In the most recent quarter, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) revenue rose 12% year over year to $96.5 billion. YouTube grew faster, up 14% to $10.5 billion.
YouTube’s growth has exploded. It has 211 million monthly users. That is higher than second place Facebook at 185 million. It is also first among all streaming video platforms in the United States with 8.6% of all time spent with video. Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was second at 7.9%.
YouTube, which may still be viewed as a destination for short, cute videos, has become a powerhouse. According to SteamTVInsider, “Since YouTube delivers 10% of TV viewing, the industry would earn $6 billion more in ad revenue if viewers still spent that time with traditional TV.” That means a total of over $50 billion in video advertising is still at risk as YouTube grows.
YouTube also has monster subscriber numbers. It has 100 million subscribers to YouTube Premium and YouTube Music. These subscribers are spread across 100 countries. Like Netflix, YouTube has exclusive content. It charges subscribers as much as $23 a month.
Almost every story about streaming video is dominated by Netflix, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Prime Video, and half a dozen streaming services from legacy media companies. Some of the legacy media streaming services do not make money.
Google, as it was known then, bought YouTube for $1.65 billion on November 13, 2006. It was a fantastic deal for Google.
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