Tube Trends: ‘Primetime’ For Social Video? It Depends

Does social video have a “primetime” window? Sort of.

For instance, Tubular Labs data shows that for U.S. YouTube accounts specifically, “primetime” is actually on the earlier end of the day.

Over the last 90 days, YouTube views for these U.S.-based accounts were most concentrated on videos uploaded within a larger time window from 7 a.m.-noon ET; or the bulk of the afternoon in London.

Tubular found that 6.1% of views on U.S. YouTube views occurred for videos uploaded at 8 a.m. ET – the average daily peak. And interestingly, while there were fewer videos uploaded from 7-8 a.m. ET, these videos also received the most views per upload. That could indicate a potential opportunity for more creators and publishers to catch the early East Coast/afternoon London time window that they’re currently missing.

There are genre-to-genre differences as well, which creators can account for.

U.S. YouTube videos in the “Pop Culture & Entertainment” category follow a similar “primetime” pattern. Over the last 90 days, views of this category were also concentrated on videos uploaded within the time window of 7 a.m.-noon ET. 

However, in this category, views peaked at 10 a.m. ET on average. And while there were fewer videos uploaded from 6-7 a.m. ET, these videos received the most views per upload in that time frame, peaking at 44K per.

The data doesn’t tell creators that they can only upload at specific times. However, understanding the dynamics of when the most content is consumed — whether overall, by category or just by average views — strategies can be best tailored to get the most bang for your production/editing buck.

TikTok’s Audience Arrives Later

Though this space is typically reserved for YouTube-specific conversations, it’s also worth exploring how these trends hold up (or don’t) on other platforms. And in particular, on TikTok.

Looking at the same 90-day window, Tubular found that peak TikTok views were spread out over an extended window of uploads from noon-4 p.m. ET, peaking at 4 p.m. ET. (6.9% of views). That’s effectively a four-hour delay versus the viewing behaviors of YouTube audiences.

On TikTok, uploads are also starkly different depending on the time of day. While afternoon ET hours are each getting over 14K uploads per day, early-morning ET is getting fewer than 4K per day (and the views reflect as much). Compare that to YouTube, where the lowest hour-blocks for uploads are still getting an average of about 12K videos per day.

These differences indicate both a difference in user base (younger audiences on TikTok), but also the difference in creator approaches to reflect that; which may mean more U.S. TikTok content is being produced to be regionally-specific, and less exportable across the pond. Even if just by upload time.

That idea may just be inherent to the platform. But could also present an opportunity for U.S. creators to stand out by uploading earlier in an effort to catch U.K. viewers their peers have been missing out on thus far (comparatively, at that is).