YOUTUBE & YOUTUBE TV ADVERTISING

The public media landscape is rapidly changing: we have entered what’s known as the “user-centric period” of media consumption. PBS linear-only viewing has fallen from ~60% in 2018 to ~30% in 2024, and viewers have more options than ever to consume content

executive summary

Media consumers use between 11-15 media sources, but only 5-7 platforms are considered “must-haves.” Unfortunately, the PBS App is not on this list of must-haves for most viewers.

So what should stations do? Focus on YouTube.

Rich PBS video content provides an incredible point of invitation. This is especially critical for acquiring new prospect audiences unfamiliar with public media: YouTube accounted for nearly 10% of total viewing in April 2024.

Connected TV App

(with second-highest share of total viewing)

53M

monthly viewers of PBS channels on YouTube

of viewers in the 35+ demographic consider YouTube a “must-have” channel.

67%

youtube targeting options

Demographics: Age, gender, parental status, household income, education level, homeownership status, location, etc.

Affinity Audiences: Interests and habits, custom groups (e.g., people who visit particular websites)

In-Market Audiences: Prospects actively researching or planning to purchase specific products or services, seasonal targeting (holiday shoppers, event-goers)

Life Events: People undergoing significant life events (e.g., moving, getting married).

Programming-Related: Specific YouTube channels or videos, topic targeting/content categories (cooking, drama, etc.), placement targeting (channels, websites, Google Display Network apps)