According to research firm Moffett Nathanson, YouTube earned a huge advertising revenue of $40.4 billion in 2025, more than the total advertising revenue of Disney, NBC, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) combined, with a total amount of $37.8 billion.
This change is a clear sign that content consumption habits have changed significantly in recent years, leading to strategic adjustments by advertisers.
YouTube's advertising revenue in 2025 not only surpassed the total revenue of the four major film studios in Hollywood combined, but also marked a major turning point compared to the previous year. In 2024, YouTube's advertising revenue reached 36.1 billion USD, lower than the 41.8 billion USD advertising revenue that Disney, NBCU, Paramount and WBD achieved. Now, the situation has reversed.
For decades, traditional film studios have dominated the entertainment industry, attracting audiences with large-budget films and hit TV shows. But as traditional film studios struggle with decreasing linear television audiences and increasing production costs, YouTube is rising to the top. Even if these companies pour millions of dollars into their own streaming platform, keeping up with YouTube's development momentum is becoming increasingly difficult.
Last month, parent company Alphabet reported that YouTube's total revenue in 2025 soared to $60 billion. A large portion of YouTube's revenue now comes from subscription services, including YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music and NFL Sunday Ticket.
Alphabet once declared YouTube as the "new king of all media" in 2025, currently valued from 500 to 560 billion USD, far exceeding any traditional media rival. The closest competitor is Netflix, with a market capitalization of about 409 billion USD to date.
YouTube TV currently has about 10 million subscribers and is likely to surpass leading pay TV providers such as Charter and Comcast in the coming years.
YouTube has now spent over $100 billion on content creators, music companies and media partners, reflecting the platform's leading role in the entertainment ecosystem.
YouTube is also increasing investment in artificial intelligence (AI). This week, the company announced that it is expanding its portrait recognition technology to a pilot group of government officials, politicians and journalists. This technology identifies fake videos created by AI and allows users to request deletion if they believe it violates YouTube's policy.
Disney, NBC, Paramount and WBD also depend heavily on subscribers. For example, Disney's media business earned a total of 60.9 billion USD in revenue last year, including revenue from subscriptions.
