YouTube generated $7 billion in advertising revenue in the second quarter, its biggest sales quarter ever, rising 84% year-over-year from the pandemic-effected spring quarter of 2020.
Overall, Alphabet, parent company to Google and YouTube, reported Q2 revenue of $61.9 billion, up nearly 62% year, with net income of $18.5 billion. Again, these performances were the company's best ever.
During Tuesday's earnings call, Google/Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai called out YouTube Shorts, the company's answer to TikTok, which averaged 15 billion global daily views in Q2, more than double the 6.5 billion it was averaging at the end of the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Pichai didn't update the customer growth metrics on virtual pay TV service YouTube TV, noting only that he was "also pleased with the progress we are making with YouTube subscription products across Music, Premium and YouTube TV, each delivering a fantastic experience and content for viewers."
With quarterly ad sales $7 billion, YouTube is the second biggest video platform in the world, trailing only Netflix, which generated more than $7.3 billion in subscription revenue in Q2.
With $6.9 billion in ad revenue in Q4, YouTube temporarily held the "biggest in video" crown at the turn of the year.
