September and October holiday content consumption across VA Media’s channels has reached 2 million watch hours – up by 39 per cent YoY as YouTube audiences are eager to get an early dose of the Christmas feels.
As the festive season ramps up and VA Media introduces new festive content to its flagship YouTube channels, Movie Central, Family Central and Romance Movie Central, the entertainment company is anticipating peak viewership on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
“Festive season has well and truly arrived for our network. As one of the largest enterprise partners of YouTube in the APAC region, the live data and engagement we’re able to access has been crucial to our community’s growth,” said Mark Ashbridge, managing director of VA Media.
Last year the network experienced 1.4 million watch hours across its channels on Christmas Day, and 1.3 million watch hours on New Year’s Day, equating to a 30 per cent YOY increase in comparison to 2022.
The latest data from VA Media comes as Alphabet delivers its quarterly results, with YouTube ad revenue hitting $8.9 billion during the third quarter – a YOY increase of $1 billion. YouTube’s dominance on household TVs continues to rise, along with the community of creators making the majority of their YouTube revenue via TV screens, which is up more than 30 per cent YoY.
VA Media’s YouTube festive programming follows suit, with 54 per cent being consumed on TV. Female viewers account for approximately 80 per cent of VA Media’s audience in September and October combined, enjoying seasonal holiday content across its YouTube network.
“The appetite for holiday content has enabled us to work with our content partners to publish and drive viewership for a strong portfolio of more than 80 holiday feature films annually,” added Ashbridge.
“We’re seeing increasing viewership as audiences begin to consume YouTube content as much as they do TikTok. We’re excited to be working with many of our content partners to deliver innovative content strategies with both YouTube and YouTube Shorts”.
