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.

The Premier League on YouTube: Unpacking the September 2025 Playbook for Digital Success

This week, we're analysing a comprehensive YouTube report on the English Premier League, with all data captured on October 8, 2025. This analysis offers a compelling look at who is dominating the world's most popular video platform, aka YouTube and provides key strategic insights for any sports organisation looking to grow its digital footprint.

The Digital Hierarchy: Who Dominates the Platform?

The all-time metrics reveal a clear top tier, with legacy clubs leveraging their global brand recognition to build enormous digital footprints.

• All-Time Views: Liverpool sits at the top with over 3.9 billion views , followed by Manchester United with over 3 billion and Manchester City with over 2.6 billion.

• All-Time Subscribers: The subscriber numbers mirror this trend, with Liverpool leading at 11,900,000 , Manchester United at 10,400,000 , and Manchester City at 8,760,000.

Insight: A powerful global brand is a significant advantage, creating a high floor for audience reach and engagement.

The Growth Engine: Who's Winning the Moment?

While all-time stats are impressive, analysing recent growth reveals which clubs' current strategies are resonating most effectively.

• Views Gained (May-Oct 2025): Liverpool has had a tremendously successful period, gaining over 396 million views. Manchester United also showed strong growth, adding over 270 million views.

• Subscribers Gained (May-Oct 2025): Liverpool acquired the most new subscribers with 500,000. Manchester United followed with 400,000 , and Tottenham Hotspur showed impressive momentum by adding 370,000 new subscribers.

Insight: Short-term growth is a key indicator of a successful and timely content strategy. Tottenham's subscriber growth, for instance, suggests their recent content has been particularly effective at converting viewers into followers.

Content Strategy Deep Dive: Volume vs. Impact

The data reveals two distinct and viable paths to YouTube success: a high-volume approach versus a high-impact approach.

• The Volume Leader: Manchester City has uploaded the most videos of any club, with a total of 9,683. This ensures a constant stream of content for their fanbase.

• The Impact Leader: Manchester United has the highest average views per video at 553,038. This is significantly higher than Manchester City's 276,156 average views per video, despite having far fewer uploads (5,527).

Insight: There is no single correct strategy. A high-volume approach can capture audience attention consistently, while a high-impact strategy focuses on making each piece of content a major event, driving higher average engagement. The optimal choice depends on a club's production capabilities and strategic goals.

The Ultimate Metric: Measuring True Fan Engagement

Perhaps the most telling metric for digital strategists is the "Average Views per Subscriber," which measures how effectively a channel activates its existing community. The leaders in this category may surprise you.

• The Engagement Champion: Brighton & Hove Albion leads all clubs with an average of 510 views per subscriber.

• Strong Performers: Other clubs that punch above their weight in this metric include Tottenham Hotspur (379), Everton (366), and Nottingham Forest (363).

• The Big Club Paradox: Some of the largest clubs post lower ratios, such as Manchester United (294) and Chelsea (271), suggesting their massive subscriber bases are proportionally less engaged than the smaller, more tight-knit communities.

Insight: A large subscriber count does not automatically equal a highly engaged audience. Fostering a dedicated community that actively consumes content, as Brighton has, is a powerful and arguably more sustainable model for long-term success.

Key Strategic Takeaways

• Momentum is as Important as Size: While legacy clubs have an advantage, strong recent growth (in views and subscribers) proves that effective content strategies can rapidly close the gap.

• Choose Your Content Battle: Decide whether your organisation is better suited to a high-volume or a high-impact content model based on your resources and brand positioning.

• Focus on Audience Activation: The "Average Views per Subscriber" is a critical health metric. Aim to build not just a large audience, but an active one.

We hope this analysis provides valuable insights for your own digital video strategy.

The Premier League's YouTube landscape shows that while the giants dominate, smart, data-informed strategies can allow any organisation to foster significant growth and build a deeply engaged community.

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

Watch the latest episode of The Business of YouTube podcast, featuring Kike Levy from NFJ Sports & Media, previously at Meta and Twitter Sports.

Changing the Business of Sport: How Kike Levy and NJF are changing the game, starting from Volleyball

🚨 New masterclass: The Ultimate Playbook: YouTube Shorts for Sport

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