watches live anymore, younger audiences have disappeared and platforms have replaced programming,” said Justin Sampson, Barb’s chief executive.
“What emerges from the evidence is not a paradigm shift, but a rebalancing. Live viewing is a significant part of the mix, even among younger audiences.
“YouTube, too, resists easy categorization. It’s not just ‘TV’ or completely separate from it … The truth is that the TV set is now the primary way YouTube is viewed in homes across the country.”
YouTube has become increasingly dominant, hosting podcasts and short-form videos as well as content from traditional broadcasters. This represents an astounding growth for a platform that was founded just 21 years ago.
Its impact has been recognized in recent years, with the media regulator, Ofcom, urging “endangered” public service broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV to put more of their content on the platform.
The BBC has since announced plans to create tailor-made content for YouTube. The corporation has previously posted clips and trailers for BBC shows on YouTube, but the deal will see it make fresh programming for its online rival.
YouTube’s cultural significance is also being recognised: London’s Victoria and Albert Museum turned an early version of YouTube’s “watch page” into an exhibition. The page showcases the first video uploaded to the site, Me at the zoo, shot by one of its founders, Javed Karim. The museum calls it “an important piece of Internet history.”
Visitors can see the page play out just like Internet users did 20 years ago. It’s like Kareem talking about the elephants at the San Diego Zoo. The 19-second clip has been viewed more than 380m times since it was posted in April 2005.
YouTube chief executive Neil Mohan said Karim’s video “has become a new way for people to share their stories with the world”.
