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YouTube says television became its biggest U.S. viewing device by watch time in December 2024. CEO Neal Mohan announced the milestone on February 11, 2025—but it does not mean more people watched YouTube on TVs than on phones, and it is not a claim about the separate YouTube TV live-channel service.
What YouTube actually announced
In his February 11, 2025 annual letter, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said that, based on the company’s data for December 2024, TV had become the primary device for watching YouTube in the United States, surpassing mobile by watch time. The statement covers viewing across YouTube services; it does not identify a particular television brand or provide a full device-measurement methodology. YouTube’s announcement also said that viewers worldwide watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube content on televisions each day. That global daily figure is separate from the U.S.-specific TV-versus-mobile comparison.
The timing matters. This is a historical result for December 2024, announced in February 2025—not a newly reported measurement for 2026. The public statement cited here does not establish whether TV still leads mobile in the United States today.
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YouTube is the broad video platform: creator videos, music, podcasts, Shorts, livestreams and other content. YouTube TV is a separate paid service for watching live television channels. Mohan’s device claim is about YouTube viewing on television screens, not a finding that the YouTube TV subscription service overtook mobile viewing.
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YouTube’s February 2025 post separately reported more than 8 million YouTube TV subscribers. It also reported more than 100 million subscribers to YouTube Music and Premium combined, including trials. Those are company-reported subscription figures, not measures of which device generated the most YouTube watch time.
What “more watch time” does—and does not—show
Watch time is the accumulated duration people spend watching. A device category can lead in total time even if it has fewer viewers, for example when its viewing sessions tend to be longer. YouTube’s announcement does not disclose enough detail to establish whether that explains the result.
| Measure | What it would indicate | Established by the announcement? |
|---|---|---|
| Total watch time | Accumulated viewing duration | Yes: YouTube said TV surpassed mobile on this measure. |
| Unique viewers | How many distinct people watched | No. |
| Views | How many plays were counted | No. |
| Average session length | How long a typical viewing session lasted | No. |
| Household reach | How many homes watched | No. |
| Ad impressions or revenue | Advertising exposure or commercial value | No. |
That distinction is especially important for television. A TV can be watched by several people together, while a phone is more commonly used by one person at a time; a screen may also be playing while viewers do something else. These are reasons not to equate watch time automatically with individual attention, but the announcement does not say how much any such behavior contributed. Device use can overlap, too: someone may use a phone to search, comment or control a video that is playing on a TV.
“Primary device” therefore does not mean TV is the only important device, nor does the result establish that more Americans watch YouTube on TV than on phones. The company’s aggregate also does not describe every age group, household or content category.
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What YouTube counts as television viewing
The announcement refers to YouTube viewing on televisions, but does not publish a complete device taxonomy. Television viewing can include smart-TV apps and streaming devices connected to a set; other TV-connected platforms may also be part of YouTube’s measurement. The post does not provide a breakdown by operating system, device brand, game console or cable-box platform, so a more exact inventory cannot be drawn from its wording.
Nor is television viewing synonymous with linear programming. On a TV screen, YouTube can mean an on-demand documentary, a music video, a podcast, a livestream, a creator series or a short clip. The screen may be the same one used for broadcast or cable, while the way viewers choose and move through content is different.
Why YouTube is competing for the living-room screen
The crossover is consistent with YouTube’s push toward a wider range of television-shaped viewing: longer creator programs, podcasts, livestreams, music and sports-related content, alongside the clips and Shorts associated with phones. YouTube described creators as making content for the big screen and said it was investing in TV-specific experiences. Those are plausible parts of the story, not proof that any one format or feature caused the December 2024 result.
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A living-room screen can suit shared viewing or a longer, lean-back session. At the same time, phones remain useful for discovery, notifications, comments, sharing, Shorts and interacting with a video on another screen. The shift is better understood as YouTube expanding across screens than as mobile becoming obsolete.
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- Alexa voice control - The Alexa Voice Remote lets you easily control your entertainment, search across apps, switch inputs, and more using just your voice. Press and hold the voice button and ask Alexa to easily find, launch, and control content, and even switch to cable.
- Access thousands of shows with Fire TV - Watch over 1.5 million streaming movies and TV episodes with access to thousands of channels, apps and Alexa skills, including Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube, Apple TV+, Disney+, ESPN+, Sling TV, Paramount+, and other services right from this TV.*
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- Supports HDMI ARC - Sends audio directly from the HDMI jack to a compatible soundbar or AV receiver, removing the need for an extra cable.
What the TV shift could mean for creators
The announcement does not show that every genre performs better on TV. Podcasts, interviews, educational programs, music, live events and episodic creator shows may translate naturally to a larger screen, while private, quick or search-driven viewing may remain especially convenient on mobile. Creators can treat television as an important viewing context without abandoning formats designed for phones.
For creators whose audience watches on TV, practical production choices may matter more: clear audio, graphics and captions that remain legible at a distance, and episode structure that works beyond a rapid mobile scroll. A call to action may need a companion phone route, such as a QR code, because typing or navigating with a TV remote can be cumbersome. These are strategic implications of a larger-screen audience, not outcomes established by YouTube’s device statistic.
YouTube also pointed to TV-oriented possibilities including second-screen interaction, QR codes, pause ads and experiments such as “Watch With.” The post presents these as areas of investment or experimentation, not proof that every feature is universally available or that it has delivered a particular commercial result. YouTube’s annual letter describes the company’s strategy.
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What advertisers should—and should not—infer
More TV watch time makes YouTube’s connected-TV audience relevant to advertisers considering large-screen video, household viewing or interactive calls to action. QR codes and pause-ad formats can create ways to connect a TV impression with a phone interaction. Those possibilities do not by themselves establish campaign reach, attention, conversion or return on investment.
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- Seamless streaming: With fast Wi-Fi and apps that launch in a snap, Roku Select Series TVs get you to your entertainment quickly. You get excellent picture quality, clear sound, automatic updates, and more. It’s simple to use. Hard to outgrow.
- TV, simplified: With setup that only takes minutes, a simple-to-navigate Home Screen, and an uncluttered remote control that does all you need—Roku makes it easier to watch the TV you love.
- A world of free entertainment: Enjoy a huge selection of free live TV, news, sports, movies, shows, and much more—all just a click away.
- More streaming, less searching: With personalized picks right on your Home Screen, quick access to the sports and entertainment you watch most, and fast and easy search in one place—the days of endless scrolling are over.
Connected-TV YouTube inventory should not be treated as interchangeable with YouTube TV ads or with broadcast and cable advertising. The services, audience definitions and measurement approaches may differ. Advertisers need campaign-specific information about inventory and measurement rather than assuming the device crossover proves equivalent audiences or impact.
How the Nielsen comparison fits in
YouTube also cited Nielsen’s The Gauge, saying YouTube had been the No. 1 streaming service in the United States by watch time for two years. The footnote in the company’s post identifies that period as February 2023 through January 2025.
That ranking is related context, but it answers a different question from the device crossover. The TV-versus-mobile claim describes how YouTube viewing was distributed across devices, according to YouTube. The Nielsen statement compares YouTube’s share of U.S. streaming watch time with other measured streaming services. It does not, on the evidence presented in the announcement, independently verify YouTube’s TV/mobile split.
What the milestone says about television
The strongest conclusion is that YouTube is no longer well described as a service watched mainly on small personal screens: by YouTube’s account, TV generated more of its U.S. watch time than mobile in December 2024. That says something about how people use television screens, but it does not establish that YouTube has replaced broadcast or cable, that TV viewing commands more individual attention, or that mobile has lost its importance.
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