Sign in with Google When the first YouTube video in the world was uploaded 20 years ago, it marked the start of a shift in media. Today, that evolution continues on YouTube, with better experiences for viewers and new opportunities for marketers.
At Brandcast 2025 in India, we celebrated the rich confluence of culture, creators, fandoms, and commerce that thrive on YouTube today.
The growing impact of creators on culture and commerce
Creators have become essential to how culture forms and spreads. And YouTube is the stage for both the biggest cultural moments and all the content that surrounds them.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan highlighted that recently, when he called India a “Creator Nation” at the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit.
Over 100 million YouTube channels in India have uploaded content in the last year and more than 15,000 of those channels have over 1 million subscribers.1
The role that YouTube creators play, however, goes beyond building content.
They also build trusted communities, and that trust directly influences consumer behaviour. According to a survey conducted by Kantar, 89% of surveyed viewers in India agree that YouTube has creator content that helps them research and discover products when shopping, outperforming the competitive average (80%), which includes Facebook, Instagram, and Moj MX Takatak.2
Most viewers in India also use YouTube Shorts to discover new brands and products. According to a survey by Material, 72% of surveyed respondents in India said advertising on YouTube Shorts introduces them to new brands/products, over 2X higher than other short-form video services.3
For brands, that means more opportunities to influence audiences and fulfil marketing objectives across screens, including the biggest screen in the house.
Streaming’s new look: How YouTube leads in the living room
As audience behaviours evolve, we’re noticing a shift in YouTube’s viewership across the biggest screens in homes. It is becoming a core part of the streaming phenomenon.
YouTube reached over 75 million people in India aged 18 and above on connected TV (CTV) in April 2025.4
This isn’t about YouTube consumption starting to resemble that of traditional TV. It’s about YouTube redefining the TV experience.
In today’s viewer-centric environment, people seamlessly move between diverse content types, from long-form entertainment and live events to short-form video and podcasts, all on one platform. And in the last year, YouTube Shorts views have more than doubled on the big screen.5
YouTube is the only video platform that’s cracked the code for such nuanced viewership behaviour.
It’s not about YouTube consumption starting to resemble that of traditional TV. YouTube is redefining the TV experience.
Advertising innovations: Connecting with new audiences across screens in meaningful ways
YouTube also helps you reach audiences you don’t find anywhere else. On average, over 65% of the 18+ year-old audience reached on YouTube in India was unique to YouTube and incremental to TV measured across all Google Cross Media Reach Reports powered by BARC.6
Additionally, according to a survey conducted by GWI in India, 44% of YouTube Shorts users don’t use Instagram Reels.7
To help brands effectively tap into these shifts in culture and viewing, we announced several new opportunities on YouTube for advertising at Brandcast 2025.
YouTube’s the place that connects creators and fans around impactful cultural moments — across every way people stream, scroll, discover, and shop.
We announced Peak Points, built with Google AI. This all-new product uses Gemini to identify the most meaningful or “peak” moments within YouTube’s popular content, placing your brand where audiences are the most engaged.
We also presented new opportunities to drive both awareness and action via the big screen in the living room. With the immersive design for Masthead on CTV, we’re offering an edge-to-edge canvas for ads on the YouTube homepage. And with Shoppable CTV, viewers can browse and engage with products directly from the big screen.
Partnership Ads was also introduced to turn branded and creator collaboration content into shoppable storefronts. And a custom solution for India was launched to help marketers connect with the diverse and growing rural audience. The privacy-preserving solution uses granular location data, which draws upon India’s urban-rural census ratios, to help marketers unlock new and significant growth opportunities.
The next big bet: Focusing on partnership, innovation, and AI
Brandcast 2025 underscored YouTube’s role as the place that connects creators and fans around impactful cultural moments — across every way people stream, scroll, discover, and shop.
And we’re continuing to innovate ways of storytelling, with groundbreaking tools like Veo 3 leading the charge in how content is conceived and brought to life.
So, just as it’s been over the many years of growth, YouTube remains committed to partnering with creators and brands as we pioneer the future of entertainment and commerce.
Find more highlights from #Brandcast2025 on LinkedIn.
