YouTube is one of the most popular video streaming platforms globally, boasting billions of active users. While long-form content has a dedicated audience, the short-form video format known as “Shorts” has recently surged in popularity. During a keynote at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced that Shorts now generates an impressive 200 billion average daily views, solidifying its significant presence in the video landscape. Mohan shared this notable achievement as part of YouTube’s 20th-anniversary celebrations.

Alongside the staggering view count for Shorts, he revealed additional metrics highlighting the platform’s reach. Notably, nearly one billion viewers watch podcasts on YouTube every month, and more than one billion hours of content are consumed daily on television screens. This is significant, considering that over 50 percent of the top 100 YouTube channels are primarily viewed on TV, indicating a shift in content consumption habits among audiences. In terms of future developments, YouTube is set to integrate Veo 3, Google’s video generation model, into Shorts later this summer.

This introduction of new AI tools is aimed at empowering creators to generate more short-form content rapidly, potentially propelling the daily views of Shorts beyond the current milestone of 200 billion. YouTube Shorts made its debut in September 2020, shortly after the Indian government banned TikTok over data privacy and national security issues. Capitalizing on the familiar format, YouTube quickly attracted former TikTok users and creators. The platform has since expanded Shorts worldwide, positioning it as a major competitor to TikTok and Instagram Reels in the short-form video market.