YouTube has reached a financial milestone, surpassing some of Hollywood’s biggest media companies in advertising revenue and overall scale.
New estimates from financial research firm MoffettNathanson show that the Google-owned video platform generated $40.4 billion in advertising revenue in 2025.
That total exceeds the combined ad revenue of major legacy media players, including Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, which together brought in about $37.8 billion.
Why It Matters
For decades, major film studios and television networks controlled the entertainment economy. Today, YouTube’s scale is challenging that dominance.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, YouTube generated more than $60 billion in total revenue in 2025, allowing it to surpass Disney’s media business.
The platform’s advertising growth signals where audiences—and advertisers—are increasingly spending time and money.
Younger viewers in particular have shifted away from traditional television and toward digital video platforms.
What To Know
MoffettNathanson concluded that YouTube’s growth effectively makes it the world’s largest media company, surpassing traditional entertainment giants.
YouTube’s advertising revenue climbed to more than $40 billion for the year, including $11.4 billion in the fourth quarter alone.
Beyond ads, the company’s expanding subscription business has become a major contributor to its finances.
Services such as YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, YouTube TV and NFL Sunday Ticket have helped drive the platform’s total revenue above $60 billion.
YouTube TV alone has about 10 million subscribers, a scale that could eventually challenge major cable providers.
The company has also paid more than $100 billion to creators, music companies and media partners, showing the size of the creator economy that now powers much of the platform’s content.
What People Are Saying
Commenters on Reddit noted that while YouTube has monetized its content, the monetization doesn’t always lead to a great product.
“They will continue to add more intrusive ads because it’s never enough money,” one commenter wrote, while another added, “They will run ads those outlets won’t.
“If you’ve got a scam, an MLM, or a bottle of snake oil, you can sell it on YouTube.”
Other commenters noted that YouTube has the advantage of free content courtesy of its creators.
“Pretty sure the other [streaming services] don’t have over 260-million hours of video added every year,” one pointed out.
“Amazing what happens when people upload nearly infinite content to your platform for free,” another contributor quipped.
What’s Next
YouTube’s position at the intersection of technology, streaming and the creator economy could allow it to keep expanding.
Hollywood studios may increasingly find themselves competing not just with each other, but with YouTube’s vast creator-driven ecosystem.
Newsweek has reached out to YouTube for comment via email.
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