The Business of YouTube

A weekly strategic lens for senior leaders into how YouTube is reshaping the business of technology, sports, music, entertainment, and culture.

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To your favourite newsletter, The Business of YouTube, brought to you by Paola Marinone and Bengü Atamer, founders of BuzzMyVideos and previously at YouTube and Google. We are bringing our exclusive insights from 20 years of experience leading strategy at YouTube and Google.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of The 2025 Business of YouTube Sports Awards | Olympic Federations Edition | Powered by BuzzMyVideos.

At BuzzMyVideos, we live and breathe data. As the year winds down, we simply could not let it end without taking a deep, analytical look at the digital champions, those organizations that are truly winning on the world's largest video platform. YouTube is no longer a side project; it is the business of engagement, content efficiency, and global reach.

This week, we kick off our series by diving into the performance of the Olympic Federations. Who has built the biggest legacy? Who is driving the most momentum? Who converts views into revenue most efficiently?

Let’s deep dive into the four critical metrics that define YouTube success.

The 2025 Business of YouTube Award Categories and Strategic Insights

The following rankings showcase the Top 10 Olympic Federations for each award, based on a rigorous analysis of their YouTube data.

1. The Global Reach Award: Total Subscribers

Recognizes the largest, most established direct audience on the platform.

EXECUTIVE TAKEAWAY: Subscriber Volume as Owned Media Value

This metric defines your platform for direct communication and your negotiation power with sponsors. While smaller sports may focus on efficiency, achieving this scale requires consistent, high-volume content and a clear strategy to convert casual viewers into permanent subscribers.

2. The Digital Legacy Award: Total Views

Recognizes long-term brand presence and global cumulative reach.

EXECUTIVE TAKEAWAY: The Long-Term Investment

Total Views is the ultimate metric of a long-term global strategy. These channels prove that digital legacy is a powerful, compounding asset. For organizations aiming to grow sponsor value and market share, the lesson is clear: your content strategy must be built on pillars that guarantee a return over the next decade.

• Read our analysis and breakdown on /WorldAthletics’ YouTube views surge here from one of our previous articles.

3. The Growth Momentum Award: Yearly Views

Recognizes recent performance and the ability to capture current audience attention.

EXECUTIVE TAKEAWAY: The Event Maximization Strategy

Momentum often relies on successfully maximizing your biggest assets. Your strategy should focus on optimizing content release and promotion around your major tournaments and annual events to achieve substantial, measurable yearly growth.

4. The Content Efficiency Award: Average Views per Video

Recognizes the highest return on investment (ROI) per piece of content uploaded.

EXECUTIVE TAKEAWAY: Quality Over Quantity

The incredible efficiency of the Cricket and Football channels proves that Content Efficiency is key to sustainability. Stop publishing everything and start focusing on high-impact content that maximizes algorithmic distribution. 

5. The Engaged Audience Award: Average Views per Subscriber

Recognizes deep audience connection and content stickiness.

EXECUTIVE TAKEAWAY: Focus on Retention and Affinity

The strong presence of federations like Table Tennis and Archery in the top 10 proves that engagement is a powerful driver of organic growth. This metric is the strongest indicator of a highly valuable, loyal audience. Strategic efforts must prioritize Viewer Retention by creating high-affinity content, exclusive athlete access, tactical breakdowns, and specialized formats that reward and retain your most committed fans.

Conclusion: Driving the Business of YouTube Sports

The data from these five awards provides an actionable roadmap for your organization’s digital strategy.

Success on YouTube is measured not just in scale, but in strategic precision:

• Are you building owned media value (Reach)?

• Are you optimizing your uploads for impact (Efficiency)?

• Are you converting your audience into a passionate community (Engagement)?

Look out for the next instalment of The Business of YouTube Sports Awards 2025 - Powered by BuzzMyVideos, where we will dissect another major sector of the global sports industry.

Want to discuss how to shape your collaboration strategy, talk to us.

Premier League Clubs’ YouTube Stats for November 2025

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A veteran in the industry, Wim Ponnet has witnessed and acted in the key industries of entertainment. A very unique point of view from someone who has been involved in real business transformation, always at cutting edge areas of the entertainment industry. From Yahoo, to Endemol Shine, then investing in sport & tech.

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