YouTube says the secret to success is viewers, not algorithms

Many of the talks at VidCon 2026 focused on how long-form horizontal content is at the forefront of reinventing the traditional Hollywood model. During a panel discussion on convergence, Pocketwatch CEO Chris H. Williams declared, “If it works on YouTube, it’s going to work everywhere,” pointing to the crossover success of The Besties on Hulu and soon on Amazon Fire TV Stick.

A recurring theme throughout the panel was how streamers like Hulu, Amazon, and Tubi recruit creators, acquire YouTube libraries, and fund original content. But what will it take for a video to go viral on YouTube in 2026?

That was the question Vidcon attendees had as they sat down for a panel titled “Deciphering the Algorithm: What Viewers Really Want from YouTube.” The three-person panel, hosted by YouTube, featured YouTube Creator Liaison and Editor-in-Chief Rene Ritchie, YouTuber Katarina Mogus, and YouTube Senior Director of Growth and Discovery Todd Beaupré.

But instead of providing guidelines on how the algorithm should work, Beaupre rejected the assumptions that creators have about it. In it, Beaupre rejected the idea that YouTube’s algorithm punishes users who don’t post frequently, saying creators are not penalized for trying new things.

“It really depends on what you bring back and whether it’s interesting or not,” Beaupre said of the post gap. “We combed through millions of channels and looked at the time between uploads and the number of views before and after the break.” “We looked at whether there was a correlation between the differences between the two. And if anything, the longer someone was out, the more likely they were to come back.”

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Few slides or figures were presented at the panel. However, Beaupre presented a provocative concept.

“Your core audience may not be as important as you think.”

Credit: Kristy Puchko / Mashable

“For almost all channels, the click-through rate for subscriptions is less than 10% – people who press the red button when you ask them to subscribe,” Beaupre says. “Yet, 90% of the time, when they watch your video, they’re not going to click. [it]. This is normal. ”

He continued, “Some of your subscribers are going to watch your video in the first few hours, but 90% of them won’t watch it. YouTube understands that, and it’s the same for many channels. So if you’re thinking, ‘If my first 100 people aren’t the right audience, my video will be retired.’ No, because we know that even among your biggest fans, this may not be the right time. ”

Ultimately, Beaupre’s advice was that creators should worry more about appealing to their audience than YouTube’s algorithm. He says, “If you have a question about algorithms, I recommend replacing the word ‘algorithm’ in the question with ‘audience.’ What’s important here is that the algorithm won’t penalize you if you take a break. But when you come back, the audience might feel differently. If you’ve been away for six months, maybe they moved on to discover some new channels? They’re still on YouTube. As a result, you may not be putting them first as much as you used to. In other words, audience reactions influence the distribution. ”

Mashable is reporting live from VidCon 2026 in Anaheim. Follow our coverage of creator interviews, panel highlights, the biggest moments from the convention floor, and more.