EXCLUSIVE: Traditional players like Sky, the BBC and Netflix reached by far the most YouTube users in the UK last year, according to new data.

Sky News was the most-watched UK channel after being viewed by nearly nine million people, according to exclusive data shared with Deadline by Digital i, placing it around 500,000 ahead of the BBC in second. Netflix came third with 7.9 million.

Both Sky and the BBC are represented twice in the top 10, with the Sky Sports Premier League channel and the BBC News YouTube channel also making the cut.

The data spells out how viewing of traditional players’ content on YouTube has become everyday habit for millions around the country, but it also tells a story about how this content is very much being viewed in quick bites.

In terms of hours viewed in 2025, the top 10 list for YouTube UK viewing is completely different to the reach list. That one is dominated by niche interests, with gaming channel Gopher coming top with 95.6 million hours viewed, followed by the Dylan is in Trouble review channel, which is second with 61.3 million and just ahead of another gamer, Oxhorn. They are followed by two Sidemen channels plus a Ms Rachel channel for toddler learning videos. Among the top channels for hours viewed, the Sidemen, unsurprisingly, have the biggest reach (2 million users). The collective now make shows for Netflix and have very much broken into the mainstream.

There is a clear disparity between the two lists, which can be viewed in full at the bottom. As an example, Gopher generates its hours viewed from just 61,000 users, averaging out at a whopping four hours per day per user. Sky News, on the other hand, is watched for just under a minute per user, a tiny number in comparison.

The data comes with traditional players like the BBC pushing into YouTube-only content, having recently struck a watershed agreemeent with the Google-owned behemoth that will see the launch of 50 channels focusing on the likes of children’s, natural history and documentaries. The BBC recently played down the commercial opportunties that come with this deal but says the strategy is all about meeting young viewers where they are. Others like Channel 4 have been making YouTube-only content for several years, although Channel 4 did not make the top 10.

“Reach and engagement are two very different measures of success on YouTube,” said Elena Mozzato, senior analyst at Digital i. “Traditional publishers can still dominate reach, but creators like Gopher show the power of highly engaged audiences who spend hours, not minutes, watching content.”  

The lists in full

Reach

1 Sky News, 9 million users
2 BBC, 8.4 million
3 Netflix, 7.9 million
4 IGN, 6.3 million
5 ITV News, 5.8 million
6 BBC News, 5.8 million
7 TNT Sports Footbal, 5.5 million
8 The Sun, 5.3 million
9 RHINO, 5.3 million
10 Sky Sports Premier League, 5.3 million

Hours viewed

1 Gopher, 95.6 million hours viewed
2 Dylan Is In Trouble, 61.3 million
3 Oxhorn, 61.1 million
4 Sidemen, 52.9 million
5 moresimsie, 49.4 million
6 MoreSidemen, 47.1 million
7 Smosh Games, 44.3 million
8 a bit more willne, 38 million
9 Ms Rachel, 37.6 million
10 WildEarth, 36 million