Some YouTube employees are reportedly worried that YouTube Shorts, the platform’s TikTok-like feature, could disrupt and potentially overshadow its long-form content business, which has been the primary source of revenue for the company for nearly two decades.
YouTube introduced Shorts in 2020 in India, following the ban of TikTok in the country. It later expanded Shorts globally in 2021, where it quickly gained significant popularity. However, this growth in short-form content has raised concerns among employees that it might cannibalize YouTube’s core business of long-form videos, which currently generates the majority of the company’s revenue.
Shorts has attracted a broad audience, but it has also diverted users’ attention away from traditional long-form content, as reported by the Financial Times. YouTube staff have discussed the risk that long-form videos, which bring in more revenue due to ad placements, might decline in popularity as short-form content gains traction.
YouTube’s challenge is that short-form videos are more popular with audiences because of their brevity, making them easier to consume. This trend has been successfully leveraged by platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. However, these short videos don’t allow for as many ads, making it harder for YouTube to generate as much profit compared to long-form videos.
While YouTube is working on strategies to increase ad revenue from Shorts, content creators are producing fewer long videos, causing concern among the platform’s employees. YouTube needs to strike a balance between engaging its audience and finding effective ways to monetize its content.
Despite the concerns, YouTube cannot afford to overlook Shorts due to its immense popularity and the broader trend in short-form video consumption. The company acknowledges the worries but maintains that Shorts is designed to complement, not compete with, other formats on the platform. YouTube sees Shorts as a means to attract different viewers and create a positive cycle that drives users to various content formats.
