TikTok is gaining on YouTube, now leads in average watch time in the US

TikTok eclipsed YouTube in viewership by more than 10 hours back in June

TikTok is catching up to video giant YouTube according to new data.

Users are spending more average watch time each month viewing content on TikTok than YouTube, which "could shake up the rankings in years to come," according to a new study from App Annie, which provides app market and advertising analytics.

In June of this year, the average monthly hours per user for TikTok was about two hours more than on Google’s video platform, according to App Annie.

POLAND - 2021/04/26: In this photo illustration a TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages in the background.

And TikTok has been leading YouTube for most of the past 12 months, according to the per user data from App Annie.

In the U.K., it’s no contest: The average monthly hours per user for TikTok is about 10 hours more than YouTube in June.

The average monthly hours metric cited in the report only covers Android phones. Nevertheless, the data shows TikTok’s swift rise with its three-minute videos.

YouTube remains the leader in the overall streaming, social and photo and video space "due to both depth and breadth of engagement," according to the report.

"The landscape has evolved from text and chat features to photo sharing, to video sharing and ultimately, to live streaming," App Annie said, adding that "at the heart of these trends is the importance of video, live streaming and the creator economy."

Other important data cited in the report include:

Consumers are shifting to a model of paying for content creators instead of professionally produced content.

Social apps occupied 740 billion hours of consumer time in the second quarter of 2021, which is equal to 44% of all time spent on mobile.

Seventy-four billion social apps downloaded to date: 4.7 billion downloads in first half of 2021.

Total time spent in the top 5 social apps that emphasize live streaming are set to surpass half a trillion hours on Android phones in 2021 (outside of China).

$78 billion forecast to be spent on social apps through 2025, with an estimated $6.78 billion spent via social apps this year.

Viewers are purchasing in-app gifts to support their favorite streamers with two regions dominating: U.S. and Japanese consumers spent more than $1.5 billion in social apps in the first half of this year.

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