10-08-2025
I watch YouTube now, admits Ofcom boss who called it a ‘parasite'
Lord Grade, who once criticised YouTube as a 'parasite', has revealed he now uses it himself to watch videos on his phone.
The veteran broadcasting boss, now the chair of Ofcom, considered the video platform his arch nemesis when he was in charge of ITV in 2008.
But the 82-year-old says he is now reconciled to the Google-owned service, which he says has established itself 'in a major way'.
He is among a growing number of older converts to YouTube, and told the Sunday Times he uses it to watch comedy and videos about sailing.
It was a clip of Susan Boyle's dramatic debut on ITV's Britain's Got Talent that attracted 300 million YouTube views – without the broadcaster's consent, or ability to monetise the audience – that provoked him to brand YouTube a 'parasite'.
'They just live off our content is what they do,' he said at the time.
'We didn't make a ha'penny out of it,' he told the Sunday Times, adding that a Google executive told him the video could be removed but he said it was too late. 'So if I go to Harrods and steal a Cartier watch, they ring up and say they want it back, and I give it back, it's not stealing?'
Now, he says, the platform has 'grown up' and shares its revenues with the content-makers more fairly.
He described it as 'just an Eddie Stobart lorry, with lots of goods on it that people put on and other people want to pay for at the other end'.
A new report from Ofcom, which describes public service broadcasters as an 'endangered species', reveals that YouTube was the second most watched TV service in the UK last year, behind only the BBC, and ahead of ITV.
Overall, viewers spent an average of 39 minutes a day on YouTube in 2024.
And among children it is the main TV of choice, with one in five viewers aged four to 15 turning straight to the platform last year. Netflix was close behind, and the young were just as likely to watch BBC iPlayer as BBC One.
Broadcasters including Channel 4 and ITV have struck deals with YouTube to stream content in exchange for a greater share of advertising revenue as a result of the change in watching habits.
The firm claims its 'ecosystem' of sharing its revenues with UK creators adds around £2bn to the economy each year.
Lord Grade said: 'The business model has developed quite a bit now – they're much better at sharing revenues. It's a much healthier relationship these days. They've grown up.'
He is also not surprised that young people are snubbing the plethora of streaming services and TV options available to them in favour of YouTube.
'The thing one's learnt at a great age is to never be surprised by technology,' he said.
'Look, the broadcasters have got to learn to work a lot harder to get the attention of the viewers. Regulation can't make you watch something you don't want to watch…
'They've got to find ways to encapsulate those cultural values in ways that are appealing enough for people to want to watch.'
