YouTube Sports Shorts: Top of the Table?
February 2023
Ready to win in the league table of YouTube Shorts?
Our Sports Channel Manager, Ben Cooke, dives into how to reach your goal with the new feature below:
TikTok started its vertical video campaign in flying fashion and stood alone at the top of the table, reminiscent of Liverpool’s start to the 2019/20 Premier League season. It was not long until Instagram, the Manchester City of content, introduced Reels in an attempt to challenge TikTok for the top of the league.
Since then, we’ve seen multiple platforms, including Snapchat and Facebook enter what can now only be described as a Super League.
More on that super league...
More specifically, when it comes to sports vertical content, it can be a different ball game altogether. Sports content has met its perfect teammate in YouTube Shorts. The multi-format platform’s “chemistry” with sports content is harmonious, as fans head to YouTube to watch long-form highlights and then to Shorts to watch the sport’s very best one-off moments.
While the algorithm and features are constantly changing, one thing has remained the same: pure match-play moments of athletes at the peaks of their powers are a winner. Simply put, while behind-the-scenes and funny moments can perform well, fans head to YouTube to watch the sport itself.
Arguably, this differs on other platforms.
When it comes to the success of sports Shorts, the numbers speak for themselves. Across the BraveBison sports network, we’ve accumulated 1.2 billion views and 736,000 subscribers from sports alone. Here are some of our top performers:
Short | Watch time (hours) | Subscribers | Views | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Short A | 1.2m | 97k | 121m |
2 | Short B | 325k | 48k | 76m |
3 | Short C | 337k | 24k | 56m |
4 | Short D | 287k | 27k | 53m |
5 | Short E | 176k | 22k | 45m |
As the battle for the vertical video’s top spot increases, YouTube has recently played its biggest card yet: shorts monetisation.
Since the start of February, Shorts creators were finally able to earn significant revenue from their content. This sets Shorts apart from its competitors whose users have often complained about the lack of revenue generation from content and will most likely head to YouTube as a result. For this reason, Shorts are expected to grow exponentially in 2023 and in turn, so is the competition to dominate on the platform. That is why it has never been more important to nail your Shorts strategy.
From staying on top of Shorts’ new features, including the expansion of Shorts’ music rights, or tailoring, rather than duplicating, your vertical content specifically to YouTube, BraveBison have you covered.
Like any sports table, there are many factors affecting the future of the vertical video’s league standings. Whether it’s the introduction of new tactics (like music) or the signing of a multimillion-pound player (like monetisation), we are set for an extremely competitive battle for the vertical video title.
