YouTube reaches 1.5 billion users of shorts, its TikTok rival

YouTube said it has reached more than 1.5 billion monthly logged-in viewers of Shorts, its short-form video feature that launched in late 2020 as a response to the surging popularity of TikTok.

The video giant, part of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, announced the milestone on Wednesday, trumpeting the ascent of what executives called “the multiformat creator”—someone who produces both long and short videos. In 2021, YouTube started putting Shorts posts directly within its main app and has encouraged the platform’s biggest stars to produce videos tailored for the format.

The focus on Shorts is part of a broader trend in social media to challenge ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok for the attention of viewers and creators.