Longer-Form Videos Dominate YouTube Watch-Time

While Shorts have taken over YouTube from a strict views standpoint, watch-time is increasingly guided by videos with durations of 20 minutes or longer. New Tubular Labs data – first shared with Bloomberg – reveals that over 57% of YouTube's minutes watched in 2025 (through May 31) were delivered by videos of 20-plus minutes.

• The data showcases the stark difference in results depending on what creators are measuring and what intended audiences are actually watching.
• Tubular data shows that videos running for under 60 seconds account for 75% of views on the platform this year, and 57% of the videos uploaded. So while views are outperforming uploads, watch-time (naturally, given the length of the content) is underperforming relative to long-form video.
• The long-form focus nods to how more audiences are watching YouTube on TV AS TV (or at least a sub for traditional TV).

In the Southern California area this week? Tubular will be sharing more around video duration trends across social platforms at Vidcon.