Research firm Frank N. Magid Associates conducted a survey in June suggesting that YouTube may be beating Netflix as the online source for people's favorite television shows.
Magid had 2,400 people identify online sources they used to watch TV shows; 38 percent of them choosing YouTube while 33 percent of them chose Netflix, according to CNET. 17 percent of the participants chose Hulu, and 14 percent of them chose Amazon Prime.
iTunes was found to be a low-ranking source for watching movies and TV, ranking seventh for movies and eighth for TV in the survey. Mike Vorhaus, president of Magid Advisors, said that iTunes' ranking could be due to the cost of its service since YouTube, Hulu and similar sites are free with advertising and Netflix and Amazon Prime subscribers don't have to pay as much. The finding comes despite Apple CEO Tim Cook recently stating that the platform has over 500 million customers.
Vorhaus added that the content shown on YouTube videos plays a role in its popularity, CNET reported.
"The joke in the industry is it's all babies burping and cats meowing, and maybe YouTube was that," he said. "When they actually go and use it, people are surprised by the breadth of content that's there."
Magid said more and more people are watching TV shows online, with daily online video viewership growing 10 points to 32 percent in two years.
YouTube was also found in the survey to be a top source for movies, CNET reported. 24 percent of the participants said they use the video-sharing site to watch movies, but Netflix holds the top spot with 35 percent.
"If you think of these services as brands, the brand of YouTube has the most people," Vorhaus said. "The big message I get is that people have changed their brand perception of YouTube."
The survey follows YouTube's announcement last week that it will fund its biggest video stars to help them make new, exciting content.
