Every year, Wistia publishes the most comprehensive look at how video is actually being used across marketing teams. The 2026 edition — based on a survey of nearly 1,000 professionals and analysis of over 13 million videos — landed with some findings that should matter to anyone planning a video investment this year.

The headline is this: video demand is rising, but budgets aren’t keeping up. That gap is creating a new pressure on marketing teams to be smarter — not just more productive — about where video fits in their strategy.

Below, we’ve pulled out the findings most relevant to B2B teams thinking about explainer videos, educational content, and how to actually make video work in 2026.

Budgets Are Flat. Expectations Aren’t.

Fifty-one percent of companies are keeping their video budgets flat or cutting them this year. At the same time, video demand is up — Wistia’s platform data shows play counts grew 6–7% in 2025 across small and large companies.

The math doesn’t add up unless you change the approach.

For most B2B teams, that means getting more deliberate about what videos you make and who makes them. A lower budget isn’t an excuse to skip video — it’s a reason to be more strategic about which formats earn the spend.

The biggest blockers to making more video? Resources, cost, and technical capability — in that order. Not creativity. Not alignment. Capacity.

This is exactly why the choice of production partner matters. A team that has to figure out strategy, script, and production from scratch every time will hit that capacity wall fast. A partner who handles the heavy lifting — while keeping quality high — changes the equation.

Four Formats Are Pulling Ahead

The report found that the video landscape is consolidating. Teams are investing in four core formats: educational videos, product videos, social videos, and webinars.

For B2B marketers, this is a useful filter. If you’re not sure where to focus your video budget, start with these four — they’re what’s working at scale across nearly every industry.

Educational videos are the standout. Wistia’s benchmark data shows educational content has the highest engagement rates of any video type — consistently outperforming product demos, testimonials, and promotional videos across every length category.

Explainer videos are, by definition, educational. They exist to help an audience understand something — a product, a concept, a process. The data validates exactly what Epipheo has built its work around for 15 years.

If you’re evaluating what makes a great explainer video, educational clarity is the core of it.

Blended Production Is Becoming the Norm

Here’s something the report makes clear that often gets framed as an either/or: in-house video teams are growing AND outsourcing is increasing at the same time.

The model that’s winning isn’t “hire internally” or “hire an agency.” It’s both. Internal teams handle the day-to-day — social content, webinars, quick educational clips. Agencies handle the flagship work that requires strategy, scripting, and broadcast-quality production.

This is a useful framing for any team trying to justify budget. You’re not choosing between your team and an agency. You’re deciding which work stays in-house and which work needs a different level of craft.

For the videos that carry your brand — homepage heroes, product launches, thought leadership pieces — the production quality and strategic thinking behind them make a measurable difference.

See how Epipheo approaches explainer video production and what goes into a signature-tier piece.

AI Is Changing Pre-Production — Not (Yet) Production

AI is showing up everywhere in the report, but with an important nuance: it’s most common in pre-production. Planning, scripting, ideation — that’s where teams are actually using it. Fully AI-generated footage and AI avatars haven’t reached mass adoption.

What this means practically: AI is a productivity tool for the front end of the process. It helps teams move faster, generate more options, and reduce the time between brief and first draft. But creative judgment — what actually makes a video land — is still human.

We’ll go deeper on AI’s role in video production in a future post in this series. The short version: the best teams are using AI to reduce friction, not to replace thinking.

LinkedIn Is Now B2B’s Primary Video Channel

Eight in ten B2B teams say LinkedIn is their primary place to share videos — and it beats YouTube as the first place business videos get seen.

The practical implication for anyone commissioning a video: before you brief the project, know where it lives. A video built for your website homepage and a video built for LinkedIn feed distribution are different animals — different length, different aspect ratio, different hook structure.

The report notes that 76% of teams resize their videos for different platforms, and half do it every time. Budget for that step. Don’t treat it as an afterthought.

Longer Videos Convert Better Than You Think

This one surprises most people. Wistia’s benchmark data shows that videos 30–60 minutes long get a 23% click-through rate — far higher than short-form content. Videos under one minute get just 1%.

The explanation is intent. Website visitors who sit through a long video are already invested. They’re not browsing — they’re evaluating. When the CTA arrives, they’re ready to act.

For explainer videos specifically, the 60–90 second range remains the sweet spot for conversion-focused placements. But this data should push B2B teams to stop treating length as a liability. The right length is the one that matches the viewer’s intent and where they are in the buying process.

What This Means If You’re Budgeting for Video in 2026

The report paints a clear picture. Teams are being asked to do more with the same resources. The winners are those who are deliberate — about format, about channel, about production model.

A few practical takeaways:

• Know what format you’re making before you brief it. Educational and product videos are the most proven formats for B2B. Start there.
• Plan for distribution before you shoot. Where the video lives should shape how it’s made — format, length, tone.
• Don’t cut quality on the videos that carry your brand. Flat budgets are a reason to be selective, not a reason to lower the bar on flagship content.
• Use AI for efficiency, not as a replacement for strategy. The teams winning with AI are using it to move faster in pre-production, not to skip the thinking.

Ready to scope your next video?

If you’re trying to figure out what a well-produced explainer video would cost for your specific project, our AI pricing agent gives you a scoped estimate in about three minutes — no sales call required. It’s trained on 15 years of real Epipheo quotes and will get you within ±15% of a real number.

You can also explore our full explainer video pricing guide to see cost ranges by style, length, and production tier before you reach out.

More from This Series

This is the first of four posts we’re publishing based on the 2026 Wistia State of Video Report. Coming up:

• → Why the Best B2B Video Teams Are Blending In-House and Agency Work in 2026
• → Where to Put Your Explainer Video in 2026 (The Data Might Surprise You)
• → AI Is Changing Video Production — But Not the Part You Think

Source: Wistia 2026 State of Video Report

Related Reading

• How to Choose the Best Explainer Video Company in 2026 — a buying guide for teams evaluating agencies
• 2D Explainer Videos: A Comprehensive Guide — the most popular format, explained
• What Makes a Great Explainer Video? — the elements that separate good from forgettable
• Explainer Video Pricing Guide — real numbers, no gatekeeping