YouTube Surpasses Disney as Top Media Company in 2025

YouTube, the video-sharing platform owned by Alphabet Inc., has emerged as the world's largest media company in 2025, generating an estimated 62.3 billion dollars in total revenue that surpassed the 60.9 billion dollars reported by Disney's media operations. The milestone, detailed in research from media analysis firm MoffettNathanson, underscores a dramatic shift in the entertainment industry as digital platforms overtake traditional studios in financial dominance.

The platform's advertising revenue alone reached 40.4 billion dollars last year, exceeding the combined 37.8 billion dollars from Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery, according to MoffettNathanson estimates. This marked a reversal from 2024, when YouTube's ad haul of 36.1 billion dollars trailed the same group's 41.8 billion dollars. Alphabet, YouTube's parent company, reported that the platform's overall revenue topped 60 billion dollars, with subscriptions contributing nearly a third of the total. Services such as YouTube TV, the ad-free YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, and the NFL Sunday Ticket package drove this growth, bringing in approximately 22 billion dollars.