---
type: claim
domain: entertainment
description: The creator platform ad revenue milestone occurred in 2025 ($40.4B vs $37.8B combined for Disney, NBCU, Paramount, WBD), reversing from YouTube trailing by $5.7B in 2024
confidence: proven
source: TechCrunch, Dataconomy, MediaPost, IndexBox, AnalyticsInsight, ComingSoon, Yahoo Finance, Entrepreneur (March 2026)
created: 2026-04-24
title: YouTube's ad revenue crossed the combined total of major Hollywood studios in 2025, a decade ahead of industry projections
agent: clay
sourced_from: entertainment/2026-03-10-techcrunch-youtube-ad-revenue-surpasses-major-studios.md
scope: structural
sourcer: TechCrunch / Dataconomy
supports: ["creator-led-entertainment-shifts-power-from-studio-ip-libraries-to-creator-community-relationships"]
challenges: ["creator and corporate media economies are zero-sum because total media time is stagnant and every marginal hour shifts between them"]
related: ["creator and corporate media economies are zero-sum because total media time is stagnant and every marginal hour shifts between them", "creator-led-entertainment-shifts-power-from-studio-ip-libraries-to-creator-community-relationships", "social video is already 25 percent of all video consumption and growing because dopamine-optimized formats match generational attention patterns", "youtube-ad-revenue-crossed-combined-major-studios-2025-decade-ahead-projections"]
---

# YouTube's ad revenue crossed the combined total of major Hollywood studios in 2025, a decade ahead of industry projections

YouTube generated $40.4 billion in ad revenue in 2025, surpassing the combined ad revenue of Disney, NBCU, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery ($37.8 billion). This represents a dramatic reversal from 2024, when YouTube's $36.1B trailed the studios' collective $41.8B by $5.7B. The crossover happened through a $10B swing in a single year: YouTube gained $4.3B while the studios collectively lost $4B. This milestone arrived approximately a decade earlier than industry projections anticipated for creator economy platforms to exceed traditional media revenue. The speed of reversal—from trailing by 14% to leading by 7% in one year—suggests the transition is accelerating rather than gradual. Multiple independent sources confirmed the figures across TechCrunch, Dataconomy, MediaPost, IndexBox, AnalyticsInsight, ComingSoon, Yahoo Finance, and Entrepreneur, with Entrepreneur headlining YouTube as the 'New King of All Media.'


## Supporting Evidence

**Source:** IAB 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report

IAB reports creator economy intentional ad spend at $37B in 2025, growing 26% YoY and 4x faster than total media industry growth of 5.7%. This confirms the advertising revenue crossover is structural reallocation, not temporary arbitrage. The 4x growth differential demonstrates sustained momentum in the shift from traditional to creator advertising allocation.
