The popular video site YouTube made a big step in the ad market in 2025. Its ad earnings were more than what major Hollywood studios made.
Research firm MoffettNathanson guessed YouTube’s ad income was about $40.4 billion last year. This beat the combined ad income of Disney, NBC, Paramount, Warner, and Discovery, which was about $37.8 billion.
Viewing Habits Change
This success shows a big change in how people watch content. More people are using digital sites. So, advertisers are putting more money where viewers are, especially young people.
This is different from 2024. Then, YouTube's ad income was $36.1 billion. Hollywood studios made $41.8 billion that year.
Digital Platforms Rise
Hollywood studios led entertainment for years with big movies and TV shows.
But fewer people watch old TV channels. Making movies and shows costs more money. This is hard for these companies.
Meanwhile, YouTube keeps growing fast. Even though these companies spend a lot on their own streaming sites.
Record Income
YouTube's parent company, Alphabet, said YouTube’s total income in 2025 was about $60 billion.
Money also comes from paid subscriptions. These include YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, and YouTube Music. The NFL Sunday Ticket sports stream is also a source of income.
For comparison, Netflix made about $45.2 billion in the same year.
But YouTube’s ad income is still less than digital ad leaders like Meta, which made about $196.2 billion from ads in 2025.
AI Investments
With this growth, YouTube keeps investing in artificial intelligence (AI).
The company is testing a new AI tool. This tool can find fake videos that copy real people. It is called Likeness Detection.
The tool will be tested with government officials, politicians, and journalists. It can find AI-generated videos that copy their likeness. They can ask for these videos to be removed if they break rules.