Longform YouTube videos are more popular than ever—advertisers, rejoice! Smartphone users spend 54% of the time they’re viewing videos on content that’s at least 20 minutes long—a 29% increase from 2016, according to Ooyala. Part of that is due to YouTube raising the bar for how many watch hours a creator needs to start earning ad revenue along with their quiet algorithm shift, which a Pew Research Center study suggests favors longer content. And the move makes sense: longer videos mean more ads. (Wired)
