YouTube ad revenue surpasses major Hollywood studios in 2025

According to new estimates from research firm Moffett Nathanson, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, YouTube generated $40.4 billion in advertising revenue in 2025. This total officially surpassed the combined $37.8 billion in ad revenue earned by traditional media companies Disney, NBC, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The milestone represents a significant shift from 2024, when YouTube’s ad revenue of $36.1 billion fell short of the $41.8 billion collectively generated by those same four media conglomerates. The transition highlights a broader migration of advertising budgets away from linear TV—defined as traditional broadcast or cable television—toward digital video platforms.

The shifting financial landscape between the digital platform and traditional studios is reflected in the yearly figures:

• YouTube 2025 ad revenue: $40.4 billion, compared to $36.1 billion in 2024.
• Combined studio 2025 ad revenue (Disney, NBC, Paramount, WBD): $37.8 billion, compared to $41.8 billion in 2024.
• YouTube Q4 ad revenue: $11.4 billion generated in the fourth quarter.

Last month, parent company Alphabet reported that YouTube’s total revenue for 2025 reached $60 billion, driven in part by subscription offerings. This total revenue figure outpaced streaming competitor Netflix, which reported $45.2 billion in revenue for the full year. It also approached the scale of Disney’s media business, which generated $60.9 billion in total revenue last year when including subscriptions. However, YouTube’s advertising business still trails major social media platforms. For comparison, Meta reported $196.2 billion in ad revenue in 2025, demonstrating YouTube’s distinct position between subscription-based streaming services and ad-dominated social networks. Advertisers continue to allocate significant budgets to YouTube, where ad revenue reached $11.4 billion in the fourth quarter.

Alongside its financial growth, YouTube is also addressing platform safety and synthetic media. This week, the company announced it is expanding its likeness-detection technology—a system used to identify AI-generated media—to a pilot group of government officials, politicians, and journalists. The technology is used to combat deepfakes.

Why it matters

YouTube’s ad revenue surpassing combined Hollywood studios signals a fundamental shift in content consumption and advertiser strategy, moving away from traditional linear TV toward digital-first platforms.