YouTube Shorts hits 2 billion monthly hours on TV screens
YouTube Shorts, the platform’s short-form video format originally built for the vertical orientation of smartphones, has found a massive new audience on the living room television. Data from the company reveals that viewers now consume over 2 billion hours of Shorts on TV screens every month.
While the format was designed for mobile devices, the shift to bigger screens represents a significant evolution in how audiences consume digital content. YouTube is actively catering to this behavior by surfacing Shorts within TV search results and introducing dedicated features, such as a “Short videos for you” row on the Google TV interface.
Adapting the TV viewing experience
To accommodate the difference in screen real estate, YouTube has redesigned the interface for television sets. When playing vertical videos on a television, the platform now displays comments alongside the video rather than obscuring the content, aiming for a more immersive experience.
“The living room is YouTube’s fastest-growing screen, and the Shorts experience is further helping connect viewers with the world’s most active creator community from the comfort of their couch,” stated Kurt Wilms, YouTube’s senior director of product management for YouTube on TV. He added that audiences are increasingly seeking to watch all types of content—including podcasts and Shorts—on their largest home screens.
The rise of living room content
The living room has become a central focus for YouTube’s growth strategy. Currently, U.S. viewers alone account for more than 200 million hours of daily content consumption on televisions. This trend extends beyond short-form clips to include the podcast category, which has seen a surge in popularity on living room devices.
According to YouTube figures, monthly podcast viewership on living room devices reached over 700 million hours in 2025, a substantial increase from the 400 million hours recorded in 2024. This growth aligns with broader industry movements, as companies like Netflix also secure video rights for popular podcasts to compete for daytime viewership.
Sarah Ali, VP of product management for YouTube Shorts, noted that these adjustments provide a new avenue for growth. “By tailoring Shorts for the big screen, we unlocked a more immersive way for fans to engage with their favorite content while also creating a massive new stage for creators to reach global audiences and scale their businesses,” Ali said.