Google-owned music and video streaming platform YouTube has confirmed that more than 1.5 billion logged-in users are now watching Shorts every month, less than two years after its launch.
According to IANS, YouTube also promoted Shorts’ ability to drive viewers to creators’ long-form video channels as a by-product of its investment in Shorts.
As per the report, it is referring to the trend as “the rise of the multiformat creator” but, in reality, it seems to be more an admission that YouTube still sees more value in its longer-form content.
The company in its announcement positioned its video platform as one that better reflects the reality of today’s viewer, who engages with video of different times and places throughout the day.
In some cases, users will want to quickly scroll through shorter content, such as when killing time while out and about. At other times, they may be able to watch for longer periods and will turn to traditional YouTube videos to do so.
However, YouTube’s report does not take into account how TikTok has been steadily inching into its territory with long-format content of its own, and could potentially lure creators to a platform where both shorter and longer content is more intertwined.