YouTube, the video platform Google acquired for $1.65 billion in 2006, has generated $50 billion in combined advertising and subscription revenue over the past four quarters, marking a milestone in its evolution from a user-generated content site to a major streaming player.
What Happened: The achievement, announced during Alphabet Inc.‘s GOOGL GOOG third-quarter earnings call, reflects YouTube’s successful expansion into premium services and living room entertainment, competing directly with traditional television and streaming services.
“Together, YouTube TV, NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube Music Premium are driving subscription growth for the platform,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. “We are leaning into the living room experience with multi-view and a new option for creators to organize content into episodes and seasons, similar to traditional TV.”
The platform has secured its position as the leading streaming service in the United States, according to Nielsen data. Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, reported that creators optimizing content for television viewing are seeing significant returns, with the number of creators earning the majority of their YouTube revenue from TV screens increasing by more than 30% year-over-year.
Sports content has emerged as a key growth driver. The platform’s Olympics coverage garnered over 12 billion views, with 850 million unique viewers watching more than 40 billion minutes of content.
Notably, 35% of Olympic content was viewed on television screens, highlighting YouTube’s successful transition to larger formats.
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Why It Matters: The platform’s advertising business has also shown strong momentum, with upfront advertising commitments increasing approximately 20% year-over-year, according to Schindler.
These results contributed to Alphabet’s strong quarterly performance, with the company reporting overall revenue of $88.27 billion, a 15% increase year-over-year, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $86.31 billion.
Looking ahead, YouTube plans to integrate Google DeepMind‘s video generation model into YouTube Shorts later this year, furthering its investment in artificial intelligence and creator tools.
Price Action: Alphabet Inc Class A shares closed at $169.68 on Tuesday, up 1.78% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock rose by an additional 5.80%. Alphabet Inc Class C shares ended the day at $171.14, climbing 1.66%. After hours, the stock advanced a further 5.89%. Year to date, Alphabet Class C shares have risen by 22.63%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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