YouTube Analytics API adds DMA, concurrent viewers and membership cancellation reports for channels
What changed
YouTube's May 6, 2024 Analytics and Reporting APIs revision adds three channel reports to the YouTube Analytics (Targeted Queries) API: User activity by DMA (Designated Market Area), which requires the filter country==US; Concurrent viewers, for different parts of a single live-streamed video; and Member Cancellations, with the new membershipsCancellationSurveyReason dimension and membershipsCancellationSurveyResponses metric. The Audience Retention report also gains startedWatching, stoppedWatching and totalSegmentImpressions.
What it means
Analytics tools can report US viewers by Designated Market Area, concurrent viewers across a live stream, why members cancelled, and three new audience retention metrics.
Who is affected
Analytics and reporting tools for YouTube channels, and creators and agencies that run live streams, channel memberships or US local campaigns.
What to do by 6 May 2024
Optional. Add the new channel reports and the startedWatching, stoppedWatching and totalSegmentImpressions retention metrics to your Analytics API queries.
What this means for you
YouTube added new reports that apps can read for you. One shows which US cities and regions your viewers are in. One shows how many people were watching at the same time during each part of a live stream. One shows why paying channel members stopped paying. Your reporting tool can now show these numbers too.
The details
- User activity by DMA: a geographical report by Designated Market Area. The
filtersparameter must be set tocountry==US. - Concurrent viewers: "the number of concurrent viewers for different parts of a single live-streamed video."
- Member Cancellations: statistics on why users cancelled channel memberships, using the new
membershipsCancellationSurveyReasondimension andmembershipsCancellationSurveyResponsesmetric. - Audience Retention: new metrics
startedWatching,stoppedWatchingandtotalSegmentImpressions. - API: YouTube Analytics API
reports.query(targeted queries), channel reports only.
What to do next
- Business owners: Nothing.
- Marketers and agencies: For US local campaigns or live streams, ask your reporting tool whether it shows DMA and concurrent viewer data.
- Developers: Add the DMA, concurrent viewers and member cancellation queries, with
filters=country==USfor DMA.
Primary sources
- YouTube Analytics and Reporting APIs: Revision history (May 6, 2024)
- YouTube Analytics API: Channel reports
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