As YouTube Marks One Year As Nielsen’s Top U.S. Streaming Platform, Senior Execs Nicky Rettke And Tara Walpert Levy Talk NFL, Ad Innovation And How Creators Invaded The Living Room
20.02.2024 - 13:31
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: YouTube has been racking up milestones lately. Its pay-TV bundle, YouTube TV, just passed 8 million subscribers. YouTube Shorts, the answer to TikTok launched globally in 2021, recently hit 80 billion daily views from more than 2 billion logged-in accounts.
The most striking achievement for the Google-owned video giant, however, just may be its dominance in the living room. Nielsen’s monthly snapshot of viewing across linear TV and streaming put YouTube once again in the top spot among all streaming outlets in January, with 8.6% of all viewing on U.S. TV screens. That makes 12 consecutive months for YouTube at No. 1.
Prior to the release of the latest rankings, Deadline spoke with two of the architects of the big-screen surge: Nicky Rettke, VP of Product Management for YouTube Ads, and Tara Walpert Levy, VP, Americas. Combined, they have spent more than 30 years at the company.
Along with the Nielsen news, the execs reflect on a blockbuster NFL season, trends in the volatile advertising market, revitalized partnerships with media companies, the unique capabilities of creators, and more. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
DEADLINE: What has enabled YouTube to become a force on the biggest screen in the home?
TARA WALPERT LEVY: It’s been a long time coming. I remember when Nielsen first announced that we were No. 1 in streaming last year. It was like, ‘My God, a decade ago, who would have imagined?’ I think it’s really two things. One is the content. Obviously, creators have always been at the heart of YouTube and I think they are now recognized as maybe the no-longer-so-secret weapon in the streaming wars. They’re the studio and the writer and the actor and the director all in one and