YouTube to Abolish "Trending" Page: The End of the "Single Ranking" Era and the Dawn of the Chart Era

YouTube to Abolish "Trending" Page: The End of the "Single Ranking" Era and the Dawn of the Chart Era

2025年07月11日 18:00

1. Introduction: "Trending" Disappears in its 10th Year

YouTube introduced the "Trending" page (known as "急上昇" in Japanese) in 2015. In the early days of social media, a list that instantly showed hit videos was a symbol of "buzz" for both creators and users. However, in 2025, YouTube declared in its official community that this feature had served its purpose and announced its complete abolition within a few weeks.Google Help



2. The History of "Trending" and Japan's Unique Enthusiasm

  • 2015–2018: The Early Days—With views and rapid growth as key indicators, J-POP and game commentary were regulars.

  • 2019–2021: Algorithm Overhaul—While favoring new channels with the "On The Rise" section, the occupancy rate of media-related official channels increased.

  • 2022–2024: The Rise and Fall of Shorts—Vertical short videos became mainstream, and the PV of "Trending" decreased by double digits compared to the previous year. The stage for "momentary hype" was dispersed due to competition with TikTok and Instagram Reels.TubeFilter



3. Three Factors Leading to Abolition

  1. Diversification of Viewing Paths—An explosive increase in trend consumption routes such as Shorts, search suggestions, and SNS embeds.

  2. Fragmentation of the Community—"Micro-trends" proliferated from K-POP to VTubers and verification genres, making it impossible to represent them with a single list.

  3. Creators' Distrust—There was constant criticism questioning "Is it really trending?" as major media like movie trailers dominated the top spots.The VergeTubeFilter



4. What is "YouTube Charts"?

The new axis is "category-specific rankings." In the screen example released by the official on the 10th,

  • Trending Music Videos

  • Weekly Podcast Shows

  • Trending Movie Trailers

    can be confirmed. In the future, it is expected to expand to e-sports, learning, cooking, and more. The update frequency will vary from daily to weekly depending on the region and category. Charts will be provided as widgets for embedding in external media and through the Creator API, with indicators expected to switch to composite metrics such as views, momentum, and engagement rate.Impress Watch



5. Impact on Creators

  • Shift in Idea Sources—Small and medium creators who previously got ideas from "Trending" will need to utilize YouTube Studio's AI suggestion "Inspiration Tab" and Google Trends.The Verge

  • Integration with the Hype System—Videos supported by viewers with the "Hype" button are more likely to be boosted in category charts, making community formation strategies important.

  • Algorithm Tuning—From a focus on watch time to an evaluation of "empathy." The comment/like ratio and repeat rate are said to be incorporated into ranking calculations.



6. Redesigning Advertiser and Brand Strategies

The purchase model of "tie-up slots" relying on a single ranking is ending,


  • Genre-Specific Share of Voice Analysis

  • Maximizing Reach in Target-Specific Charts

  • Cohort Advertising with Micro-Influencers

    is becoming the new main battleground. With YouTube Analytics' chart-linked reports, the measurement of return on ad spend (ROAS) is expected to become more precise.



7. Viewer Experience: Differentiating "Recommendations" and "Exploration"

Even after the abolition of "Trending," the "Explore" tab will remain, presenting non-personalized trends by theme such as games, news, and learning. Meanwhile, the home feed and Shorts will be fully personalized, maximizing viewing time with TikTok-like "infinite scrolling." Viewers will experience their own "personal trending."



8. Impact and Examples in the Japanese Market

  • J-POP—Integration with music charts draws attention to the correlation with Billboard Japan Hot 100.

  • VTuber—While there is a unique trending culture, whether live archives will enter the charts depends on the indicators.

  • Local Government PR—Videos from local governments that previously became topics by entering "Trending" will now compete in target audience-specific charts.



9. Future Outlook: Towards "Trend Visualization 2.0"

Google plans to combine Semantic Topic Graph and generative AI,

  1. Real-Time Subcategories through Automatic Tag Generation

  2. Regional and Language-Specific Charts

  3. Cross-Platform Integration(Podcast, Books, Streaming)
    is planned. The abolition of "Trending" is not an "end," but the entrance to an era of AI-driven granular rankings.



10. Conclusion

The single "buzz" indicator "Trending" has ended its role in the face of diversified viewing behavior and communities. Genre-specific charts, AI-driven suggestions, and community-driven Hype—YouTube's next-generation trend visualization will refine creators' competitive axes, change advertisers' investment methods, and deepen viewers' discovery experiences. The closure of the "Trending" page will be etched in history as a symbolic milestone in the evolution of the platform.



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