Is YouTube the New Netflix? What the Streaming Shift Means for Advertisers

There's a plot twist happening in the world of streaming, and it's one that every tourism marketer should be paying attention to.

For years, the story went like this: YouTube was where you discovered things, and Netflix was where you settled in to watch them properly. One was the scrappy free platform full of creators, the other was the premium, subscription-powered juggernaut. Two different worlds.

But that line? It's blurring fast.

Phil's Feeding a New Platform

Here's the moment that made the industry do a double-take. Somebody Feed Phil, the beloved food and travel series hosted by Phil Rosenthal (yes, the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) has been one of Netflix's longest-running unscripted shows, clocking up eight seasons since 2018. It follows Rosenthal travelling the world, eating extraordinary food, meeting extraordinary people, and radiating the kind of warmth that makes you genuinely want to book a flight somewhere.

In March 2026, it was announced that new episodes will move to YouTube starting in 2027 as part of a deal with Banijay Entertainment.

The reason? Rosenthal put it plainly: "One of the things I always loved about Everybody Loves Raymond was that it was free to watch everywhere."

Free. To watch. Everywhere. That's not a small statement. That's a creator with one of the most travel-inspiring shows on the planet choosing reach over a subscription paywall and choosing YouTube to deliver it. And this isn't a one-off quirk. It sits within a broader, undeniable trend.

The Numbers Don't Lie

For a long time, Netflix felt untouchable as the benchmark for what people watched. But the ratings data tells a different story now.

According to Nielsen's Media Distributor Gauge, the industry's gold-standard measurement of where eyeballs actually go on TV screens, YouTube has been the single most-watched streaming platform in the United States for multiple consecutive months. In July 2025, YouTube captured 13.4% of all TV viewing, while Netflix came in at 8.8%. That's not a slim margin. YouTube's lead was described as the largest gap any media company had taken since Nielsen began tracking this data in late 2023.

And the growth trajectory is striking. YouTube's TV viewership has grown 53% in just two years. Streaming overall hit an all-time record in December 2025, with 47.5% of all television consumption happening via streaming platforms. Industry projections suggest streaming will cross the 50% mark of total TV time before the end of 2026.

To stick with the food theme, YouTube isn't eating Netflix's lunch. It's eating everyone's lunch, and then having dessert.

So, What Does This Mean for Your Tourism Business?

Here's the hook, and it's an important one. If your potential customers are spending more and more time watching long-form, high-quality content on YouTube (on their television, not just their phone), then the advertising opportunity on YouTube is growing right along with it. Not just in terms of volume, but in terms of the type of viewer you're reaching.

The person watching a travel documentary series on YouTube via their smart TV on a Friday night is not browsing mindlessly. They're engaged. They're inspired. They're quite possibly planning, or dreaming about their next trip. That is a powerful moment to put your brand in front of them.

And unlike Netflix, which remains ad-free on most of its tiers, YouTube is an advertising platform. It's always been designed to connect brands with viewers. The difference now is the scale and quality of those viewers.

Think about it this way: every percentage point that shifts from traditional TV to YouTube represents an audience that is more targetable, more measurable, and more accessible than anything broadcast television ever offered tourism operators, especially smaller or regional tourism businesses who could never have afforded a TV spot.

The Risk of Standing Still

If you're only thinking about Facebook and Instagram as your digital advertising channels, you may be missing a growing slice of your audience. The viewers who used to watch travel content on traditional TV, or who subscribed to Netflix for shows like Somebody Feed Phil, are increasingly watching that same type of content on YouTube.

If your brand isn't showing up there, someone else's is. YouTube advertising allows you to reach people who are actively watching travel, food, and lifestyle content, the exact context in which your destination, accommodation, or experience becomes aspirational. You can target by interest, by geography, by the type of content someone is consuming, and by intent signals. That kind of precision doesn't exist on broadcast TV, and it's far more nuanced than a boosted Facebook post.

The Bottom Line

The streaming world is shifting, and YouTube is at the centre of that shift. Premium, long-form content is finding a home on the platform. Audiences of all ages are watching on their TVs, not just their phones. And the advertising ecosystem that sits across all of it is more sophisticated, more targeted, and more accessible to tourism businesses than ever before.

The move of Somebody Feed Phil from Netflix to YouTube is a signal, not an anomaly. It's a highly successful creator and production company betting that the future of reach lies in an open, ad-supported platform, not behind a paywall. For tourism operators, that bet creates an opportunity. The question is: will your brand be there when your next guest is watching?

This is the first in our series exploring YouTube as a powerful advertising channel for tourism businesses. Up next, we'll dive into the formats, targeting tools, and real-world examples that make YouTube advertising work — and share the stats that might just surprise you.

Want to talk through what YouTube advertising could look like for your business? Get in touch with the Tomahawk team.