Google issues cease-and-desist over YouTube channel viewing metrics

Barb and Kantar Media, two United Kingdom media measurement companies, have paused their new service measuring YouTube channel audiences on television sets after receiving cease-and-desist letters linked to YouTube’s data usage policies.

The measurement service launched in July 2025 and included 200 YouTube channels in Barb’s audience reporting. It aimed to compare YouTube channel viewership on TV sets with audiences for broadcast and streaming platforms. However, the project has been paused following Google’s objections to how Kantar Media attributed viewership to individual content creators using YouTube’s API.

Kantar Media used automatic content recognition (ACR) based on audio matching, combined with in-home router data from Barb’s panel, to confirm YouTube as the source of the content viewed. The methodology excluded Shorts and livestreams and focused solely on long-form, on-demand videos watched on TV sets.

The selected channels included a wide range of content categories, such as children’s programming like “Bluey” and “Peppa Pig”, sports channels like FIFA and WWE, and popular creators including MrBeast, Sidemen and Topper Guild. TV content from creators such as “Doctor Who” and Warner Bros. Entertainment was also included.

Barb and Kantar Media confirmed the suspension of the service.

The move comes at a time when broadcasters, advertisers and regulators are increasingly seeking standardized cross-media measurement across online video, broadcast and streaming.

The suspended service had marked a first for Barb as a joint-industry measurement body reporting TV-set YouTube channel viewing with demographic breakdowns. Prior to this, Barb had only reported aggregated YouTube service-level viewing and content distributed on the platform by traditional TV companies.

According to Barb, TV sets account for the largest share of YouTube viewing in households with Wi-Fi. In the second quarter of 2025, TV sets made up 43 percent of YouTube viewing among people aged 16 and older, and 53 percent among children aged 4 to 15.

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