YouTube’s advertising revenue now surpasses the combined totals of its four largest traditional media rivals — Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Skydance, and Warner Bros. Discovery — marking a major shift in the global media landscape.
In 2025, the Google-owned platform generated about $40.4 billion in ad revenue, overtaking the roughly $37.8 billion earned collectively by those Hollywood giants, according to estimates from media research firm MoffettNathanson. Just a year earlier, in 2024, YouTube had still trailed the same group, making the latest figures a significant turnaround.
YouTube’s growth has been driven not only by advertising but also by strong audience engagement and a rapidly expanding subscription business. Nielsen data shows the platform now attracts more viewership on U.S. televisions than the combined streaming services of Disney, NBCU, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
At the same time, subscription products such as YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, and the NFL Sunday Ticket package generated nearly $22 billion in revenue in 2025.
The company also shares a large portion of its ad income with creators, paying about 55% of advertising revenue from standard videos to the people producing content on the platform.
Looking ahead, analysts believe YouTube may gain even more advantage as AI-generated videos and short-form content expand across the internet. Some researchers argue the platform is uniquely positioned to benefit from this shift, suggesting it could become even stronger in an era where AI dramatically increases the volume of video content online.