Create local, watch global: U.K. viewers travel the world when they log onto YouTube

British media companies have complained that there’s not enough visibility for traditional broadcaster content on YouTube, but a new study suggests that the disconnect isn’t personal. Instead, it may be true that British YouTube viewers watch less local content compared to users from other countries.

That’s one central thesis in a report published by Digital i. The U.K.-based software company, which has previously delivered insights related to platforms like Netflix and YouTube Shorts, has set its sights on the international flavor of digital communities. The firm found that, in most countries, the top YouTube channels belong to native creators. In the British Isles, however, it’s a different story, with numerous top ten channels coming from foreign individuals and groups.

Across five European countries — Germany, France, Italy, the U.K., and Spain — Digital i determined the top ten most popular channels in each of three categories: Entertainment, Gaming, and News/Politics. The channels that reached the largest percentage of accounts in each country ranked the highest. Digital i also performed the same piece of research in the United States, where all but one top 30 channels were homegrown accounts.

U.S. viewers weren’t the only YouTube users to prefer local fare. In France, for example, 28 of the 30 ranked channels are native. In Italy, 27 out of 30 entrants match that description.

The U.K. is a totally different story. Only 12 of the top 30 accounts hailed from the land of the Union Jack. In the Gaming category, none of the top ten channels are British. Sorry to DanTDM, Ali-A, and others, because the gamers ranked in the top ten are international superstars like iShowSpeed and Asmongold. Most of the remaining spots went to U.S.-based media companies and developers, such as IGN (#1) and Rockstar (#2).

The U.K.’s relative lack of top local channels may seem like a mere curiosity, even if it explains why the Sidemen have made their charity football matches more international in recent years. One crucial takeaway from this data, however, concerns TikTok. With the U.S. set to get a new version of the short-form video platform, there is a question about what will happen to the international content that thrives on the main TikTok app.

Digital i’s findings show that U.S. viewers might not miss British TikTok content if they can no longer access it. If American content is removed from the international version of TikTok, however, it could result in a major shakeup. British viewers seem to prefer creators from all across the globe, so they better watch those channels while they still can.