According to a study conducted by Oxford Economics, YouTube contributes 1.2 billion euros to Germany’s gross domestic product.
On average, an adult watches 40 minutes of videos on YouTube every day, explains Andreas Briese, Germany boss of the Google subsidiary. It is undeniable that the video platform has an economic, cultural and social impact in Germany. Oxford Economics tried to find out exactly what this looks like on behalf of YouTube. It is already the second impact report about the platform. The numbers and data refer to the year 2021, so they also include corona conditions and lockdown times.
According to the study, the daily time spent on YouTube more than tripled between January 2020 and 2021. The use is increasingly taking place on the TV instead of on the smartphone or computer. In December 2021, more than 30 million people are said to have watched YouTube videos on their TV.
Youtube’s economic contribution
According to the economic consulting firm Oxford Economics, YouTube’s share of the gross domestic product is 1.2 billion euros. Among other things, the direct income that YouTube pays for the creation of content, i.e. advertising and license fees, but also “induced effects”, such as food and household goods, as well as income generated outside the platform through product sponsorship or direct sales, were considered of goods by Creators. This estimate is based on a survey of YouTube creators and sales figures from the music industry.
The creative ecosystem of YouTube creates 30,000 full-time jobs in Germany. The number comes from the hours that creative companies invest in YouTube every week. Accordingly, this does not include how many people work directly on YouTube or for the provision of the platform.
Creators in Berlin
The results were presented by Youtube during an industry festival at the Berlin premises of the video platform. 2000 visitors from the creator scene have gathered. Among them Marie Dietrich, who runs the “Wurzelwerk” channel and is highlighted by YouTube as an example when discussing the study. Dietrich has been active on the platform for about three years. Before that, she ran a full-time blog on which she wrote about self-sufficiency and growing vegetables. In the meantime, she says, ten permanent employees and two other employees work for her. You look after the video channel, take care of a range of courses, take care of the blog and other social media activities.
Jacob Beautemps is also allowed to speak and talks about his live stream event Youtopia, which deals with the topic of environmental protection. Beautemps is doing a PhD in Physics Didactics on Learning via Video. Creators, but also celebrities like Günther Jauch, speak at his event. His channel “Breaking Lab” has more than 500,000 subscribers.
The study also recorded that 92 percent of those surveyed use YouTube as a source of information and knowledge. 89 percent of parents who use YouTube agreed that YouTube helps their children learn.
Other results relate to small and medium-sized companies that use YouTube as a platform to reach their customers or members – especially during the pandemic. Entrepreneurs also stated that they wanted to use their reach on the platform to have a positive impact on society and to promote cultural diversity.
(emw)
