J Is for Jimmys: #10YearsofYouTube

Late night talk shows have been a TV staple for decades. But in the past 10 years the format has exploded with new hosts, more laugh-out-loud moments, and better accessibility to these shows than ever before. And between timely monologues, celebrity cameos, once-in-a-lifetime live performances and inventive sketch comedy, it turns out late night and YouTube are a match made in heaven.

In fact, late night shows are among the most subscribed to channels on YouTube and show no sign of slowing down. Take Jimmy Fallon’s 7.1 million subscribers, Jimmy Kimmel’s 5.8 million, or new kid on the block James Corden—who’s proven an instant sensation with over 200k subs and 58 million channel views just since February.

Late night comedians are also a consistent source of trending videos that, when combined, are watched for more than 810,000 hours each day. Jimmy Kimmel’s “Mean Tweets” and Jimmy Fallon’s “Saved By The Bell Reunion” are just two examples of wildly popular sketches that drive millions of views and that have gone viral on YouTube and beyond. Jimmy Kimmel’s Mean Tweets series claims more than 400 million views across its 15 clips, while Fallon’s one-off reunion parody has earned more than 30 million views - 17 million of which it received within the first 48 hours of its posting.

So here’s to YouTube’s partners in comedy, the Jimmys (and the Ellens, and the Jons, and the next generation of game-changing talk show queens and kings) - thanks for keeping us all laughing well past midnight and all throughout the day.