YouTube has hit a staggering new milestone with its short-form video feature, YouTube Shorts, now clocking nearly 200 billion daily views. The announcement was made by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan during his keynote address at the 2025 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, showcasing the platform’s explosive growth in just a year.

According to a report by The Economic Times, this surge represents an extraordinary 186 percent jump from March 2024, when Shorts was averaging around 70 billion daily views. The format, initially introduced as YouTube’s answer to TikTok and Instagram Reels, has quickly evolved into one of the most powerful content delivery formats on the platform.

Mohan also revealed another critical insight: over one billion hours of YouTube content is now being watched on television screens every day. In the United States, YouTube continues to dominate the streaming landscape. In May 2025, the platform topped Nielsen’s The Gauge report for the fourth consecutive month, capturing 12.5% of all TV viewership—the highest share ever recorded by any streaming service in the report’s history.

“For more than half of the top 100 most-watched YouTube channels in the world, TV is their most-watched screen,” said Mohan during his address, indicating a notable shift in viewing behaviour, where lean-back, big-screen consumption of digital content is becoming increasingly mainstream.

As Shorts continues to rise in both reach and relevance, YouTube is doubling down on its commitment to creators. Mohan announced that the latest version of Google DeepMind’s video generation model, Veo 3, will be integrated into YouTube later this summer. This advanced AI tool will help creators generate high-quality video clips and immersive backgrounds for Shorts, with added features like integrated audio capabilities.

Veo 3 builds upon the earlier “Dream Screen” feature that used the previous version of DeepMind’s model. With Veo 3’s rollout, creators will be able to elevate their short-form storytelling with more cinematic visuals and sonic elements, all powered by generative AI.

This announcement reinforces YouTube’s intent to stay ahead of the curve—not just in numbers, but also in empowering its vast creator ecosystem with cutting-edge tools. In a media world shaped increasingly by short attention spans and on-the-go consumption, YouTube Shorts seems well poised to continue shaping the future of digital content.