YouTube turns 20 and is on track to be the biggest media company by revenue

Core Insights - YouTube has transformed from a simple video-sharing platform to a significant global media entity, with a valuation between $475 billion and $550 billion if it were a standalone business [2][3] - YouTube is projected to become the largest media company by revenue by 2025, surpassing Disney, and currently leads in total TV viewership with 12% of time watched [3][4] Business Performance - YouTube has over 20 trillion videos uploaded, making it the second-most visited website globally, only behind Google [2] - The growth of YouTube is primarily driven by its subscription services, including YouTube Premium, Music, and YouTube TV, with estimates of 107 million paid subscribers expected to rise to 145 million by 2027 [6] Strategic Importance - YouTube is a crucial component of Google's business model, providing valuable user data that enhances advertising effectiveness, especially as Google's core search business faces challenges from AI technologies [4] - Together with Google Cloud, YouTube contributes over 30% of Alphabet's total revenue and is among the fastest-growing segments [5]