You're still not paying enough attention to YouTube.

I know, I know: Some of you know that YouTube is not just a big force in media, but one of the biggest. But most folks — even people who make their living in media — don't fully get how big YouTube is. Even though we keep pointing it out, over and over.

So let's try it again, this time courtesy of MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson: Measured by revenue, YouTube was the second-biggest media company in the world last year. It brought in $54.2 billion in 2024 — just $5.5 billion behind Disney.

And in 2025, Nathanson predicts, YouTube should eclipse Disney, and become the biggest media company in the world.

MoffettNathanson

Reminder: YouTube started a mere 20 years ago. Google bought the company for $1.65 billion in 2006.

If you wanted to, you could quibble with Nathanson's groupings. You could argue that Google itself is actually the biggest media company in the world since it generates close to $350 billion in annual revenue, the majority of which comes from ads. And that Meta, which generated $160 billion in ad sales last year, is also much bigger. You could also point out in his comparison, Nathanson has pulled out Disney's $30+ billion-a-year parks business, which is a huge part of Bob Iger's empire and one that's directly connected to its media properties.

But like I said, quibbles. The point is that YouTube commands an extraordinary amount of time and interest from its users, who are no longer just kids but everyone. (Reminder: When you hear about politicians trying to reach audiences via podcasts, that also means they're trying to reach them via YouTube.) And that advertisers, who took some time to figure that out — but get it now — are pouring money in to reach that audience.

More evidence for YouTube's hugeness? OK. Nathanson also predicts that the company's YouTube TV subscription business is set to become the biggest pay-TV provider in the country by 2026, as it keeps adding subscribers while rivals Comcast and Charter shed theirs.

He also guesstimates that as a stand-alone company, YouTube might be worth $475 billion to $550 billion — between Meta and Netflix's valuations.

The point is: Any you slice it, numerically, YouTube is ginormous.

That scale also makes it harder to get your head around. Unlike, say, a conventional media company, or a streamer, there's no flagship network, or program, or movie that works as a shorthand for YouTube's dominance: YouTube doesn't have a "Stranger Things" or a "Barbie" or the Marvel MCU.

The closest analog would be MrBeast, but that really doesn't get at it — MrBeast is huge, but if you're not a young boy, you're probably not watching his stuff. And lots of people who consume YouTube don't really think that they're "watching YouTube" — they're just watching the thing they want to watch, which is on YouTube.

So maybe it's more helpful to think of YouTube as a utility — even if you don't think about it that much, you're using it all the time. A utility worth half a trillion dollars.