US YouTube Premium subscribers will hit 29.5 million this year, per updated forecast

The forecast: Following an announcement from YouTube Premium that they've hit 50 million subscribers worldwide, we have updated our US forecast to reflect the platforms uptick. We now forecast YouTube Premium will hit 29.5 million US subscribers by year-end 2021, up from our previous projection of 23.6 million.

Dive deeper:

• Our latest forecast projects an impressive 47.2% uptick in US YouTube Premium subscriptions over 2020.
• Though growth will decelerate, our updated forecast projects continued growth through the next four years as YouTube Premium penetrates a higher rate of US paid digital audio subscribers, passing the 30% benchmark in 2023.
• US paid digital audio subscriptions are climbing overall though at a slowing rate. In 2023, 133.1 million US internet users will be paid digital audio subscribers.

Looking ahead: Our updated forecast also projects higher subscription numbers in years to come. By 2025, YouTube Premium will hit 46.6 million US subscribers.