Media source

Where media files come from: same origin vs third party.

Field data PhoneDesktopAll Scope All sites Q1 2026 edition · Desktop field outcomes
Metric LCP INP CLS
1

At a glance the headline numbers for Media source

Where media files come from: same origin vs third party.

2
Categories
In the distribution
64.8%
Fleet share
Top: self
6.7%
Sites with any
Of self

35.2% of media files stream from third parties.

The State of Web Vitals · Q1 2026 · 94,910 sites · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
2

The media source mix who uses what, and how fast each group loads

Median INP (sites using feature)
0
100ms
200ms
300ms
400ms
500ms
Self52ms65% of sites
Third party61ms35% of sites
VariantShare of requestsMedian
Self
65%
52ms
Third party
35%
61ms

Media source. On the fleet: 64.8% self, 35.2% third party. 6.7% of sites use at least one self.

Self leads by count (64.8%) and by bytes (72.4%). computed

The State of Web Vitals · Q1 2026 · 94,910 sites · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
3

Passing INP per bucket every category and count level at once - color is the pass rate

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Self 64.8%
99
100
100
99
100
100
100
100
97
100
Third party 35.2%
98
97
97
97
100
100
100
100
100
← few of this category on the pagemany →
60%95%+ of sites passing INP Faded cells: under 100 sites

Each row is a category, each column its own count bucket (few on the left, many on the right); the cell is the share of those sites passing INP.

No category moves the INP pass rate much, however many a site ships. computed

The State of Web Vitals · Q1 2026 · 94,910 sites · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
4

Few vs many - does quantity cost INP? the pass rate with few vs many of each category

60%70%80%90%100% few → many
Self 64.8% 99%100%
Third party 35.2% 98%100%
% of sites passing INP · hollow ring = pages with few, solid dot = pages with many

Per category: the pass rate among pages with FEW of it (hollow ring) against pages with MANY (solid dot), worst trend first. Thin buckets are excluded from the endpoints.

Quantity barely moves INP here. The worst trend is Self, at 100 points. computed

The State of Web Vitals · Q1 2026 · 94,910 sites · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
5

Why this matters for the Core Web Vitals, and where to start fixing it

Video files are the biggest assets a page can carry, and the source decides who controls their delivery: the cache rules, the compression, the range requests that make seeking work. Third-party video also means another connection, usually for the largest download on the page.

For embedded players the source question disappears behind the iframe, and the facade pattern beats both options: a poster image until the visitor clicks. Host video yourself only with real video infrastructure behind it. Adaptive bitrates do not happen by accident.

How does this affect the Core Web Vitals?

The choice barely moves the LCP: 86% pass at best, 85% at worst. This signal does not separate passing sites from failing ones.

Related signals font-display strategy → Preloaded fonts → Uses @import → Stylesheet loading mix → Chrome field data from 94,910 sites, representing millions of real page loads · How we measured