‘Baby Shark Dance’ maintains YouTube crown, views hit 16.4 Billion Views

The viral children’s song “Baby Shark Dance” continues to dominate YouTube, maintaining its position as the platform’s most-viewed video. Recent statistics show the Pinkfong video has now crossed 16.4 billion views, far ahead of its closest competitor, Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito,” which has about 8.8 billion views.

The two-minute video, first uploaded in 2016, is still being played over 4.7 million times per day on average. Its repeated viewing by toddlers worldwide has made it an unstoppable phenomenon in the digital space. Other top-viewed videos include “Wheels on the Bus” by Cocomelon, which has around 8 billion views.

Despite its massive popularity, Pinkfong faces challenges in monetizing the video fully. Last year, the company earned roughly $67 million from all sources, including YouTube. The platform’s “Made for Kids” rules, introduced after a 2019 settlement over child privacy, limit personalized ads, comments, and notifications. These restrictions reduce the potential ad revenue for high-viewership videos like “Baby Shark.”

Analysts estimate that without these restrictions, “Baby Shark” could have earned two to three times more revenue, highlighting the gap between its popularity and its monetization potential.