To mark the end of 2010, Nielsen published a document called "The Top Trends for 2010" this morning, and it’s an interesting read, even if most of the lists don’t fall within the scope of this site’s coverage (FYI: "frozen novelties" were the top consumer packaged good on the basis of unit volume growth). But one thing that is relevant is the fact YouTube was crowned "Top Mobile Internet Video Channel."
This counts as an important victory for Google. The search giant of course wants as many people to visit its sites as possible, and that may go double for YouTube, considering the $1.65 billion Google paid for the site.
Then there’s the advertising angle to consider. Google’s been making a real effort to present YouTube as a place where everything from small businesses to mainstream brands can get their message across, and this win could reinforce that idea and help bring in revenue.
Anyway, second place went to Fox, according to Nielsen. Then Comedy Central, ESPN, and MTV followed in third, fourth, and fifth places.
Next, ABC, CBS, AdultSwim, NBC, and the Discovery Channel occupied the rest of the spots on the "Top 10 Mobile Internet Video Channels" list. (If you noticed a big name missing, licensing issues hurt Hulu’s ability to compete.)
Congrats to Google and at least the leading handful of YouTube’s competitors.