YouTube accounted for 14.2% of US television viewing in July 2026, compared with about 7.8% for Netflix. The gap puts creator-produced programming at the centre of competition for television audiences.
The figures measure viewing on television sets, rather than mobile phones. They come as Netflix cuts staff and restructures its content leadership.
Netflix changes its content leadership
Netflix has more than 325 million subscribers worldwide and generates billions in profits. Its latest organisational changes include:
- Roughly 1,000 employees are being laid off.
- Chief content officer Bela Bajaria is out.
- Film chief Dan Lin is leaving.
- Peter Rice, a former executive at Disney and Fox, has been brought in to oversee content.
Netflix also pursued the acquisition of Warner Bros. studio and streaming businesses, before withdrawing when Paramount Skydance submitted a higher offer.
Paramount acquired Warner Bros., HBO, its content library and entertainment franchises. Netflix retained the money it would have spent on the transaction.
Two approaches to programming
Netflix spends roughly $20 billion annually producing and acquiring content. It commissions programming through creative executives and negotiates talent agreements while competing with Disney, Paramount, Amazon and Apple.
YouTube draws programming from millions of people who create and upload videos. Its catalogue spans cooking, interviews, jazz performances, documentaries and practical instruction, including synthesizer repairs.
Creators can publish without securing a studio executive’s approval, a network agreement, an agent or a multimillion-dollar production budget. Audience viewing and sharing help determine which programmes attract attention.
The platform also carries music, sports, educational material, comedy, news and podcasts. Creators develop formats around their interests and those of their audiences, allowing the available programming to change as tastes shift.
Access to publishing does not guarantee visibility or income. YouTube’s recommendation algorithms influence discovery, and creators can face difficult financial conditions.
A parallel in independent music
Music distribution has undergone a similar change. Record labels historically controlled signing, recording and promotion decisions, shaping which artists could reach mainstream audiences.
Musicians can now record albums at home, distribute them internationally and connect directly with listeners. That allows artists to develop careers without first securing a major-label deal and changes which music reaches the market.
The volume of available music exceeds what any listener could hear, while earning a living independently remains difficult. Platforms and recommendation systems also influence which recordings audiences discover.
In video, independent creators have likewise established audiences and developed their own formats outside studios and television networks.
