Is YouTube the New CNBC? TV Trends to Consider for 2025

Is YouTube the New CNBC? TV Trends to Consider for 2025

Look, this isn’t a CNBC hit piece. I love Jim Cramer. I love Andrew Ross Sorkin. But TV is changing, and how we watch it is changing faster than advertising can keep up with. 

YouTube, for one, has been crushing it. And, unlike traditional television, they have the data to back it up. 

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that nearly 10% of the time Americans spent in front of a TV was via YouTube’s smart TV app. They also report that 150 million people, nearly 40% of Americans, watch YouTube on their TV each month.

Nielsen recently reported that YouTube commands 50% of all CTV time.

YouTube is redefining TV, and shoutout to the YouTube PR team for making it known.

Creators vs. Influencers: YouTube Has It All 

Influencers drive buying behavior. Advertising with content creators. 

Whether via memes by Litquidity, from Zilennial finance influencer Mrs. Dow Jones, or Downtown Josh Brown’s rising media business, more users are shifting away from getting news from traditional outlets. Major publications like CNBC, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg continue to break news. Those stories turn into TikToks, memes, and explainer videos distributed across the web. 

This year at Cannes Lions, they launched LIONS Creators. With advertising dollars shifting from traditional media to influencers, Cannes finally jumped on the bandwagon.

Content creators can create bespoke custom advertising that highlights partnerships and authenticity instead of traditional ad spots. People trust their influencers to recommend products that they have already vetted. 63% of buyers are likely buy products from an influencer they trust. 

This is not just the case for CPG products. At Vested, we’ve seen a lot of success and engagement from creator deals. Our ads are seamlessly integrated within their shows and creators are more incentivized to make the partnership work. 

For example, take Cleo Abrams (formerly Vox now YouTube/social media creator) and Johnny Abrams (formerly New York Times now YouTube/social media creator). They recently joined Colin and Samir’s podcast to discuss the future of journalism. As former journalists turned creators, they discussed how they built their own editorial guidelines and advertising rules that build trust from both the advertiser and viewer. They understand they need advertisers to do what they do successfully and have, in return, received major deals. 

In financial services, Josh Brown is a great example, with his shows getting major deals with brands like Public.com.

We Don’t Respect the YouTuber, but We Sure Do Watch

Data, ROI, and everything else your boss wants. 

With easier access to data and conversion tracking, decision-makers are now addicted to data. Linear TV isn’t going to give you anything outside the satisfaction of knowing that your brand is out there. With the rise of Roku’s growth and that of other CTV providers, you can now get actual data on what’s happening on the other side of the screen (whether we like it or not). 

Okay, YouTube is not the new CNBC yet, but it’s growing faster than we think. 

With the change in who we watch, what we watch, and how we watch, YouTube is quickly rising to be all three. As advertisers are trying to capture attention where users go, it would be a mistake not to consider YouTube as part of your planning. At a minimum, the barriers to entry are much lower, with no cost minimums, big contract needs, or quick trafficking tools.