YouTube generated more advertising revenue in 2025 than Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery combined, according to latest estimates from media research firm MoffettNathanson. The Google-owned streaming giant brought in $40.4 billion in ad revenue, exceeding the $37.8 billion total from its four closest Hollywood competitors.
The shift marks a substantial change from 2024, when YouTube’s $36.1 billion in ad revenue fell short of the $41.8 billion total from the same group of traditional media companies. Heading into 2025, YouTube was positioned just behind Disney as the world’s largest media company, according to MoffettNathanson.
The revenue figures reach as YouTube continues to expand its offerings beyond user-generated content. The platform keeps approximately half of its ad revenue, distributing the remaining 55% to creators of standard videos. Beyond advertising, YouTube generated nearly $22 billion in subscription revenue in 2025, driven by YouTube TV, ad-free tiers of YouTube Premium and YouTube Music, and the NFL Sunday Ticket service.
Google is planning to further accelerate subscription growth this year with the introduction of “skinny bundles” for YouTube TV, including a package focused specifically on sports programming. MoffettNathanson analysts predict that YouTube’s subscription revenue will grow at a faster rate than its advertising revenue, while still anticipating a healthy 10% growth rate for advertising over the next three years.
According to MoffettNathanson, YouTube is now the world’s largest media company, surpassing Disney when excluding Disney’s experiences revenue. However, YouTube’s ad revenue remains significantly lower than that of other tech giants, such as Meta, which generated approximately $196.2 billion in ad revenue in 2025, and its parent company, Alphabet, which earned $224.5 billion from search ads last year.
The growing dominance of YouTube comes after a recent resolution to a dispute with Disney regarding carriage of channels like ESPN and ABC on YouTube TV. In November 2025, Alphabet and Disney announced a deal to restore these channels after a two-week standoff that began on October 31st. The agreement allowed subscribers to once again access live sporting events and other programming on the streaming service, with YouTube TV offering $20 credits to subscribers during the disruption. Disney Entertainment’s co-chairs Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, along with ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, stated that the agreement reflected “how audiences choose to watch” entertainment.
MoffettNathanson analysts Michael Nathanson and Robert Fishman suggest that YouTube may be uniquely positioned to thrive in an environment increasingly saturated with AI-powered videos and short-form content, describing it as “one of the only” media companies that “will become stronger in the age of AI.”
