119 Video Marketing Statistics October 2026

Video marketing statistics for 2026 point the same way from every angle: people watch more video on more screens, and advertisers follow. YouTube took a record 14.2% of all US TV viewing in July 2026, more than any media company (Nielsen, Sep 2026). US digital video ad spend is set to reach $81.9 billion this year, double its 2021 level (IAB, Jul 2026).

Making video is the easy part now. The harder parts are getting it seen, proving what it earns, and keeping viewers' trust as AI tools do more of the work. This page covers budgets, AI production, viewing habits, video in Google search, B2B video, ad spend and ROI. Every number links to the organisation that ran the survey, measured the audience or filed the report, with the date of the data. Vendor research is labelled as vendor research, and research a platform paid for is labelled as commissioned.

How much are companies investing in video in 2026?

Almost every marketing team makes video now, but budgets have stopped climbing. The money is moving into tools that cut production time, while the people watching grow more wary of what those tools make.

How many companies make video, and how much do they spend?

Most do, on small budgets. 93% of video marketers call video an important part of their overall strategy (Wyzowl, Dec 2025), and 76% of companies publish at least one video a month (Wistia, Apr 2026). Both are vendor surveys.

• 67% of marketers who don't use video plan to start in 2026 (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).
• The two most common reasons for not using video are not seeing a need and cost, each named by 24% of non-users (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).
• Almost 40% of companies spent under $5,000 on video production in 2025, and just over 30% spent more (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• 46% expect to keep their production budget flat this year (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• Promotion gets more of the new money: 48% plan to raise their video promotion budget, and fewer than 10% plan to cut it (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• 41% of marketers spent money on video ads in the past year, up from 36% a year earlier (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).
• 38% of marketers say video costs are rising, 30% say they are falling and 32% see no change (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).

Teams still put the effort into making videos rather than getting them watched: 57% spend more time creating videos than promoting them (Wistia, Apr 2026).

How is AI changing video production?

AI is moving into every stage of production, starting with planning and captions. More than a third of companies already use AI in their video workflow, and nearly a quarter more plan to start soon (Wistia, Apr 2026).

• Companies that produce video every day are 58% more likely to use AI than other producers (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• 84% of marketers in Animoto's vendor survey use AI to create videos, and 97% want to use more AI in 2026 (Animoto, Mar 2026).
• On average, more than 1 million YouTube channels used YouTube's AI creation tools every day in December 2025 (YouTube, Jan 2026).
• In the same month, more than 6 million people a day watched at least 10 minutes of automatically dubbed YouTube video (YouTube, Jan 2026).
• Video ad buyers expect a third of their ad assets to use generative AI this year, rising to 43% by 2027 (IAB, Jul 2026).
• More than 9 million small businesses use at least one of Meta's generative AI ad creative tools (Meta, Jul 2026).

Google's SynthID has watermarked more than 100 billion AI-made images and videos since its launch (Google, May 2026), so a growing share of that output now carries a label viewers can check.

Do viewers trust AI-made video?

Less than they trust video with real people in it. In Animoto's survey, 77.9% of consumers said they trust videos featuring real people, and 36% said AI-generated videos lower their trust in a brand (Animoto, Jan 2026).

• 53% of Americans are not too or not at all confident they can tell whether something was made by AI or by a person (Pew Research Center, Sep 2025).
• 83% of consumers in Animoto's survey believe they can spot AI-generated video (Animoto, Mar 2026).
• Nearly 40% of US media fans would accept AI-created content on streaming, social, music and gaming services if it is clearly labelled (Deloitte, Mar 2026).
• 42% of US weekly podcast consumers approve of podcasts using generative AI to make video (Edison Research, Jun 2026).

The safe pattern is AI for the work behind the camera and people on screen.

Where do people watch video now?

On the biggest screen in the house. Online video used to mean phones and laptops, but YouTube and the streamers now take more of TV time than broadcast and cable combined, and short clips run alongside full-length shows.

How much TV time goes to YouTube and streaming?

About half. Streaming reached 49.0% of all US TV viewing in July 2026 (Nielsen, Sep 2026), against 19.5% for broadcast and 18.7% for cable (Nielsen, Sep 2026).

• YouTube viewing rose 6% from June to July 2026, giving it a 5.0-point lead in Nielsen's Media Distributor Gauge (Nielsen, Sep 2026).
• Streaming took 48.2% of all ad-supported US TV viewing in Q2 2026, up 1.6 share points (Nielsen, Aug 2026).
• In the UK, YouTube took 15% of all in-home video viewing in 2025 and 23% among 16 to 34 year olds (Ofcom, Jul 2026).
• UK viewers watched an average of 41 minutes of YouTube a day at home across all devices in 2025, up 18% on 2024 (Ofcom, Jul 2026).
• 52% of UK adults aged 55 to 64 watched YouTube at home each week in 2025, up from 46% in 2022 (Ofcom, Jul 2026).
• More than 80% of Netflix ad-tier members watch every week (Netflix, May 2026).

How much video do people watch outside the TV?

More every quarter, much of it in social feeds. Video time spent on Facebook grew 9% year over year globally in Q2 2026, and by more than 10% in the US and Canada (Meta, Jul 2026).

• Over half of all recommended content in the Instagram feed is now less than a day old, more than double the share a year ago (Meta, Jul 2026).
• In 45 of 48 markets, more people now watch news video online than watch TV news (Reuters Institute, Jun 2026).
• Viewing of news video on publishers' own websites and apps fell 5 points to 23%, as growth went to third-party platforms (Reuters Institute, Jun 2026).
• 44% of US adults prefer to watch the news rather than read or listen to it (Pew Research Center, Nov 2025).
• 82% of US weekly podcast consumers said they watch video podcasts in Q3 2025, against 78% for audio-only shows, the first time video came out ahead, though audio edged back in front in Q1 2026, 80% to 78% (Edison Research, Jun 2026).
• YouTube is the service US weekly podcast consumers use most often for podcasts, at 37% in Q1 2026 (Edison Research, Jun 2026).

Do short videos hold attention better than long ones?

Yes, though long videos keep the viewers who choose them. In Vidyard's analysis of nearly a million business videos, viewers watched short clips to the end far more often, yet Vidyard users created 420% more videos over 20 minutes long than a year earlier (Vidyard, Feb 2025).

• Videos under 3 minutes grew by about 30% on Vidyard over the same period, and videos of 3 to 20 minutes by about 60% (Vidyard, Feb 2025).
• 45% of YouTube Shorts users aren't on TikTok and 65% aren't on Instagram Reels, according to GWI data cited by Google (Google, Apr 2026).
• On Wistia, uploads in vertical HD rose 24% year over year and 4K uploads 16%, while 720p fell 8% (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• Lead-capture forms in videos over 60 minutes long drew click-through rates of 67% to 75% (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• 21% of people who use YouTube for news watch live news there (Reuters Institute, Jun 2026).

The lesson is to state the main point early, then let interested viewers go deep.

Is YouTube a search engine for buyers?

For product research, yes. Viewers say they use it to find and judge things to buy, while Google is pulling YouTube out of its blue links and into separate video features. Ranking a video now means winning those video slots, not the classic top three.

How often does YouTube rank in Google?

Less often in the regular results than before. YouTube held 2.50% of Google's top 3 positions after the March 2026 update and 2.40% after the December 2025 update, before falling after May (SE Ranking, Jun 2026). SE Ranking, a vendor, reads the drop as video moving into SERP features.

• YouTube is still the domain most likely to hold all three top spots for a keyword, behind 15.4% of such "monopolised" keywords after May, down from 19.2% after December (SE Ranking, Jun 2026).
• Those monopolised keywords shrank from 0.67% to 0.31% of all keywords SE Ranking tracked (SE Ranking, Jun 2026).
• Google's video carousel appeared about 75% more often year over year in seoClarity's 2024 tracking, a vendor study (seoClarity, Aug 2024).
• Mobile searches triggered the video carousel about 400% more often than desktop searches (seoClarity, Aug 2024).

How AI answers cite YouTube is covered in the AI search statistics, and the wider ranking picture in the SEO statistics.

Do people research purchases on YouTube?

Yes. Viewers rank YouTube as the first platform they turn to when researching or deciding on a brand, product or service, in a Google-commissioned Kantar survey of 7,621 US video viewers (Google, Apr 2026).

• 87% of viewers say YouTube introduces them to things they wouldn't have found on their own (Google, Apr 2026).
• 78% of Gen Z YouTube viewers say YouTube is the platform they trust most (Google, Apr 2026).
• 93% of US viewers aged 18 to 27 agree that YouTube helps them learn new skills, according to a 2025 Kantar survey published by YouTube (YouTube, Jan 2026).
• More than 500,000 creators sell through YouTube Shopping (YouTube, Jan 2026).
• In December 2025, more than 20 million people used YouTube's AI Ask tool to learn more about videos they were watching (YouTube, Jan 2026).
• 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).
• 80% have bought or downloaded an app after watching a demo video of it (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).

How does video work in B2B marketing and sales?

B2B video now lives on LinkedIn and in sales inboxes as much as on YouTube. The strongest results come from video that puts a real person in front of a buyer, whether that is a customer story, a webinar host or a sales rep.

How many B2B marketers use video, and where do they post it?

Most of them, and LinkedIn is their first stop. 56% of B2B marketers plan to increase their use of video in the next year (LinkedIn, Jan 2026).

• 81% of teams in Wistia's survey share videos on LinkedIn and 76% on YouTube (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• About half share videos on Instagram and just under half on Facebook, while fewer than a quarter post on TikTok (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• B2B marketers use video mainly to build brand awareness (35%), build trust and credibility (29%) and drive conversions and sales (23%) (LinkedIn, Jan 2026).
• 40% of B2B decision-makers say creative ads make them more likely to consider buying from a brand, in LinkedIn and MAGNA research (LinkedIn, Jan 2026).
• Videos are 20 times more likely to be shared than any other type of LinkedIn post, LinkedIn says (LinkedIn, Jan 2026).

For B2B search and content budgets, see the B2B SEO statistics.

Does video help sales teams?

Sales teams act as if it does. Vidyard users created 943,305 videos in 2024, 88% more than in 2023 (Vidyard, Feb 2025), and the average user went from one video a month to almost one every ten days (Vidyard, Feb 2025).

• Adoption of Vidyard's AI Avatars, which send personalised videos on a rep's behalf, rose 12 times in eight months after launch (Vidyard, Feb 2025).
• Education companies created 436% more videos on Vidyard and consulting firms 280% more (Vidyard, Feb 2025).
• 57% of video marketers say video has reduced the number of support queries they get (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).
• 93% say video has helped users understand their product or service (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).

All four numbers come from vendors that sell video tools. For reply rates on text-only outreach, compare the cold email statistics.

Which B2B video formats are growing?

Customer stories, webinars and video podcasts. 47% of companies planned to make customer testimonial videos this year, up from 17% in 2023 (Wistia, Apr 2026).

• 21% of companies plan to produce podcasts this year, up from 14% in 2024 (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• 72% of companies with a podcast run it mainly to build brand awareness and reputation, and only 12% to generate leads (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• About 40% of people who register for a Wistia-hosted webinar attend it (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• 46% of companies go live at least once a month (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• 57% of video marketers have made testimonial videos, 39% product demos and 37% sales videos (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).

Where is video ad money going?

Into social video and streaming TV, both growing faster than advertising as a whole. Buyers are spending more and trusting less: the faster the market grows, the more they question where their ads actually run.

How big is digital video advertising?

Bigger than linear TV now. Digital video is expected to take more than 60% of all US TV and video ad spend in 2026 for the first time (IAB, May 2026), with spend growing 11% this year, nearly 20% faster than the total ad market (IAB, May 2026).

• IAB and Guideline estimate US digital video ad spend at $73.6 billion in 2025 and $39.0 billion in 2021 (IAB, Jul 2026).
• Measured as revenue, IAB and PwC put US digital video at $78.0 billion in 2025 (IAB and PwC, Apr 2026).
• Digital video revenue grew 25.4% in 2025, the fastest of any internet ad format, up from 19.2% growth in 2024 (IAB and PwC, Apr 2026).
• That growth added $15.8 billion of video revenue in a single year (IAB and PwC, Apr 2026).

The two IAB figures for 2025 differ because one is a spend estimate and the other a revenue survey. Quote each with its method.

Is social video or CTV growing faster?

Social video. Its US spend is forecast to grow 13% in 2026, against 11% for CTV and 10% for online video (IAB, Jul 2026). Online video will reach $20.7 billion (IAB, Jul 2026).

• YouTube's ad revenue reached $20.94 billion in the first half of 2026, up from $18.72 billion a year earlier (Alphabet, Jul 2026).
• Alphabet says direct response ads drove most of that growth, followed by brand advertising (Alphabet, Jul 2026).
• More than 1.7 billion unique viewers watched World Cup videos on YouTube during the 2026 tournament (Alphabet, Jul 2026).
• 44% of Netflix members who see an ad on Netflix never saw it on broadcast TV or another streamer (Netflix, May 2026).
• 93% of video ad buyers agree live video is worth more than other video content (IAB, Jul 2026).

What worries video ad buyers?

Inventory quality and lost targeting signals. 43% of buyers have somewhat to no confidence in the quality of CTV inventory even when they buy it directly (IAB, Jul 2026).

• Distrust rises to 55% for private marketplaces and 67% for the open exchange (IAB, Jul 2026).
• Targeting is now the top criterion for TV and video buys, named by 49% of buyers, up from 39% a year earlier (IAB, Jul 2026).
• 21% of buyers already run agentic AI on video campaigns, 20% are testing it and 25% plan to start in 2026 (IAB, May 2026).
• 40% of buyers want a human in the loop when AI agents buy video, and 36% want an audit trail of what the agent did (IAB, Jul 2026).

Does video marketing pay off?

Usually, by the measures marketers use. The trouble is that those measures are mostly views and likes, and only a minority of teams track video all the way to revenue.

What returns do marketers and advertisers report?

Strong ones, mostly on awareness and traffic. 93% of video marketers say video has increased brand awareness (Wyzowl, Dec 2025), and 82% say it has increased traffic to their website (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).

• 82% of video marketers say video keeps visitors on their website for longer (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).
• In a Nielsen study for Google, a 1% rise in brand awareness led to a 0.4% rise in short-term sales and a 0.6% rise in long-term sales (Google, Jan 2025).
• Netflix says campaigns on its service score almost twice the TV norm on long-term brand building and 23% above competitor benchmarks on purchase intent (Netflix, May 2026).

Treat these as directional. The Nielsen and Netflix figures come from a platform or from a study it paid for. For the share of marketers who rate video their best-returning format, see the content marketing statistics.

How do teams measure video success?

Mostly by reach and reactions rather than revenue. 63% of video marketers measure ROI through engagement such as likes, shares and reposts (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).

• 52% measure leads or clicks (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).
• 17% of marketers don't track how much they spend on video at all (Wyzowl, Dec 2025).
• Fewer than half of marketers connect their video platform to their CRM or email tool (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• Social engagement is now the top success metric for almost a quarter of marketers, nearly double the share a year earlier (Wistia, Apr 2026).
• A third of video ad buyers point to outcomes and measurement as the main gaps in proving ROI (IAB, Jul 2026).

Methodology and Sources

Every statistic on this page was traced to the organisation that produced it: an audience measurement firm (Nielsen, Ofcom, Edison Research), a research body (Pew Research Center, Reuters Institute, Deloitte), a trade body (IAB), a company filing or platform announcement (Alphabet, Meta, Netflix, YouTube, Google, LinkedIn), or the vendor that ran the survey or analysed its own platform data (Wyzowl, Wistia, Vidyard, Animoto, SE Ranking, seoClarity). We fetched every URL on 5 October 2026, confirmed the number appears on the page and recorded the date of the data. Roundups and listicles that republish other people's numbers were not used. Vendor and platform-commissioned research is labelled in the text. Vidyard's benchmark covers 2024 videos and seoClarity's carousel tracking dates from 2024; both are kept because nothing newer measures the same thing. This page is refreshed monthly.

Sources

• Alphabet: Q2 2026 earnings release
• Alphabet: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026
• Animoto: State of Video 2026
• Animoto: Survey results, what consumers really think about AI-generated video
• Deloitte: 2026 Digital Media Trends
• Edison Research: The Podcast Consumer 2026
• Google: Unlock the hidden 50% of your marketing ROI
• Google: Welcome to the YouTube Era
• Google: I/O 2026 keynote
• IAB: 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report
• IAB: US digital video ad spend to surpass $80B in 2026
• IAB: Business outcomes are just the beginning
• IAB and PwC: Internet Advertising Revenue Report, Full Year 2025
• LinkedIn: 6 B2B marketing insights for 2026, video isn't just content
• Meta: Q2 2026 earnings call transcript
• Netflix: Upfront 2026
• Nielsen: The Gauge and Media Distributor Gauge, July 2026
• Nielsen: Ad Supported Gauge, Q2 2026
• Ofcom: Media Nations UK 2026
• Pew Research Center: How Americans view AI and its impact on people and society
• Pew Research Center: More Americans prefer to watch the news than read or listen to it
• Reuters Institute: Digital News Report 2026 executive summary
• SE Ranking: Google May 2026 core update analysis
• seoClarity: Video carousel SERP feature impact
• Vidyard: 2025 Video in Business Benchmark Report
• Wistia: 2026 State of Video Report
• Wyzowl: Video Marketing Statistics 2026
• YouTube: From the CEO, what's coming to YouTube in 2026

Glossary

• CTV: connected TV, video streamed over the internet to a TV set, through a smart TV, streaming stick or console.
• Social video: video ads on social platforms, including YouTube, in IAB's definition.
• Online video (OLV): video ads on websites and apps outside social platforms and CTV.
• SVoD / AVoD: subscription and ad-supported video on demand.
• VSP: video-sharing platform, such as YouTube, TikTok or Twitch.
• Open exchange / PMP: ways of buying ads programmatically. The open exchange is an auction open to all buyers, a private marketplace (PMP) is invite-only.
• Agentic AI: AI agents that plan and carry out tasks, such as buying ads, with limited human input.
• ROAS: return on ad spend, revenue earned per unit of ad spend.
• MMM: marketing mix modelling, a statistical method that estimates how much each channel adds to sales.
• SERP feature: anything on a Google results page other than a regular blue link, such as a video carousel.
• Core update: a broad change Google makes to its ranking systems several times a year.
• B2B: business-to-business.
• GenAI: generative AI, which creates text, images, audio or video from a prompt.