> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://tvrev2beta2.ghost.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Content Still Connects People -- But Increasingly, That Content Isn’t on TV
- URL: https://tvrev2beta2.ghost.io/content-still-connects-people-but-more-and-more-often-that-content-isnt-on-tv/
- Published: 2021-02-05T11:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2021-02-05T11:00:00.000Z
- Author: Jon Giegengack
- Tags: TV, Netflix, LeBron James, gaming, Disney, reed hastings, Amazon, YouTube, #sqs, #Import 2026-09-03 20:42, Streaming Wars, #inferred-channel

To-date, disruption of the entertainment industry has revolved around platforms, as streaming replaces ad-supported live viewing among many viewers. But what if there’s an even bigger disruption underway – a fundamental change in what “watching TV” even means?

One reason we love TV is that it’s a cultural touchstone: an interest we share and talk about and remember. Like many Gen Xers, even in the age of peak TV no one had to sell me on re-watching *The Fresh Prince* or *Friends*: the connection formed years ago is still there.

So, it’s all the more important that the next generation of viewers are connecting around other kinds of content, in a way that seems likely to reshape entertainment sooner than we think. 

**“YouTubers”:** In Hub’s annual “Video Redefined” study…

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/4b/184bce7f-90ef-4333-95df-ad6ebcbdad98/content/images/images-squarespace-cdn-com/content/v1/60df3ea739725c04ca27d651/1628030838500-KSSMKHGVUXMMJMURVE1A/screen-shot-2021-02-04-at-4-25-45-pm-format-original.webp)

- 13-24 year-olds say they spend as much time watching non-premium online video as they do regular TV shows on any platform
- More than 75% say they’ve bought a product endorsed by a YouTuber
- 66% say that YouTuber endorsements carry more weight in their decisions than a TV commercial.

**Gaming:** Young people say they allocate more of their total screen time to playing games (27%) than to TV shows and movies combined (24%). 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/4b/184bce7f-90ef-4333-95df-ad6ebcbdad98/content/images/images-squarespace-cdn-com/content/v1/60df3ea739725c04ca27d651/1628030838797-TZ0S5QFOMPZ6JIVP16OS/screen-shot-2021-02-04-at-4-25-52-pm-format-original.webp)

- More than half watch› gaming videos on YouTube, and [more know who PewDiePie is than LeBron James](https://morningconsult.com/form/youtubers-are-among-the-most-influential-celebrities-for-gen-z/?ref=tvrev2beta2.ghost.io)
- More than 40% said that most of their communications with friends, on any topic, happens inside a game.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that during the pandemic, gaming industry revenue rose to [$180 billion](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/videogames-are-a-bigger-industry-than-sports-and-movies-combined-thanks-to-the-pandemic-11608654990?ref=tvrev2beta2.ghost.io) – more than U.S. sports and movies, combined.

In 2019 Reed Hastings said, “our focus is not on Disney+, Amazon or others, but on how we can improve our experience. We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more often than HBO.” The entertainment industry must recognize that this is a cultural shift and not just a behavioral one. These consumers will get older, and their lifestyles and disposable time and income will change. But the cultural connections they are forming right now will stick. A plan to accommodate – or better yet, leverage – the kinds of content that form them will be important long after the dust from the “streaming wars” has settled.