YouTube's 2025 ad revenue of $40.4 billion surpassed the combined ad revenue of four major traditional media companies (Disney, NBC, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery), marking a reversal from 2024. This highlights a major shift in content consumption and advertising spend from traditional studios to digital platforms.
While YouTube's total revenue, significantly boosted by subscriptions, reached $60 billion, its ad revenue still trails behind tech giants like Meta. Advertisers are increasingly drawn to YouTube due to its large, especially younger, audience.
The article also notes YouTube's increased investment in AI, specifically the expansion of a pilot program for AI-generated likeness detection to help certain public figures identify and request removal of deepfakes.
The main topics covered are YouTube's financial performance, the shifting media landscape, and YouTube's AI initiatives.
YouTube has hit some impressive numbers in 2025.
According to new estimates from research firm MoffettNathanson— as reported by The Hollywood Reporter— the platform pulled in a staggering $40.4 billion in ad revenue, which is more than Disney, NBC, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)’s combined ad revenue, whose total came to $37.8 billion.
This shift is a clear sign of just how much content consumption has changed over the years and how advertisers have adapted their strategies.
YouTube’s ad revenue for 2025 not only topped the combined haul from the four major Hollywood studios, but also marked a huge turnaround from the previous year. In 2024, YouTube’s ad revenue of $36.1 billion fell short of the $41.8 billion in ad revenue collectively earned by Disney, NBCU, Paramount, and WBD. The tables have now turned.
For decades, these studios have been the kings of entertainment, captivating audiences with big-budget films and hit TV shows. But as traditional studios struggle with shrinking linear TV audiences and the ever-rising costs of productions, YouTube is speeding ahead. Even as these companies pour millions into their own streaming platforms, it’s getting harder to keep up with YouTube’s momentum.
Last month, parent company Alphabet reported that YouTube’s total revenue in 2025 soared to $60 billion. A big portion of YouTube’s revenue now comes from subscriptions, which include services like YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, and NFL Sunday Ticket. (For context, that’s well above Netflix’s reported $45.2 billion for the full year.)
Disney, NBC, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) are also heavily subscription-dependent businesses; Disney’s media business pulled in a total of $60.9 billion in revenue last year, when you include subscriptions, for instance.
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That said, YouTube’s ad revenue still trails behind tech giants like Meta, which pulled in $196.2 billion in ad revenue in 2025. Still, advertisers are flocking to YouTube because that’s where audiences (especially younger viewers) are spending their time. YouTube’s ad revenue reached $11.4 billion in the fourth quarter.
YouTube is also stepping up its investment in AI. This week, the company announced that it’s expanding its likeness detection technology to a pilot group of government officials, politicians, and journalists. The tech identifies AI-generated deepfakes and lets users request the removal if they believe it violates YouTube policy.
Meridiano
