YouTube Beats Cable TV in Ad Revenue

YouTube’s advertising revenue surpassed $15 billion in 2019. The astounding number is nine times what Google paid for it in 2006. It’s also more than any major TV network generated in 2018: NBC saw an ad revenue of $7 billion, CBS made $6 billion and Fox’s advertising revenue gave them a profit of $5 billion.

YouTube’s impressive ad revenue seemingly solidifies their status as a media heavyweight. They're one of the most popular sites for video, with more than 2 billion monthly users, Variety reported. Viewers watch more than 250 hours of video per day.

There is a caveat to YouTube’s financial success: Alphabet, Google's parent company, said most of the money generated through ad avenue goes backs to the creators. But they're not worried. “There is significantly more room on [YouTube] monetization levels,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said.