YouTube tests games, deepening its Netflix rivalry and eating up even more screen time
Subscribe and level up… In its most significant gaming play since discontinuing cloud service Stadia earlier this year, Google is testing games on YouTube. A new “Playables” section is rolling out to select users, rounding out an already robust rabbit hole of entertainment that includes videos, rentable movies, live streams, and social posts like Shorts.
Built in: YouTube’s already a home for gaming content, competing with Amazon’s Twitch. Google’s been trying to tap into the audience for years, even spinning out gaming content into its own (short-lived) app in 2015.
Rocky road: The games-next-to-video blueprint hasn’t exactly been a hit. Last year TikTok parent ByteDance downsized its gaming operation, and Snap shut down its in-app games (picture: Bitmoji Tennis).
Ridin’ the bumper: Playables heightens competition with Netflix, which has doubled down on its gaming division with plans to launch 40 titles this year.
A jack-of-all-trades… YouTube is expanding beyond its video roots to gain a foothold elsewhere. One example: live sports. This football season marks YouTube TV’s first as the home of NFL Sunday Ticket — a package that streamers like Apple and Amazon also wanted. As cable declines, YouTube is also gobbling up TV market share: YouTube TV, which offers live TV for $73/month, became the fifth-largest TV provider with 6.6M subs. It's expected to add 2M+ more this season, even though Sunday Ticket costs extra. With 2B monthly users watching Shorts, YouTube is also a direct social competitor with TikTok and Instagram Reels.
The best offense is a good defense… YouTube dominates video content with 2.7B active/monthly users — but it’s not pressing pause. By repeatedly going where its rivals go, Gen Z’s most used app is trying to defend against user losses to protect its ad biz, which last quarter raked in $7.7B.