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Google: YouTube Is More Popular Than Cable TV

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (CBS Sacramento) - More people watch YouTube than cable TV. That's the word from Google chief business officer Omid Kordestani, reports the tech blog BGR.

"The number of users coming to YouTube, who start at the YouTube homepage similar to the way they might turn on their TV, is up over three times year-on-year," explained Kordestani. "Plus once users are in YouTube, they are spending more time per session watching videos."

Kordestani said YouTube is now bigger than any cable network in the United States. What's more, the site is attracting a large share of 18-49-year-olds, the most desirable demographic for advertisers.

The popularity of the video sharing sight has exploded. Users spend 60 percent more time on the site than they did last year, according to Google's own analysis.

Google, which owns YouTube, said the number of advertisers running video ads is up 40 percent year over year, and many of its top advertisers are spending 60 percent more for an ad than they were last year.

The company credits mobile devices with the spike in viewers. The average time users spends 40 minutes watching YouTube videos on mobile devices.

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