As video viewership continues to grow in India, the use of YouTube has been going up among both urban and rural audiences. According to the streaming platform’s Brandcast 2021 report, YouTube viewership on connected TV has reached 20 million in India; 85% of video viewers agreed that since the onset of COVID-19 in India, they have used YouTube more than ever before.
Most interesting trends for the year from the report:
1. Welcome to the University of YouTube
- 85% Video viewers say YouTube helps them learn or improve skills they are interested in.
- 60% Growth in watchtime of 'Career' related videos in India in May 2021 compared with the same time last year.
- 93% YouTube viewers prefer watching content in Indic languages.
- Over 140 channels have over 10 million subscribers (100% growth YoY)
- 4,000 channels have over 1 million subscribers (50% growth YoY)
And the top emerging trends?
K-pop and BTS, of course: The ASMR launch of BTS’s single Butter garnered record-high viewership from India. The platform saw this fandom for K-pop and BTS come to life with the #PermissionToDance challenge that trended across the country and age groups on YouTube Shorts, which is the platform's answer to Tik Tok.
Chess challenge: Between March 15 and December 31, 2020, videos related to chess collected over 330 million views in India. Comedian Samay Raina is now one of the most subscribed chess streamers in India, with content that blends chess live streams with the presence of popular comedians, influencers and the world’s biggest grandmasters.
Up brand: ‘The Office Canteen’, an upGrad production, disrupted the video space with original content on YouTube in collaboration with popular creators. The program trended at #1.
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