London UK, October 2026
Navigate Video is proud to launch the YouTube Growth Gap Report, our new research produced with support from academics at the University of Sussex Business School.
We analysed 998 brand YouTube channels across 10 industries and found that only 16% currently combine strong reach with strong engagement. Brands are spending billions of pounds on YouTube content, so that leaves a real opportunity. Most brands can get far more value from the content they already make by looking beyond audience size and views.
Download the full YouTube Growth Gap Report here
Where the YouTube opportunity sits
The research found clear room to grow across every industry we studied:
84% of brand channels don’t yet combine strong reach with strong engagement
94% of brands have never pinned a comment
72% have never replied to a viewer, and 7% have switched comments off entirely
24% include no external link in any video description, so interested viewers have no route from the video to engage or purchase
97% of brands score higher on channel setup than on the work that happens with every upload
Stuart Stubbs, Founder of Navigate Video, said:
“There’s a real gap between what YouTube can do for brands and what many are actually getting from it. We’ve been saying it for more than a decade but this data proves it.
The problem isn’t a lack of content. Most brands are already producing plenty of it. The problem is that success too often starts and ends with the number of views, and views alone don’t tell you whether that content is actually working for the brand.”
Big investment, simple wins
The 998 brands in the study have more than 1.4 million videos between them. Yet more than 40% have never added a timestamp to a single video, and over 30% have never added a tag.
Video packaging and metadata was the weakest area in the research, with 68% of brands scoring below half. Even the 100 most-watched consumer brands average 48 out of 100 on channel quality in our ratings, which shows how much is still available to brands of every size.
Stuart added:
“This is the work that happens on every upload: the titles, descriptions and playlists that decide whether a video is surfaced through search, cited in AI, or recommended to the right audience.
YouTube has changed, but many brands haven’t changed the way they use it. It’s no longer simply somewhere to host video, it’s becoming an increasingly important part of how people search for and discover information. How to appear in AI summaries has become a hot topic for marketers and YouTube is now one of the key places that LLMs cite from.”
Dr Matilde Lucheschi, Assistant Professor of Marketing at University of Sussex Business School, said:
“Numbers tell us what is happening, but not necessarily why. On a channel as powerful and complex as YouTube, pinpointing what drives performance is critical, given the number of potential drivers and the different solutions each may require.
Our analysis showed that even the biggest brands can struggle to navigate this complexity. Our frameworks aim to make it easier to diagnose what is driving performance and identify where action is needed.”
Where to start
Some of the biggest gaps in the research are also the quickest to close. You can start by replying to viewer questions, pinning comments and adding external links to every video description. After that, give each upload’s titles, descriptions and playlists the same care as the content itself.
Read the full YouTube Growth Gap Report, or see where your own channel stands with our free YouTube Channel Audit.
About the research
The YouTube Growth Gap Report was produced by Navigate Video with support from academics at the University of Sussex Business School. The research analysed 998 brand YouTube channels across 10 industries in July 2026. Channels were selected for market presence, revenue scale and brand recognition. Each channel was assessed using our proprietary Channel Audit Tool. Reach was measured by average views per video. Engagement was measured by likes and comments per view, benchmarked against channels with comparable reach. Of the 998 channels, 800 had enough public data to be positioned on both reach and engagement.
About Navigate Video
Navigate Video is a YouTube marketing agency working with global consumer brands to develop data-led YouTube strategies. Founded in 2015, its clients have included Audible UK, B&Q, Diageo, AXA, Cineworld and Breville. For more information, visit www.navigatevideo.com.
Media contacts:
Chris Hatherall, Rose Media Group | chris@rosemediagroup.co.uk
Aneela Rose, Rose Media Group | aneela@rosemediagroup.co.uk