YouTube Outage Affects Over 240,000 US Users, Reports Downdetector

• YouTube had 321,958 reported incidents at peak, while YouTube TV recorded 8,923 reports and Google had 2,694 reports
• The outage affected Alphabet-owned services broadly, suggesting a potential infrastructure issue impacting multiple Google properties
• Downdetector tracks outages by aggregating status reports from multiple sources to measure the scale of service disruptions

YouTube Outage Affects Over 320,000 US Users

Summary:

Alphabet-owned YouTube experienced a significant service disruption on Tuesday, February 17, affecting over 320,000 users across the United States. According to outage tracking website Downdetector.com, there were 321,958 reported incidents as of 8:18 p.m. ET.

Key Details:

• Primary Impact: YouTube's main platform bore the brunt of the outage with over 320,000 user reports
• Related Services: YouTube TV recorded 8,923 issue reports, while parent company Google had 2,694 reports
• Company Response: Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the disruption

Market Context:

The outage represents a notable service disruption for one of the world's largest video-sharing platforms, owned by tech giant Alphabet. Downdetector tracks outages by aggregating status reports from multiple sources, providing real-time insights into service disruptions.

Implications:

While the duration and cause of the outage were not specified in the report, such disruptions can impact:

• User engagement and advertiser reach on the platform
• Revenue generation during the downtime period
• Alphabet's reputation for service reliability
• Content creators who depend on the platform for income

The incident highlights the vulnerability of digital platforms to technical issues and the widespread impact when major services experience downtime. For a platform central to digital advertising and content consumption, even brief outages can have significant financial and reputational consequences for Alphabet's broader ecosystem.