YouTube Beats Major Hollywood Studios With $40.4B In 2025 Ad Revenue!

Over the past decade, the way people watch content has changed dramatically. Instead of waiting for scheduled TV broadcasts, audiences now prefer on-demand platforms where they can choose what to watch and when to watch it. As a result, advertisers are also reconsidering where they place their marketing dollars. Well, that change is now clearly visible in the numbers.

 

TL;DR

 

• YouTube generated $40.4B in ad revenue in 2025, beating Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount and WBD.
• In 2024, the studios were still ahead of YouTube.
• Advertisers are increasingly shifting to YouTube as audiences move online.

YouTube generated an estimated $40.4 billion in advertising revenue in 2025, according to new estimates from research firm Moffett Nathanson, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The figure is particularly notable because it surpasses the combined ad revenue of four major media companies including The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, Paramount Global, and Warner Bros. Discovery which together brought in $37.8 billion in advertising.

The shift shows just how quickly the media landscape is evolving. Just a year earlier, in 2024, YouTube’s $36.1 billion in ad revenue was still behind the studios’ combined $41.8 billion. Within a year, however, the situation has completely flipped.

For decades, traditional studios dominated the entertainment industry with blockbuster films and hit TV shows. However, shrinking linear TV audiences and rising production costs have made it harder for these companies to maintain their advertising strength.

Even as they continue investing heavily in their own streaming services, keeping up with YouTube’s scale and audience engagement has become increasingly difficult.
 
Parent company Alphabet recently reported that YouTube’s total revenue reached $60 billion in 2025. Beyond advertising, a large portion of that income now comes from subscriptions such as YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, and NFL Sunday Ticket.

For comparison, Netflix reported $45.2 billion in revenue for the year. Still, YouTube’s advertising business remains smaller than digital ad leaders like Meta Platforms, which generated $196.2 billion in ad revenue in 2025. Even so, advertisers are increasingly turning to YouTube as younger audiences continue to spend more of their screen time on the platform.

All of this shows how quickly the entertainment and advertising landscape is shifting. As audiences continue to spend more time on digital platforms, advertisers are naturally following them there. For traditional media companies, keeping up with platforms like YouTube may become an even bigger challenge in the years ahead.