If there was any doubt before, this seals it: YouTube is in the TV business.

According to Neal Mohan, YouTubes CEO, TV screens have officially overtaken mobile as the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S. In other words, more people are watching YouTube on TV sets than any other device, at least here in the U.S.

It is, as Mohan writes in his annual letter from the CEO, an indication that YouTube is the new television.

But the new television doesnt look like the old television, Mohan writes. Its interactive and includes things like Shorts (yes, people watch them on TVs), podcasts, and live streams, right alongside the sports, sitcoms and talk shows people already love. Related Video YouTube has consistently dominated Nielsens monthly Gauge report, handily topping Netflix as the most-watched streaming video platform. And TV has long been a priority for YouTube. In last years letter, Mohan noted that the YouTube TV vMVPD passed 8 million subscribers, and that the company was investing in the platform.

The company unveiled sweeping changes to its TV app experience last year.

Mohan also underscored three other big bets for 2025 in his letter.

In a section titled YouTube will remain the epicenter of culture, he noted that 45 million Americans watched election-related content on election day last year, and he noted the success of videos like Joe Rogans interview with President Trump and the SNL sketch with Kamala Harris on the platform.

From elections to theOlympicstoCoachellato theSuper Bowland theCricket World Cup, the worlds biggest moments play out on YouTube, Mohan writes, adding that the company also plans to roll out more tools to support podcasters, improve monetization for creators, and make it even easier to discover podcasts this year.

But YouTube is also working to bring more AI tools to creators, and despite early hype around AI image and video generation products (YouTube is developing them too), Mohan suggests that YouTube creators are finding simpler, practical tools to be more helpful.

As impressive as the generative models are, creators tell us theyre most excited about the ways AI can help with their bread-and-butter production. Thats why were investing in tools to help them in the everyday work of creation, likecoming up with a new video idea, title or thumbnail, Mohan writes. Were also using AI to help creators find new audiences. For videos with dubbed audio, more than 40% of the total watch time comes from viewers choosing to listen in a dubbed language. Last year we launchedauto dubbing, which helps creators translate their videos into multiple languages with a touch of a button. Later this month, well make auto dubbing available for all creators in the YouTube Partner Program. Well continue to make improvements here and expand to more languages throughout the year.

You can read Mohans annual letter here.