The announcement in June 2017 that YouTube had            billion monthly logged-in users was the first official user number since the 2013 tally of One billion unique monthly users. This metrics reticence stands in stark contrast to rivals in the attention economy, such as Facebook, which provides quarterly updates on its continued growth in active users. In spite of Alphabet’s policy of deliberately underplaying YouTube’s engagement metrics, the upsurge in views and steady increase in consumer penetration highlights the strength of growth in both activity and users. This has been achieved in the face of a continued push onto video by platforms across the digital media spectrum. Despite increased competition from several directions, YouTube has managed to stay ahead of the pack, way ahead of the pack.

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Alphabet, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube