San Francisco Frontiers - YouTube says more than 20 billion videos uploaded in 20 years

The online video-sharing platform has evolved from a dinner party lark into a modern lifestyle staple poised to overtake US cable television in paid viewership.

PayPal colleagues Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim conceived YouTube in 2005, reportedly during a dinner party. The domain YouTube.com launched on Valentine's Day that year.

Video uploading capabilities were added on April 23, when Karim posted the first video, titled "Me at the Zoo." The 19-second clip showing Karim at the San Diego Zoo's elephant exhibit has garnered 348 million views.

Over the next 20 years, the site expanded beyond what was imagined possible back in 2005.

YouTube says that it now sees an average of some 20 million videos uploaded daily.

The platform hosts everything from concert clips and podcasts to political ads, tutorials and much more.

YouTube has become the world's largest digital video service in terms of time spent by viewers and ad revenue, according to eMarketer analyst Ross Benes.

The platform reached more than 2.5 billion viewers globally last year, and hit 100 million subscribers to its music and premium tier, according to market tracker Statista.

YouTube is projected to surpass all US cable television services in paid subscribers within two years, according to Benes.

Users worldwide watch more than a billion hours of YouTube content daily on television sets alone, Google reported.

YouTube said it will upgrade its TV viewing experience this summer with improved features and "quality tweaks," though it did not provide further details.

"If you go back 20 years, it would have seemed laughable that this website with kids making parody videos would become a threat to Disney, ABC, and CBS," Benes said.

"That's what they were able to accomplish."

Analysts consider Google's 2006 purchase of YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock a pivotal moment, combining Google's search and advertising expertise with a video-sharing platform that had passionate users.

Google used its advertising know-how to build a successful model, sharing revenue with creators who attracted significant audiences.

The company enhanced technology and negotiated with studios to address copyright violations on what was once considered the Wild West of video content.

YouTube also worked its way past concerns that disturbing content, like parody videos of popular cartoon characters in violent or risque situations, were being served up to children by its recommendation software.

The platform now competes with streaming services like Netflix, Disney, and Amazon Prime, as well as short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram's Reels.

R.Moore--SFF