MeidasTouch, MSNBC Boost Watch-Live With Long, Live Videos

Shorts are a big piece of the pie when it comes to YouTube, but they’re not the end-all be-all, as some media companies regularly lean into.

Tubular Labs data shows that in June, MeidasTouch and MSNBC were among the most successful U.S. channels generating domestic watch-time on Youtube – and a lot of that came from lengthy live videos.

• MeidasTouch saw its minutes watched grow by 36% on the month, to 1.2 billion, while MSNBC jumped 11% to an even 1 billion.
• Nearly every MeidasTouch upload in June that ran for at least an hour was marked as “live” as the channel aired extensive streams of footage around national unrest, Donald Trump-related news items, or commentary on both. MeidasTouch’s four-hour live feed covering No Kings Day protests around the country was among its most-watched videos of the month, at 1.4 million views. 

Despite the long run-time, audiences tuned in for the content while MeidasTouch also utilized many ad breaks to help further monetize that increased viewership.

MSNBC, meanwhile, won with a combination of long videos and volume. The network uploaded 1,460 videos to YouTube in June, but 12 running for over an hour and one – live Senate “vote-a-rama” coverage – going for over 22 hours. Despite the extensive duration, the video hit 1 million views and was one of MSNBC’s top videos on the month.