Watch time (extended)
Total minutes viewers spend on a channel's content.
Watch time is the cumulative minutes watched across a video, channel, or time window.
It is one of the two metrics (alongside CTR) that drives YouTube's recommendation engine on long-form.
Watch time is a poor metric in isolation but a powerful one when paired with view count and AVD.
Why it matters
Watch time growth is the cleanest proxy for channel growth, more reliable than subscriber count.
How to improve it
- 01Track watch time month over month, not week to week.
- 02Decompose growth into view growth vs. AVD growth.
- 03Optimize for whichever component is weakest.
Apply it
See your own watch time (extended) in seconds.
Paste any YouTube, Shorts or TikTok link and our analyzer will surface the metric, the curve, and the move that lifts it next.