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Home / Features / New Audience Research Finds YouTube Has The Highest Reach Among Millennials In The UAE

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New Audience Research Finds YouTube Has The Highest Reach Among Millennials In The UAE

YouTube released on Sunday the findings of a six-month research conducted by marketing insights firm Ipsos to better understand millennials, the platform’s largest audience in the United Arab Emirates. The report sheds light on the age group’s priorities and viewing habits of online videos. The research also indicates that at 97%, YouTube has the highest reach among the millennial population in the UAE when compared to other online platforms. “More than a billion people around the world come to YouTube everyday to discover, watch, and learn new things. This number continues to grow not just globally but also here in the Middle East and North Africa, and especially among millennials. Which is why we conducted research to better understand this key demographic that relies on YouTube to engage with the things they truly care about. From new parents looking for advice, to avid football fans catching up on match highlights, we are are proud that YouTube is part of the everyday lives of our users here in the UAE,” said Tarek Abdalla, Head of Marketing at YouTube and Google in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The research followed a two-pronged approach: primary research in a survey of more than 1,000 millennials in the UAE to identify their priorities, parallel to an analysis of the top 15,000 videos watched by the demographic to see how their priorities translate into their viewing habits. The main findings can be divided into viewing habits, key insights, and the most popular video categories.

Viewing habits among millennials:

86% said they visit YouTube once a day
56% consume more video online than they do on TV
61% say they spend long consecutive sessions watching online videos -[1]
Among other platforms used to watch YouTube, 80% say smartphones are their preferred device -[2]
82% say they come to YouTube to learn something new -[3]
More women (83%) than men (59%) watch watch YouTube daily - [4]

Key insights on millennial priorities:

72% of married Millennials (45% of the UAE population) are parents who come to YouTube for help

Majority of millennials surveyed listed family as their top priority
YouTube ranks second among online sources in the UAE for parenting advice
3 in 4 mothers say YouTube provides information for people like them
Some of the top channels in the family content Super Mama Videos & Mama Sima

Millennials are ambitious and positive about their future

74% of respondents are optimistic about the future
Career and education came in second after family in terms of priorities
YouTube is a place where they come to better themselves, educational content is the second most popular video category among millennials
Some of the top channels watched in this category are eKeif, which focuses on how-to videos & Mata’a Aqlak where users watch educational videos about a certain theme.

Millennials seek value and authenticity, value “DIY Fame”

While respondents identified family as the primary source of influence - others found public figures, entrepreneurs, and media activists to be impactful.
Some of the top YouTube creators who rose to fame on the platform are Noor Stars at six million subscribers and Lowi Sahi at more than one million subscribers.

Most popular video categories in the UAE among millennials in order of highest watchtime:

Arts & Entertainment (Music, beauty, lifestyle, comedy)
Sports
News & Politics
Food & Cooking
Education & Self-Help

The Middle East’s consumption of YouTube is among the largest in the world with Saudi Arabia ranking among the highest countries in terms of watchtime per capita globally.

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