Finances
Prior to 2020, Google did not provide detailed figures for YouTube's running costs, and YouTube's revenues in 2007 were noted as "not material" in a regulatory filing.[310] In June 2008, a Forbes magazine article projected the 2008 revenue at $200 million, noting progress in advertising sales.[311] In 2012, YouTube's revenue from its ads program was estimated at $3.7 billion.[312] In 2013, it nearly doubled and estimated to hit $5.6 billion according to e-Marketer,[312][313] while others estimated $4.7 billion.[312] The vast majority of videos on YouTube are free to view and supported by advertising.[64] In May 2013, YouTube introduced a trial scheme of 53 subscription channels with prices ranging from $0.99 to $6.99 a month.[314] The move was seen as an attempt to compete with other providers of online subscription services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.[64]
Google first published exact revenue numbers for YouTube in February 2020 as part of Alphabet's 2019 financial report. According to Google, YouTube had made US$15.1 billion in ad revenue in 2019, in contrast to US$8.1 billion in 2017 and US$11.1 billion in 2018. YouTube's revenues made up nearly 10% of the total Alphabet revenue in 2019.[315][316] These revenues accounted for approximately 20 million subscribers combined between YouTube Premium and YouTube Music subscriptions, and 2 million subscribers to YouTube TV.[317]
YouTube had $29.2 billion ads revenue in 2022, up by $398 million from the prior year.[318] In Q2 2024, ad revenue rose to $8.66 billion, up 13% on Q1.[319]