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YouTube has quietly developed a strong subscription business. Although YouTube is usually used as a free service monetized through ads, it says its YouTube Music and Premium services now have more than 100 million subscribers worldwide. In February 2024, YouTube shared that YouTube TV had surpassed 8 million subscribers in the US.

And YouTube is already the biggest platform for influencer marketing in terms of spend: We expect sponsored content spending on YouTube to exceed $3 billion this year in the US. In contrast, Spotify鈥檚 video initiatives are still nascent and have faced some early challenges鈥攁nd competing with an established player like YouTube could prove difficult for the platform.

In March, Semafor reported that YouTube would introduce dynamic, host-read podcast ads. YouTube shares ad revenues with creators in the YouTube Partner Program, which accounts for the majority of platform payout revenues in our forecast. Yes, but: Many creators are still frustrated by low payouts, opaque or restrictive policies, and inconsistent earnings from the platforms.

TikTok is also banned in India, meaning Meta鈥檚 Reels and YouTube shorts can compete for short-form video attention.

Zooming out: Spotify is facing more competition from YouTube and other video platforms, making it important to retain key talent. YouTube is in Spotify鈥檚 cross hairs. With 53% of podcast consumers now watching on YouTube, the platform has become the industry leader in video podcasting.

Despite TikTok鈥檚 strong growth, most brands continue to turn first to Instagram for influencer marketing. Instagram remains a must, but there are good reasons for more marketers to commit to TikTok鈥攁nd YouTube Shorts.

YouTube accounts for more time spent than Netflix. But less than half of YouTube viewing happens on TV screens. And because YouTube relies on user-generated content, advertisers are split on whether YouTube should be categorized as TV. Implications for marketers. Tariffs could curb CTV鈥檚 momentum. In the worst-case scenario, we expect CTV ad spend to be flat.

Methodology: Data is from the January 2025 Pixability "US YouTube & Connected TV Media Agency Survey 2025." 124 media agency professionals in the US were surveyed during November 2024. All respondents work directly on YouTube and/or connected TV campaigns for brand advertisers. Pixability is a technology platform for optimizing video ad campaigns on YouTube and CTV.

The news: YouTube launched a second, less-expensive ad-free subscription tier, boosting its efforts to compete in the streaming market. Premium Lite lets users watch most YouTube videos without ads for $7.99 per month, which the company said will create more revenue opportunities for creators and partners.

Instagram and YouTube were major beneficiaries. Within months, Google launched YouTube Shorts in India, while Instagram introduced Reels鈥攂oth of which replicated TikTok鈥檚 successful short-form video format. The TikTok ban resulted in a major surge in Instagram user growth in India, which grew 56.8% YoY in 2020, and gave YouTube user growth a second wind.

罢丑别谤别鈥檚 YouTube if I wanted to pivot to video myself,鈥� per her conversation with Digiday. 鈥淸If] Substack becomes primarily a video platform and the readers leave, I鈥檒l go write my newsletter somewhere else.鈥�.

Our take: If digital ad spending growth slows, creators could see smaller ad-share payouts from YouTube. Diversifying both content length and income sources could help creators adapt to economic changes and platform pressures.

YouTube remains the most-used platform for listening to podcasts. Thirty-one percent of weekly and 33% of monthly podcast listeners prefer YouTube, putting it above competitors like Spotify (27%) and Apple Podcasts (15%). Spotify is trying to prove its worth as a podcast platform, recently expanding its Partner Program to nine new markets and providing more growth opportunities to entice creators.

An enhanced discovery engine could help Netflix keep its users and its CTV dominance lead over YouTube.

In 2025, we expect US social video ad spending, excluding YouTube, to surpass linear TV ad spending for the first time. 蘑菇AV 4 in 10 marketers had also shifted budget out of TV and radio to fund their growing investments in influencer marketing, per September 2024 Linqia data. Predictions. YouTube could revisit 鈥淥riginals.鈥�

For instance, any revenues that creators earn on YouTube Podcasts are counted as social media revenues鈥攂ut not as podcast creator revenues. As more creators break into video podcasting on platforms like YouTube, the lines will blur even further. Time spent listening to podcasts is growing, per our forecast, helping to drive creators鈥� revenues.

More marketers are turning to YouTube. Even prior to TikTok鈥檚 troubles, the cultural conversation was starting to shift toward YouTube. That makes sense: It has long been a leading creator platform thanks to its wide reach and strong ad revenue sharing program. The growth of Shorts, which has partially come at the expense of TikTok, has also given marketers a familiar avenue into YouTube.

Significant additional shares will go to YouTube and social video (TikTok, Instagram Reels, etc.). However, FAST is making notable gains, while social video and YouTube are starting to lose share. Click here to view our various forecasts for shares of US time spent with digital video. The rise of FAST bodes well for the current market leaders.

YouTube ad revenues: $8.93 billion, up from $8.09 billion last year. Google Cloud revenues: $12.26 billion, a 28% YoY increase from $9.57 billion, in line with expectations. Key takeaways:. Search and YouTube ads continue to drive growth: Google鈥檚 ad business remains resilient, with YouTube鈥檚 strong showing and search anchoring revenues.

YouTube is excelling as listeners鈥� preferred podcast platform, while Netflix is rumored to be eyeing video podcasts. Spotify has expanded its Partner Program to better compete in the podcast ecosystem. Part of why podcasts remain profitable and reliable for advertisers outside of consistent growth in engaged audiences is the medium鈥檚 affordability.

The news: Chinese retailers Temu and Shein have sharply reduced US ad spending ahead of a major tariff shift, with Temu cutting its budget across Meta, YouTube, and X by 31% in early April, per Sensor Tower data cited by the Financial Times.

Social networks include Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and others, excluding YouTube. Social media refers to social networks and YouTube. Social ad spending includes paid ads appearing within social networks, excluding YouTube. Rates are up across the board, with TikTok leading the pack.