27 Video Marketing Statistics and Data Points for 2026

By Christoph Olivier · Published July 26, 2026 · Last updated July 26, 2026

This briefing compiles verified video marketing statistics for 2026. Every figure carries its number, timeframe, geography, and source. Vendor marketing surveys are labeled self-reported. Ad-spend and traffic figures that describe future periods are labeled projections. Where sources measure different things, the differences are stated rather than blended.

Executive summary

• 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool in 2026 (Wyzowl, self-reported, global).
• US digital video ad spend is projected to pass $80 billion in 2026, up about 11% year over year and growing nearly 20% faster than the total ad market (IAB/eMarketer, projection).
• Digital video is projected to take more than 60% of US TV and video ad spend in 2026, moving linear TV below 40% (eMarketer, projection).
• Streaming hit a record 47.5% of US TV viewing in December 2025, above broadcast (21.4%) and cable (20.2%) (Nielsen, panel measurement).
• YouTube ads reached 2.53 billion users in January 2025, about 30.9% of the global population (DataReportal, from YouTube ad tools).
• YouTube Shorts averages more than 200 billion daily views as of June 2025, up from 70 billion in March 2024 (YouTube CEO, Cannes Lions).
• Short-form video is rated the highest-ROI content format and retains far more viewers than long-form, while long-form still wins total watch time (HubSpot and Vidyard, 2025).
• Video accounted for roughly 76% of global mobile data traffic at the end of 2025 (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2025).

Key findings

1. 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool in 2026 (Wyzowl State of Video Marketing, self-reported, global, n=266).
2. 93% of video marketers say video is an important part of their overall strategy in 2026 (Wyzowl, self-reported, global).
3. 82% of video marketers report a positive return on investment from video in 2026, down from 93% in 2025 (Wyzowl, self-reported, global).
4. US digital video ad spend is projected to surpass $80 billion in 2026, growing about 11% year over year (IAB 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report, via eMarketer; projection).
5. Digital video is projected to exceed 60% of US TV and video ad spend for the first time in 2026, with linear TV below 40% (eMarketer, projection).
6. Streaming reached a record 47.5% of total US TV viewing in December 2025, versus 21.4% broadcast and 20.2% cable (Nielsen The Gauge, US, panel measurement).
7. In May 2025, streaming (44.8%) exceeded the combined share of broadcast and cable (44.2%) for the first time (Nielsen The Gauge, US).
8. Since May 2021, US streaming viewing rose 71% while broadcast fell 21% and cable fell 39% (Nielsen The Gauge, US).
9. YouTube was the single largest TV-viewing platform at 12.7% of US TV in December 2025 (Nielsen The Gauge, US, panel measurement).
10. YouTube ads reached 2.53 billion users in January 2025, roughly 30.9% of the world’s population (DataReportal Digital 2025, from YouTube advertising tools).
11. YouTube Shorts averages more than 200 billion daily views as of June 2025, up from 70 billion in March 2024 (YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Cannes Lions 2025).
12. 85% of video marketers say video helped generate leads and 83% say it directly helped increase sales in 2026 (Wyzowl, self-reported, global).
13. 82% of video marketers say video increased website traffic and dwell time in 2026 (Wyzowl, self-reported, global).
14. US adults average about 6 hours 45 minutes of total daily video viewing in 2025, most of it digital (eMarketer, US).
15. Video accounted for about 76% of global mobile data traffic at the end of 2025 (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2025).

Business adoption of video

Adoption is near saturation among businesses that market online, and the story in 2026 is less about who uses video and more about how they measure it. The self-reported ROI figure fell year over year even as usage held high, which points to tighter scrutiny of results rather than retreat from the format.

Context: Wyzowl’s survey is a marketer self-report with 266 respondents. It measures perception and stated behavior, not audited spend or outcomes. Treat the ROI and impact figures as directional sentiment. Source: Wyzowl State of Video Marketing 2026.

Contradiction to note: some third-party roundups cited an 89% adoption figure for the 2025 edition. Wyzowl’s live 2026 report states 91%. The difference reflects a survey-year change, not a data conflict; both cannot be presented as the same year.

Video advertising spend

Video is where ad budgets are concentrating. The direction is consistent across sources: digital video keeps taking share from linear TV, and growth is decelerating from its post-2020 peak toward a steadier rate. These are forecasts and should be read as projections.

Context: the IAB report puts 2026 US digital video ad spend near $81.9 billion. Growth is slowing from about 21% in 2022 and roughly 15% in 2025, which signals normalization rather than a downturn. Source: IAB 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report; eMarketer analysis, May 2026.

Short-form vs long-form performance

Two things are true at once. Short-form video is rated the strongest format for return and retention, and long-form still captures the most total watch time per view. Marketers who conflate the two pick the wrong metric for the wrong goal.

Context: HubSpot has ranked short-form the highest-ROI format for several consecutive years in its marketer survey. Vidyard’s benchmark is measured platform data skewed toward B2B business video, so its completion rates are not directly comparable to consumer social platforms. Long-form still leads on absolute watch time: per data cited by HubSpot from Wistia, sub-one-minute videos average about 16 seconds watched while 60-minute-plus videos average about 16 minutes watched.

YouTube usage and reach

YouTube sits at the center of both the reach and the short-form stories. Its advertising reach rivals the largest platforms, and Shorts is now the fastest-scaling short-form surface by reported daily views.

Context: ad-reach counts are drawn from YouTube’s self-serve advertising tools and can include duplicate, non-human, or inauthentic accounts, so they are not a clean count of unique people. Nielsen’s 12.7% is independent panel measurement of connected-TV viewing in US homes. Source: DataReportal Digital 2025; Nielsen The Gauge, December 2025.

Video’s effect on conversions

Conversion claims for video are almost entirely self-reported by marketers or consumers. They are useful as sentiment and directional evidence, not as audited lift.

Limitation: these are perception measures from a vendor survey. No figure here is drawn from independently audited sales or analytics data. Source: Wyzowl State of Video Marketing 2026.

Time spent watching video and platform breakdown

Video now consumes the largest block of media time, and the split has tipped decisively toward streaming and digital. Nielsen measures where US TV time goes; eMarketer estimates total daily video time across devices.

Context on mobile: video accounted for about 76% of global mobile data traffic at the end of 2025, and short-form clips are estimated at 70-80% of smartphone video traffic (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2025). Ericsson also projects total mobile data traffic to grow roughly 2.2 times by 2031.

Original synthesis

The following insights are derived by combining the sources above. Each states its logic, inputs, and limits.

1. The adoption-satisfaction gap

Logic: business video usage held at a high 91% in 2026 while self-reported positive ROI fell from 93% to 82% year over year. The gap suggests measurement is catching up to usage: as more teams instrument video, fewer can claim uniform positive returns. Inputs: Wyzowl State of Video Marketing 2025 and 2026. Limitation: both figures are self-reported perception from one vendor survey with a small sample; the ROI drop could also reflect question wording or sample composition rather than real performance decline.

2. Budgets are following eyeballs, with a lag

Logic: streaming and digital video passed half of TV-adjacent attention before ad dollars fully followed. Streaming hit 47.5% of US TV viewing in December 2025, and YouTube alone reached 12.7%, yet digital video only crosses 60% of TV-plus-video ad spend in 2026. Attention share and spend share are converging but not identical. Inputs: Nielsen The Gauge December 2025; eMarketer/IAB 2026 forecast. Limitation: Nielsen measures TV-screen viewing while the ad-spend figure spans CTV, online, and social video, so the two denominators differ and the comparison is directional.

3. Short-form is a reach-and-retention engine, not a watch-time engine

Logic: short-form dominates completion (about 54-65% watch-through under one minute vs 16-20% over 20 minutes) and daily reach (YouTube Shorts at 200 billion daily views), yet long-form still wins total minutes watched per view. The right metric depends on the goal: awareness and completion favor short-form, deep engagement and total watch time favor long-form. Inputs: Vidyard Benchmark 2025; HubSpot 2025; YouTube Cannes Lions 2025; Wistia via HubSpot. Limitation: Vidyard is B2B platform data; HubSpot and Wistia mix formats and audiences, so the comparison is illustrative rather than like-for-like.

Methodology

Source selection: primary and official sources were prioritized (Nielsen panel measurement, Ericsson network data, YouTube’s own figures reported through advertising tools, and the IAB industry report). Vendor marketing surveys (Wyzowl, HubSpot, Vidyard) were included only where the publisher discloses methodology, and are labeled self-reported. Inclusion rules: every statistic must carry a number, a year or date range, a geography, and a working source. Any figure that could not be traced to a named source was excluded. Conflict handling: where sources disagreed (for example the 89% vs 91% adoption figures), the discrepancy is shown and attributed to survey-year differences rather than averaged. Forecasts are labeled projections; measured data is distinguished from self-report. Limitations: vendor surveys measure perception, not audited outcomes; ad-reach counts may include duplicate or non-human accounts; forecasts can revise. Date of last update: July 26, 2026.

Source quality ranking

Tier 1 (primary, official measurement or first-party platform data): Nielsen The Gauge (US TV panel measurement); Ericsson Mobility Report (network traffic data); YouTube first-party figures reported at Cannes Lions and through advertising tools (via DataReportal).

Tier 2 (credible market research, trade bodies, industry forecasts): IAB 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report; eMarketer forecasts and estimates; Vidyard Benchmark Report (measured B2B platform data).

Tier 3 (vendor marketing surveys and reputable trade press): Wyzowl State of Video Marketing (self-reported survey); HubSpot State of Marketing (self-reported survey); Wistia State of Video (self-reported); trade coverage of the Cannes Lions Shorts announcement (Search Engine Journal, TheWrap, Tubefilter).

Journalist-friendly resources

Most quotable statistics

• Streaming reached a record 47.5% of US TV viewing in December 2025, above broadcast and cable combined (Nielsen The Gauge).
• US digital video ad spend is projected to pass $80 billion in 2026, growing about 11% year over year (IAB/eMarketer, projection).
• YouTube Shorts averages more than 200 billion daily views as of June 2025, up from 70 billion in March 2024 (YouTube CEO, Cannes Lions).
• 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool in 2026 (Wyzowl, self-reported).
• Video accounted for about 76% of global mobile data traffic at the end of 2025 (Ericsson Mobility Report).

Data limitations

• Wyzowl and HubSpot figures are self-reported marketer or consumer surveys and measure perception, not audited outcomes.
• YouTube ad-reach (2.53 billion) is drawn from advertising tools and may include duplicate or non-human accounts.
• The $80 billion+ ad-spend figure is a forecast (projection), not measured spend.
• Nielsen measures US TV-screen viewing only; it is not global and does not capture all mobile or desktop video.
• Vidyard completion benchmarks are B2B platform data and do not generalize to consumer social platforms.

Downloadable dataset: recommended fields

metric_name, value, unit, year_or_period, geography, source_organization, source_report, source_url, measurement_type (survey / panel / platform / forecast), self_reported (yes/no), notes.

Press summary

Video marketing in 2026 is defined by two forces: near-universal adoption and a decisive shift of attention and budget toward streaming and short-form. Wyzowl reports 91% of businesses now use video, though self-reported positive ROI slipped to 82% from 93% a year earlier, a sign that measurement is tightening. On the money side, US digital video ad spend is projected to surpass $80 billion in 2026, growing about 11% and taking more than 60% of TV-plus-video ad budgets, per IAB and eMarketer. Attention has already moved: Nielsen recorded streaming at a record 47.5% of US TV viewing in December 2025, with YouTube the single largest platform at 12.7%. YouTube Shorts now averages over 200 billion daily views. Short-form leads on completion and reach while long-form retains total watch time. Video also makes up roughly 76% of global mobile data traffic. All vendor-survey figures are self-reported and all spend figures are forecasts.

Suggested headlines

• Streaming Hits Record 47.5% of US TV as Video Ad Spend Nears $82 Billion
• 91% of Businesses Now Use Video, But Confidence in ROI Is Slipping
• YouTube Shorts Tops 200 Billion Daily Views: The Short-Form Reach Story in 2026
• Digital Video Crosses 60% of TV Ad Budgets for the First Time
• Video Is 76% of Mobile Data: The Numbers Behind 2026’s Attention Shift

Frequently asked questions

See the 10-question FAQ encoded in this page’s structured data, covering business adoption, ad spend, short-form vs long-form, YouTube reach and Shorts, streaming share, conversion impact, daily video time, mobile video traffic, and the most effective platform. Each answer is backed by a cited statistic with year and geography.

Citations

• Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing, 2026 (self-reported survey, global). https://wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/
• Source: HubSpot, State of Marketing, 2025 (self-reported survey). https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/video-marketing-statistics
• Source: Vidyard, Video in Business Benchmark Report, 2025 (platform data). https://www.vidyard.com/business-video-benchmarks/
• Source: IAB, 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report (projection). https://www.iab.com/news/u-s-digital-video-ad-spend-to-surpass-80b-in-2026/
• Source: eMarketer, digital video forecasts and time-spent estimates, 2025-2026. https://www.emarketer.com/content/digital-video-ad-spend-pulls-further-ahead-pushing-linear-tv-share-under-40
• Source: Nielsen, The Gauge, December 2025 (US panel measurement). https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2026/streaming-shatters-multiple-records-in-december-2025-with-47-5-of-tv-viewing-according-to-nielsens-the-gauge/
• Source: Nielsen, The Gauge, May 2025 (US panel measurement). https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/streaming-reaches-historic-tv-milestone-eclipses-combined-broadcast-and-cable-viewing-for-first-time/
• Source: DataReportal, Digital 2025 / Essential YouTube Stats (from YouTube ad tools). https://datareportal.com/essential-youtube-stats
• Source: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Cannes Lions 2025, reported by Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/youtube-reports-200-billion-daily-views-for-shorts-format/549315/
• Source: Ericsson, Mobility Report, November 2025 (network traffic data). https://www.ericsson.com/en/reports-and-papers/mobility-report/reports/november-2025