COPS Mines Archives For 17% More YouTube Watch-Time
In April, COPS uploaded 34 new videos while generating 191.4 million minutes of watch-time among U.S. YouTube viewers.
Paramount’s COPS has decades of video content available. And recently, the program – famously focused on airing real-time police work – has been growing its YouTube watch-time with longer, and more uploads, according to Audience Ratings data from Tubular Labs.
- In April, COPS uploaded 34 new videos while generating 191.4 million minutes of watch-time among U.S. YouTube viewers. That was an increase of 17% month-over-month, and a 155% increase year-over-year.
- Of the show’s 34 uploads in April, 14 were vertical video Shorts, and 20 ran for under two minutes. However, its most-viewed videos were all longer “best of” and “classic” compilations with durations over 20 minutes (and the most-viewed were over 45 minutes).
For long-standing media companies with known show brands, having years of archives like COPS presents a unique opportunity on YouTube to lean into lean-back behaviors and give audiences something to simply put on their TVs (or YouTube). Our analysis last year on SpongeBob SquarePants’ success celebrating its 25th anniversary is another example of this strategy, spotlighting how archival programming can fuel long watch sessions.
