YouTube's Numbers Keep Getting Bigger
New data shows YouTube's public view counts overstate real engagement by 40%. Days later, the platform added a second metric that multiplies TV viewers, visible only to creators. Both land the same month Google opened alcohol ads to personalized targeting.
Today at a GlanceThe 40% gap: Ad platform Agentio checked 75,000 videos and found only 6 in 10 public views also count as engaged views. Brands paying by view count may be overpaying by two thirds.A new metric, a new question: YouTube added "views co-viewed," which estimates how many people watched together on a TV. One household of three can now register as three views instead of one, but only creators can see the number.Alcohol ads get personal: Starting October 30, Google will allow personalized alcohol advertising on YouTube in markets where local law permits.Also this week: Travel vlogger Drew Binsky joins the list of YouTubers uploading to Netflix, Dude Perfect's CEO is stepping down, and yes, a cow is playing EVE Online on Twitch.Three weeks after YouTube changed how it counts a public view, the numbers built on top of that change are starting to tell an uncomfortable story. New data from ad measurement firm Agentio finds that YouTube's public view counts overstate genuine engagement by roughly 40 percent. Days later, YouTube rolled out a second, unrelated metric that estimates how many people are watching together on a television and multiplies the count accordingly, a figu...