Facebook, Helped By Autoplay, Passes YouTube For Desktop Video Views For First Time

In an interview with Beet.tv, comScore’s co-founder and executive chairman Emeritus Gian Fulgoni said that Facebook passed YouTube for video views on desktop for the first time, delivered nearly a billion more than YouTube August. And yes, if you’re wondering, Facebook’s autoplaying of videos contributed to that. On mobile, YouTube maintained its lead.

Fulgoni commented that the numbers are “pretty amazing,” while noting Facebook’s auto-play advantage over YouTube’s user initiated engagement, telling comScore:

“While there’s reach advantage for auto-play, there’s an issue as to whether you’re getting good engagement. You’re getting good engagement from user-initiated (video on YouTube) by definition.”

Here’s a look at the stats from comScore:

In September, Facebook announced it was generating more than a billion video views daily. The steep climb in Facebook’s video numbers is the result of the site adjusting its newsfeed algorithm in June, serving up more relevant video content to users that were more likely to watch a video.

Sean Mills, president of the mobile news operation NowThisNews claimed his company has seen a significant increase in video views on Facebook since the newsfeed update.

“Our growth in monthly Facebook video views has increased by 30X since July, and we’re seeing tens of millions of views on Facebook each month,” Mills told Beet.tv.

According to comScore’s Video Metrix report, Facebook still trails Google sites when it comes to video views across total devices.

You can watch Beet.tv’s interview with Fulgoni here:

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Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media's General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.