M&E Is Investing More in Social Media — and It’s Paying Off

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It hasn’t happened overnight, but media publishers have recognized the viewer and consumer power of social audiences — and resources are following. In an overview of media growth on social video, research specialist Tubular Labs finds mainstream media exhibiting “unprecedented growth on social video proving that investing in platforms leads to measurable ROI.”

YouTube has been Media & Entertainment’s bread and butter platform for many years due to its long-form, landscape content format, which is easily adapted from televised content. In 2023, YouTube uploads by M&E channels increased by only 5%, which is consistent with previous years; however, this long-term effort has paid off. With just 5% more uploads in the same time period, views organically grew +118% from 59 billion in January to 124 billion globally in December.

The “2024 State of Video” report also found that from 2022 to 2023, global M&E creators on TikTok posted 57% more videos and won 53% more views, receiving 36% more engagements.

While the US leads countries surveyed with 972 billion views of M&E-related posts on TikTok in 2023, Latin America is a fast-growing region. From 2022 to 2023, Brazil grew viewership by 32% (which is not far from the USA’s 39% year-over-year growth).

Movie and TV-related content on social media scored nearly 700 views on average per post last year, Tubular reports, although the leading growth category was related to Family & Parenting.

Sports viewership increased by 72% last year to a total of 71 billion views. Tubular expect this number to “skyrocket” in 2024 on the back of global sporting events, like the Paris Olympic Games.

Long-form Content Is Making a Comeback

Since the rise of newer, short-form platforms like TikTok and Instagram, many publishers have refrained from posting long-form videos on those platforms. But in 2024 — that all changes.

“In the past, broadcast, cable, and radio channels used short-form platforms to drive viewers to long-form content platforms. However, in 2024, traditionally short-form video platforms are now incorporating long-form content, making it easier for creators to adapt content for different social platforms.

“Broadcast, cable, radio, and film channels who post long-form content have stuck to the status quo — uploading the majority of their content to YouTube and Facebook, but the latest data reveals a missed opportunity on short-form platforms.”

On TikTok, Tubular data reveals that of top publisher’s videos below the 30-second mark had the most uploads in 2023, but longer videos actually won the highest average views per video.

Tubular’s key takeaway: Experiment with longer videos on traditionally short-form platforms to earn more views and engagements.

Influencers & Commercial Media Align

In 2024, we see Hollywood stars and broadcasters integrating with rising social media influencers. These influencers have been used to fuel movie buzz, conduct red carpet interviews, and pave the way to show media companies how to connect with social audiences.

Rather than having to produce televised, digital, and social content, they can leave the latter to influencers, who arguably do it better.

One example: Recess Therapy is a social media series hosted by an NYC comedian who interviews kids on the playground. The host and two of his famous young interviewees debuted their skills on the red carpet during the 2024 Golden Globes interviewing actors like Margot Robbie and Jennifer Lopez.

The result: Facebook videos about Recess Therapy and #GoldenGlobes won 121% more average engagements per video than Golden Globes content posted by a leading US Entertainment News channel.