From TV to Streaming: Peru’s Video Content Shift

The evolution of media and video content in Peru has taken a significant turn in recent years. What was once a monopoly of traditional television is now challenged by streaming platforms, such as YouTube, where established figures and new talents have found a more flexible and direct space to connect with their audiences. Audiences have mutated and also migrated.

This change not only reflects a technological evolution, but also a transformation in the consumption of online entertainment that covers many aspects such as preferences and content consumption habits, audience segmentation by age and topic, new languages to communicate, new ways of generating income and other factors.

Why do audiences choose YouTube over TV?

For years, television was the main source of entertainment for Peruvian homes. This paradigm has been changing for some years now due to the emergence of streaming platforms such as Netflix, Prime, Max, Disney+ and others. In fact, the 2024 Latin American Streaming Consumption study, developed by Sherlock Communications, places Netflix as the favorite platform of Peruvians (63%), to the point that 52% even shared subscriptions so as not to miss out on watching the platform even though its prices are very expensive.

However, the production of locally-themed programs still gave television channels a certain competitive advantage. This was until the appearance of YouTube channels with continuous programming, something that has become a threat to traditional TV.

First of all, we must highlight the existence of very innovative platforms, which were created specifically to make live content and that are preferred by young audiences such as Twitch, Kick and even TikTok. These platforms are mainly aimed at video game and youth content streamers, creating their own characteristics such as long broadcasts of several hours, their own communication codes and monetization based on the support of followers who form communities.

Despite the success of the aforementioned platforms, we have focused this article on YouTube, since it is the one that has “hit” Peruvian television the most, with content that in some aspects is similar but in others is totally different, and that is where a large group of users are preferring to connect to YouTube from their devices before sitting on the sofa to enjoy television programming.

A survey by Brandcast reveals that more than 12 million Peruvians use YouTube and according to the aforementioned study by Sherlock Communications, 24% of Peruvians who watch streaming have a Premium account. That is, they have no problem paying for a service with better quality and more tools.

This leads us to ask ourselves: What does YouTube have that television does not? We can divide the reasons why more and more Peruvians point to YouTube as their main source of entertainment by its platform and its content.

There are specific factors that make YouTube preferred by its platform. For example: the flexibility of schedules (the user can choose at the time they want to watch their favorite videos), the ease of search, the variety of topics, the low presence of commercials (although this is growing on YouTube in the search for advertising revenue) and the ease of access (it can be watched from the same cell phone).

But what interests us most at the moment are the content factors. Since its appearance in 2005, YouTube has evolved from being a repository of personal videos of users or companies, to becoming a means of disseminating audiovisual productions by the so-called ‘youtubers’, and then giving way to streaming. The phenomenon of streaming led YouTube channels to look more and more like television stations, with continuous programming and fixed schedules.

However, that’s the only extent to the similarities since the freedom (although sometimes limited) that the internet gives, makes the content that is made especially for YouTube more direct, with much less censorship than TV, with content aimed at specific niches, with more creative freedom and without the barriers that television advertisers can impose. The public has learned to value video content in Peru that they feel is more authentic and close.

The migration to streaming television figures: Right or wrong?

In Peru, several television personalities have decided to venture into YouTube, recognizing the potential that this platform offers to reach a more diverse and global audience. Examples such as Jaime Bayly, who brought his critical and humorous style to the digital environment, Jesús Alzamora, with content more focused on entertainment and interviews, or Peter Arévalo, who started with a sports program and now has more than 5, are proof of the change of scenery and that some have been able to understand, but others have not.

There is something that most Peruvian television figures still do not fully understand in video content in Peru. The internet has its own language and it is a very particular one, people who have decided to jump to watch YouTube do so precisely to escape television content and there are TV personalities who have believed that they can do the same on YouTube only with a more vulgar language and that sometimes includes bad words.

The digital marketing specialist, Renzo Rotta made an analysis of 162 YouTube programs, during 6 days in the month of August 2024. The result of the most watched programs evidenced the preference of the digital audience since of the 10 most watched programs, only 2 were hosted by TV personalities (Peter Arévalo and Rosa María Palacios).

• La Casa de la Comedia (Comedy) 2,816,554 views

• Chapa tu Money (Game Show) 609,967 views

• La Encerrona (News) 514,790 views

• We Just Want to Talk (Magazine) 514,113 views

• OUKE (Magazine) 449,839 views

• A Presion Radio (Sport) 383,576 views

• EFE EME (Magazine) 345,277 views

• Qué pasará ayer? (Magazine) 288, 912 views

• Sin Guión con Rosa María Palacios (News) 260, 625 views

• El Diario de Curwen (News) 258,684 views

In addition, streaming has given rise to innovative ways of communicating messages. Channels such as ‘Solo por Trolear’ and ‘Sálvese quien puede’ combine political analysis with entertainment, demonstrating that new narratives have great potential.

This is something that should be taken into account by traditional Peruvian television channels, which have already decided to go down that path on their digital platforms. Of course, this is the example of Latina Television and América Televisión, which have already been developing programs directly for the online public. The great challenge of these channels is to get rid of the television shadow which, as we have already seen, is something that distances the native audience from YouTube.

‘OUKE’ is just one of the 6 shows that Carlos Orozco has on his YouTube channel. Photo:YouTube.

Another way of doing journalism

Journalistic information also made the leap to the networks. YouTube channels such as La Encerrona, Sálvese Quien Puede, El Diario de Curwen or La Contra, have managed to combine information and research with entertainment, managing to capture a large number of followers.

The reasons for the success of these channels lie in several factors, but the main one is the independence that can be achieved on streaming platforms. The public sought a different option from traditional journalism seeking greater impartiality. That is why more and more television journalists are coming to YouTube. In Peru you can see Juliana Oxenford with El Búnker, Jaime Chincha with La Tuerca and Clara Elvira Ospina with Epicentro TV, all recognized for their time on television now making their way through this content platform where they have greater freedom of expression and content.

The case of La Encerrona is also worth highlighting. Born during the pandemic, and dedicating almost all of its content to this topic at first, Marco Sifuentes, its director, managed to establish a link with his audience by providing verified information in times of much misinformation. It also explored different formats (long and short videos), different forms of dissemination (Whatsapp, local television stations, among others) and exclusive material for Patreon collaborators, something that became the main source of income for these media. In addition, it also generated community by advertising products and services from its own followers, creating a synergy with them.

New ways to monetize

Where there is still a gulf is in the flow of money between productions. It is still much more expensive to produce and advertise on television, however, monetization has also evolved and also has something new, the contribution of users.

While on television the income depends mainly on advertising contracts, on YouTube creators can diversify their sources of income by advertising on the platform and counting on brand sponsorships even more naturally (told in the language of the program or host the mentions themselves). But the big difference is that the same users can contribute money through subscriptions or voluntary donations for content creators.

This is one more advantage for the YouTube product as the viewer engages with the program they follow, gets closer to it and becomes part of a community, a nexus that TV programs are increasingly losing.

Obviously, the dividends earned by YouTube shows are not yet close to those earned by TV shows, but this may change with the rise in popularity of streaming. Also, if a TV show loses advertisers, it’s doomed to cancellation, while a streaming show has a better chance of surviving and staying afloat until another sponsor is found.

Is there anything beyond streaming?

Streaming in Peru is not only changing the entertainment landscape, but also the ways in which people are informed and connected. The key to success will be to find a balance between creativity and professionalization, taking advantage of technological advantages without losing sight of the needs and preferences of the public.

The challenge for Peruvian creators will be to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive and diverse market, while for traditional television the challenge will be to reinvent themselves so as not to be left behind in this new digital era.

The shift to streaming is palpable evidence of a generation gap. While Gen X and baby boomers still prefer TV because of its familiarity with the medium, younger people, Gen Z and beyond, gravitate toward streaming because of its technological adaptability and the closeness they feel with content creators.

In this sense, YouTubers should know that just as they are the novelty today, in a few years, incipient streaming platforms may arrive with new codes for new audiences. Something that brands also understand, which they have found in these niches to reach their target audience directly with product placement or creative mentions and not aligned with a script. Streaming is here to stay, yes, it is redefining how video content is consumed in Peru and the world, too. But we must always be alert to what the future holds.