In Graphic Detail: How YouTube redrew the TV map

By Krystal Scanlon • May 13, 2025 •

Ivy Liu

It’s upfront week, and YouTube’s influence looms large over every pitch and negotiation. No better moment to revisit how, over the past 20 years, it’s become the tip of the spear in the transformation of how people watch TV.

From mobile mainstay to living room fixture

Watching YouTube on TV screens isn’t new but the pace of its monetization is accelerating fast. In the first quarter of 2025, YouTube ads served on TVs rose 88% year-on-year, according to Tinuiti’s latest benchmark report. TV screens now command 43% of YouTube video ad spend nearly doubling from 24% last year. Mobile slipped to 42%, down from 51% while desktop and tablets continue their decline.

The takeaway: YouTube isn’t just where people are watching, it’s where advertisers are betting big.

Creator scale meets C-Suite budgets

YouTube didn’t just change how content is consumed, it rewired the entire media model. With 500 hours of video uploaded every minute, it’s a machine of endless content powered by creators who’ve built loyal, niche communities and parasocial bonds at scale.

That influence is translating into serious ad dollars. Per Enders Analysis, YouTube pulled in $26 billion in global ad spending last year, outpacing Disney, Netflix and Amazon Prime. In the U.K., it’s on par with ITV’s ad revenue. Disney came in at just $25 billion, followed by Netflix at $17 billion and Amazon at $10 billion.

No, these aren’t clean comparisons. The people who binge YouTube aren’t necessarily the same audiences settling in for Disney+ or Prime Video. There’s crossover and some of YouTube’s growth has come at the expense of these incumbents — to varying degrees, depending on who you ask.

The fall of the networks, by the numbers

YouTube’s rise has come off the back of a broader shift that’s seen less and less time spent watching linear TV.

Citing data from Nielsen and MoffettNathanson, TripleLift’s 100 Years of TV report paints the picture: Not even major TV networks including the likes of CNN, NBC, CBS and even ESPN are immune from the competition, as TripleLift confirmed that linear TV networks have lost 35% of their reach over the past decade.

Comparing a decade of difference between 2014 to 2024, CNN, for example, had 27% of reach back in 2014, which has decreased 52% to just 13% in 2024. NBC had 76% back in 2014, which reduced by 46% to 41% last year. And CBS, which had 74% back in 2014, saw its reach decrease by 45% to 41% in 2024, per TripleLift’s report.

YouTube tops the streaming charts

While the networks have struggled to compete with streaming platforms, YouTube (being one of them) is already a front runner.

Nielsen’s March 2025 report of The Gauge revealed that most time was spent watching YouTube (12%), with Netflix in second place (7.9%) and Disney in third (5%). Which makes sense then why YouTube was able to proudly announce that when it comes to watch time in the U.S., the platform took the number one spot in streaming watch time over the last 12 months — citing Nielsen data that was revealed in January.

The world watches YouTube (literally)

According to eMarketer, not even YouTube’s greatest rivals come close when it comes to YouTube’s global 2.5 billion monthly active user (MAU) audience.

To compare, TikTok counts 1.99 billion MAUs, Netflix has totaled 760 million MAUs, and Spotify has achieved 680 million MAUs, per eMarketer.

But what about Meta? The company announced it has 3.43 billion MAUs during its recent Q1 2025 earnings call. However, that figure accounts for users across its entire family of apps: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads. But eMarketer’s data stated that Facebook, as a single app, counted 2.13 billion MAUs — putting it in second place just behind the single platform YouTube.