YouTube Is TV. So Why Is Almost No One Buying It That Way? The consensus among advertisers today is that YouTube is television. It commands the most-watched screen in the U.S., hosts premium, professionally produced programming, and is counted as TV by Nielsen. Viewers consume it like traditional TV—sitting on the couch, using a remote, and engaging with content in the living room. Yet, when it comes to ad buying, this alignment with television falls apart. YouTube is still treated as a digital channel, purchased through CPM-driven strategies, planned in isolation from linear TV buys, and optimized for algorithmic efficiency rather than full-funnel outcomes. This disconnect leaves the platform, which is widely recognized as television, to be bought with media plans designed for search and display. The scale of YouTube’s reach is stark when compared to traditional TV networks. For example, CNN attracts approximately 550,000 primetime viewers on linear TV but generates around 240 million monthly YouTube views. These are the same networks and programming brands that advertisers have long trusted, yet their YouTube audiences are significantly larger than the viewership advertisers pay to secure on linear platforms. This discrepancy highlights a fundamental misalignment between how YouTube is perceived and how it is purchased. The gap persists due to structural and habitual factors. YouTube has historically been positioned within the “digital” line of media plans, managed by tools optimized for programmatic buying and Google’s ad ecosystem. Advertisers often stick to familiar workflows, using the same KPIs, reporting systems, and bidding mechanisms, rather than overhauling their processes to integrate YouTube into TV-like strategies.#youtube #cbs #nielsen #tatari #dana_delle
Week of June 1 Evening News Ratings: NBC News and CBS News Have All-Around Gains ABC World News Tonight experienced a week-to-week decline in total viewers for the week of June 1, despite slight gains in the Adults 25-54 demographic. The newscast averaged 7.66 million total viewers and 974,000 demo viewers, down -2% in total viewers compared to the previous week but up +1% in the demo. Year-over-year comparisons showed WNT up +9% in total viewers and +7% in the demo compared to the same week in 2025. NBC Nightly News ranked second in both total viewers and the demo, averaging 6.304 million total viewers and 892,000 demo viewers. The broadcast saw a +6% increase in total viewers and a +12% rise in the demo compared to the previous week. It trailed GMA by just 82,000 demo viewers. Year-over-year, NBC Nightly News gained +16% in total viewers and the demo compared to the same week in 2025. CBS Evening News finished the week with 3.814 million total viewers and 560,000 demo viewers. The newscast grew by +1% in total viewers and +14% in the demo compared to the previous week. Year-over-year, CBS Evening News lost -2% in total viewers but gained +8% in the demo, making it the only evening broadcast with a decline in one of the measured categories within this yearly comparison. The weekly averages for ABC, CBS, and NBC news broadcasts are based on different periods. ABC News’ average is calculated using data from Monday, while CBS and NBC averages are based on Monday through Thursday. On Tuesday (June 2), Wednesday (June 3), Thursday (June 4), and Friday (June 5), ABC World News Tonight was retitled to WNT-ABC. CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News were retitled to CBS Evening Nws and NBC Nitely News, respectively, on Friday. These retitled broadcasts were excluded from the weekly and season averages.#abc_world_news_tonight #nbc_nightly_news #cbs_evening_news #nielsen #wnt_abc
