YouTube extends maximum length of Shorts content to 3 minutes

YouTube’s short-form service, Shorts, will extend its maximum length to 3 minutes, with the company’s position in the South Korean video platform competition expected to get a boost as short-form content apps gain popularity in the country.

According to YouTube Korea’s blog on Sunday, the maximum duration for Shorts will increase from 1 minute to 3 minutes starting on Tuesday. The move is seen as part of YouTube’s strategy to compete with ByteDance’s TikTok and Instagram’s Reels as the demand for short-form content grows.

TikTok’s short-form limit is 3 minutes, while Reels allows up to 90 seconds. Naver’s short-form platform, Clip, also supports up to 90 seconds.

According to market research firm Statista, the global short-form content market is projected to total $40 billion in 2024 and grow at an average annual rate of 60 percent over the next five years. By extending Shorts’ length, YouTube hopes to diversify content, attract more viewers, and positively impact its creator base.

YouTube Shorts’ Product Management Director Todd Sherman noted that the update addresses creators’ most requested feature, allowing them to include more storytelling in their Shorts. The company also aims to strengthen its shopping affiliate program, where creators can introduce partner products to generate revenue.

Longer Shorts could enhance shopping integration and expand corporate advertising opportunities. Given the importance of YouTube and short-form content in Korea, this policy is expected to solidify YouTube’s market share.

According to Wise App Retail Goods, the monthly usage time of the top three short-form apps - YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok - hit 149.1 billion minutes in August 2024, up 13 percent from the same month last year.

Among them, YouTube Shorts holds the largest share in Korea. A report from CJ ENM’s MezzoMedia showed that 76 percent of respondents aged 15 to 59 primarily watched short-form content on YouTube Shorts.

Naver, which launched its short-form service Clip in August 2023, faces growing competition from overseas platforms and is keen to strengthen its position. It has steadily enhanced Clip by offering incentives to creators and will launch a formal creator revenue-sharing system in 2025.

For its part, Kakao integrated a short-form tab into its Daum mobile app in March 2024.

In addition to increasing content length and creator rewards, short-form platforms are lowering barriers by adding tools that simplify content creation. YouTube plans to integrate Google’s AI model, Veo, into YouTube Shorts later in 2024.

Veo can generate Shorts backgrounds based on natural language input. Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram, is also working on applying its AI, Emu Video, which turns text into images or videos, to its platforms.