Hello from the Gyre team! Today, we'll explain why increasing watch time is at the heart of a successful YouTube growth strategy. Using Gyre's client case, we'll also show how viewer retention impacts subscriber growth and RPM.

First, let’s go over the basics. What is watch time?


Watch Time represents the total minutes viewers have spent watching videos. It’s one of the most essential metrics since YouTube highly values videos that retain audience attention for extended periods.

YouTube actively supports channels that can keep viewers on the platform longer. Watch time — both on individual videos and the channel as a whole — signals to YouTube’s algorithms that your content is engaging and should be promoted in recommendations.
The longer viewers watch your videos, the more likely they will subscribe. This increases your loyal audience base and continually boosts your channel's average watch time.

High retention rates drive up CPM (cost per thousand impressions). It’s simple — channels with high viewer retention gain more audience trust, making advertisers more willing to pay for ads on that content.

This creates a win-win situation among YouTube, advertisers, and creators, defining the channels that will rise to the platform's top. It means one of the top goals for creators is to create conditions that will steadily grow average watch time, impacting other metrics in a positive chain reaction.

Gyre’s 24/7 prerecorded live stream is a universal tool for this, which continuously attracts views and reactions and extends watch time. Let’s explore this mechanism through the YEES channel.

YEES Channel Case Study — How 24/7 Streaming Impacted Watch Time

YEES is an American entertainment YouTube channel featuring a hamster, the tireless maze conqueror. Over the past six months, the channel owner has actively used continuous live streams alongside regular uploads. The creator posted 15 new videos and ran 26 continuous streams in that time. Together, this activity generated over 15.3 million views.

Interestingly, the Gyre streams accounted for 67% of that total — averaging 397,121 views per stream, while videos averaged 302,970 views. Streams lasting between 7 and 20 days generated 37.4% more views than videos with six months to accumulate views.

What about watch time and audience retention? The channel accumulated 1,415,893 hours of watch time in six months, with 79% of that time attributed to the live streams. It highlights how effective live streaming is for audience engagement.

The average stream watch duration was 8 minutes and 13 seconds — 66.55% higher than the average for videos (4:56 minutes). This positively impacted the overall channel metric, boosting average watch time by 41.9%.

There’s also a positive trend in attracting new subscribers. Over the last six months, the channel gained 55,625 new subscribers, with 72.1% coming from the streams (40,092). It shows that viewers are more likely to subscribe when watching live streams. For comparison, the channel gained 3.68 subscribers per 1,000 stream views, while videos yielded 2.17 subscribers per 1,000 views.

And there’s more! The RPM for streams was 17.73% higher than the RPM for regular videos, meaning each 1,000 views on a stream generated more revenue than on a video.

What does this mean for the channel? Increased monetization from streaming raised the channel's overall income. Although streams accounted for 67% of views, they generated 72.7% of the total channel revenue in the last six months.

Conclusions

Thanks to Gyre’s 24/7 prerecorded live stream, the YEES channel saw significant growth in the past six months:

  • Watch time increased by +79%
  • Revenue rose by +72.7%
  • Subscribers grew by +72.1%
  • Views increased by +67.3%
  • Audience retention improved by +41.9%

The live streams were 78.8% more effective in attracting new subscribers and held viewer attention 66.55% longer. The RPM for streams was 17.73% higher, generating more revenue for the channel.

If you're still considering which tool can strengthen your platform ranking, we have a clear answer: Gyre’s prerecorded live streaming.

The YEES case demonstrates how implementing continuous streams can drastically improve YouTube channel metrics and ensure steady growth across all key areas. Among Gyre users are creators who maximize these advantages by running multiple 24/7 streams on different platforms. We recommend continuously running at least four concurrent streams for at least three months to achieve sustainable channel growth.

Some creators even launch up to 102 simultaneous streams! So, who are we to set limits?)

Should you integrate pre-recorded live streaming into your strategy? Absolutely!