YouTube Is Now the World’s Largest Media Company
- Mar 14
- 2 min read
The media landscape has a new heavyweight. YouTube closed out 2025 having accomplished something no streaming or digital platform had managed before — unseating The Walt Disney Co. as the largest media operation on the planet.
According to THR, the numbers tell a clear story. Disney’s media division pulled in $60.9 billion last year, a figure that does not account for its theme park and experiences business. YouTube eclipsed that total, landing at an estimated $62 billion for the same period. The research firm MoffettNathanson places the platform’s current valuation somewhere between $500 billion and $560 billion. To put that in perspective, Netflix — the nearest rival by market capitalization — sits at around $409 billion.
The revenue picture spans multiple streams. Advertising alone accounted for more than $40 billion on the year, with the fourth quarter contributing $11.4 billion to that total. Subscription offerings add considerable weight as well, with YouTube TV, NFL Sunday Ticket, YouTube Music, and YouTube Premium collectively rounding out a formidable business beyond ad sales. YouTube TV in particular has amassed close to 10 million subscribers, putting it on a path to challenge established pay-TV providers like Comcast and Charter for market dominance.
Creators sit at the center of YouTube’s rise. The platform has funneled more than $100 billion back into the hands of the artists, musicians, and media partners who populate it. CEO Neal Mohan spoke to what that figure means, saying, “One is help them build an audience and connect with their fans, regardless of where those fans are in the world; and the second thing we do is we help them build businesses. That’s what that $100 billion represents for me.”
Analyst Michael Nathanson sees the momentum continuing, writing, “Over the next few years, unlike almost any other asset we cover, we strongly believe that YouTube will be a major beneficiary of both the structural tailwinds and headwinds facing technology and media companies.”
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