Teens Like the Ads on YouTube, Shows on Netflix, Precise TV Finds

Precise TV Report
(Image credit: Precise TV)

More rough news for grownups in traditional media. According to a new study from Precise TV, teens prefer the ads on YouTube and are turning to Netflix and YouTube to watch their favorite shows.

The second annual Precise Advertiser Report: Teens & Youth (PARTY), produced with research company Giraffe Insights, found that 27% of youngsters aged 13 to 17 said that they think the best TV commercials are on YouTube. That compares with 23% on broadcast TV. 

Faring even worse were streaming services. Just 9% of teens thought the best ads were on ad-supported streamers, which have been increasing the amount of commercials they show.

“Our findings support the influx of TV dollars flowing to YouTube to target U.S. teens,” Precise TV co-founder and chairman Christian Dankl said. “Teenagers prefer YouTube as their go-to for everyday entertainment, and they prefer ads on YouTube three times more than ads from streaming services.”

An increase in viewing by young people pushed YouTube’s share of television usaage to an industry leading 10.4% in July.

The report also said that when teens were asked, “where do you like to watch your favorite show?“ the top answers were Netflix with 27% and YouTube with 16%. Hulu was cited by 10% of teens; other streamers, including Paramount Plus, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video, were in the single digits.

Movie studios have long been big television advertisers, but the PARTY report found that social media is where more teens learn about new movies.

YouTube was named as the No. 1 place teens said they found out about new films, with 38% of respondents, followed by 28% naming TikTok. SVOD services with ads were cited by 26% and broadcast TV was picked by 20%. 

The survey used as the basis for the report was conducted online in June with 1,000 families in the United States, including teens aged 13 to 17 and their parents. 

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.