Laughter, Lean-Back, and Low-Lift Shorts: What Won on YouTube in April

Tubular Labs, the leader in global social video intelligence, has released its April 2025 Audience Ratings, highlighting an eclectic mix of breakout performers on YouTube. From Kevin Hart’s LOL Network to party card game content, six-second meme loops, and reimagined TV reruns, audiences showed up for humor, nostalgia, and fast, familiar formats.

Kevin Hart’s LOL Network Turns Laughs Into Watch-Time

As consumer stress levels rise, audiences are gravitating toward comforting, comedic content. That trend helped drive a massive month for LOL Network, Kevin Hart’s YouTube comedy venture with Lionsgate.

In April, LOL Network’s U.S. YouTube viewership surged 148% month-over-month to 9.7 million unique viewers—its highest in over a year. Total watch-time climbed 40% to 182.4 million minutes, driven by a smart programming pivot: uploading full movies like Good Burger and Beverly Hills Cop alongside original comedy clips and interview shows.

By combining catalog films, episodic shows, and a clear comedic brand voice, LOL Network is evolving into a lean-back digital channel. Its TV-style programming strategy mirrors how more viewers are using YouTube itself—as a full-screen, full-length entertainment platform on connected TVs.

Exploding Kittens Levels Up with Short-Form Game Demos

Game brand Exploding Kittens broke through in April by adopting a creator-first short-form strategy. With the help of YouTube Shorts, it reached 19.8 million unique U.S. viewers, ranking No. 5 among all domestic brands.

The brand’s fast, visually driven how-to videos and comedy skits around its card games—especially new release Coyote—resonated with viewers and sparked nearly 1 million engagements on its top post. With little YouTube footprint prior to this push, Exploding Kittens’ strategy shows how visual storytelling and native formats can transform even traditional brands into digital-first players.

Stone Face Memes Becomes Top U.S. Creator

Stone Face Memes is redefining viral velocity on YouTube. The anonymous meme remix account, launched in December 2024, became the No. 1 most-watched U.S. creator in April with 107.3 million unique domestic viewers.

Its success stems from a high-volume, low-friction strategy: 500 Shorts in April alone, mostly six-second edits of trending or relatable content. More than 70 of its posts topped 5 million views each. The formula proves that frequency, familiarity, and cultural timing still drive explosive reach—even without traditional production value.

COPS Drives Long Watch-Time with Archive Strategy

The long-running TV series COPS continues to find digital life by mining decades of existing footage. In April, it drove 191.4 million U.S. minutes watched on YouTube—up 17% month-over-month and 155% year-over-year.

While Shorts and clips built reach, the show’s most-watched videos were longform compilations over 45 minutes—perfectly suited to lean-back TV viewing. With 34 uploads in April alone, Paramount is capitalizing on the value of legacy IP, tapping into nostalgia and binge-friendly formats to fuel audience retention.