YouTube may be facing a gradual decline, and this concern is largely attributed to the rise of YouTube Shorts, causing apprehension among platform employees. Shorts, a short-form video format, has gained massive popularity since its global launch in 2021. While it was initially intended to compete with rivals like TikTok and Meta, Shorts is now raising concerns within YouTube about its potential impact on the platform’s core revenue source, long-form content.
Employees at YouTube are worried that YouTube Shorts could overshadow the company’s primary source of revenue, which is long-form videos. While Shorts has led to increased viewership and content creation, it has also diverted audiences away from traditional long-form content, where advertisers typically invest their advertising budgets.
This situation has put YouTube in a dilemma. Short-form videos like Shorts are popular because they offer quick and easily digestible content, similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels. However, YouTube generates most of its revenue from advertisements, and short videos provide fewer opportunities for ads, resulting in lower profits compared to long-form content.
Traditionally, long-form content has been more attractive to advertisers, and while some platforms have attempted to shift advertisers towards short-form content, they have struggled to do so. YouTube is actively seeking ways to increase ad revenue from Shorts but has not found a successful approach.
Additionally, content creators are producing fewer long videos and are focusing more on creating Shorts. Newer creators are driven by the desire to reach a larger audience, and YouTube’s algorithm promotes short content, further contributing to the shift away from long-form videos.
Despite these challenges and concerns, YouTube cannot ignore the popularity of Shorts. The platform is aggressively promoting Shorts to its vast user base, even if it means sacrificing some ad revenue. This strategy is seen as a defensive move to compete in the evolving short-form video landscape.
YouTube acknowledges these concerns but maintains that Shorts is designed to complement, rather than compete with, other content formats on the platform, such as audio and livestreams. The company views Shorts as a way to create a positive cycle that attracts new viewers to different content formats.
To address the concerns about Shorts potentially impacting its core business, YouTube should focus on revenue-driving features like AI summaries and exclusive content partnerships, such as NFL highlights. These efforts can help strike a balance between keeping the audience engaged and finding ways to generate income amidst the growing popularity of short-form content.
