YouTube overtakes traditional TV in Filipino homes, says Google

Filipino households are watching YouTube on the big screen more than ever before, marking a fundamental shift in the nation's media habits—and with it, new implications for brands, advertisers, and content creators across Southeast Asia.

Speaking to advertisers and journalists in Manila, Nikki del Gallego, data and insights country lead at Google Philippines, shared new research that reaffirms YouTube's dominance in the country—not just on mobile devices, but increasingly on televisions.

"This is the kind of big shift that we need to keep up with. It's a new definition of how they see TV," she said, as quoted by ABS-CBN.

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In fact, among those living in rural Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin), 88% reported using YouTube in the past month. Notably, 54% said they watch YouTube on their television sets, while 76% still watch via smartphones.

Del Gallego emphasised how this change is blurring the lines between television and digital platforms. "One of two Pinoys in rural VisMin say that when they watch TV online, to them that is watching TV," she noted.

This local trend aligns with broader behavioural shifts observed across Asia and globally. Dan Taylor, Google's vice president for global ads, pointed to rising global YouTube viewership on connected TVs. In a recent virtual briefing with Southeast Asian media, Taylor highlighted that globally, audiences are now spending over a billion hours on average watching YouTube via their TV screens.

Taylor noted that the living room is evolving into a more interactive hub for content consumption, with viewers now streaming a wide variety of formats—from short videos and podcasts to live streams—alongside the traditional favourites such as sports, comedies, and talk shows.

In response to this shift, Google has expanded its ad solutions in the Philippines. Advertisers can run unskippable ads across YouTube channels under its local partner network, which includes ABS-CBN.

Alongside this, YouTube has officially rolled out its shopping feature in the Philippines, partnering with Shopee to enable direct product tagging within videos. This reduces the friction of redirecting viewers to external links—and helps guard against phishing scams that are all too common in the local digital landscape.

Beyond video, Google is also leaning heavily on artificial intelligence to power its advertising tools. Taylor introduced the company's latest AI-driven offerings, including AI Overviews and Google Lens, which help connect users with products at the very moment of intent. He noted that Lens now processes over 20 billion visual queries every month—one in four of which have commercial intent.

Taylor said that generative AI is now playing a broader role in advertising, helping marketers with shaping campaign strategies—enabling them to build, scale, and refine creatives in a more intuitive, performance-driven way. Yet, the effectiveness of these tools still hinges on quality data.

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