YouTube Ad Revenue Swells 43% in Q3 to $7.2 Billion, Surpasses Netflix as the World's Biggest Video Company (Chart)

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Combining Alphabet's subscription-based video revenue to YouTube's huge ad sales gets you to a total that surpasses Netflix

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(Image credit: Alphabet)

Alphabet, parent company to Google and YouTube, reported a 43% year-over-year increase in third ad revenue for YouTube, with the streaming video platform reaching a record $7.205 billion in advertising sales. 

Add in Alphabet's harder-to-decipher subscription revenue tied to various YouTube subscription brands, and YouTube's overall revenue easily surpassed the $7.48 billion generated by Netflix in the third quarter. (In the third quarter, YouTube surpassed 50 million music and premium subscribers. And for its part, YouTube TV is now the biggest virtual MVPD service, surpassing 4 million subscribers, each payhing $65 a month, according to analysts.)

YouTube add sales continue to be bolstered by infiltration into the living room-based "connected TV" market. 

"YouTube's reach is becoming increasingly incremental to TV," said Alphabet chief business officer Philipp Schindler, during the company's Q3 earnings call Tuesday. "We're helping advertisers find audiences they can't find anywhere else. Connected TV is driving part of this growth. It's our fastest-growing screen."

Also read: Netflix Reclaims ‘Biggest Streaming Company’ Title From YouTube (Apples and Oranges Chart of the Day)

In this somewhat apples-and-oranges comparison, it can be said that YouTube was the biggest video company in the world in the third quarter.  

(Image credit: Future)
Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!