Streaming Wars: 1 Netflix Rival Dominating the Industry

When it comes to video entertainment, Netflix needs nary introduction. It counts 325 million subscribers successful much than 190 countries. And it generated $45 cardinal successful gross successful 2025.

This streaming banal has skyrocketed 838% successful the past 10 years (as of March 25), a show that surely gets a batch of attention. Investors focused connected Netflix request to look astatine different ascendant company, however. It's a notable victor successful the streaming wars.

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But Netflix besides has immoderate superior contention retired determination from a well-known tech giant.

You mightiness not instantly deliberation of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) arsenic a rival to Netflix. It is simply a monolithic exertion endeavor with its hands successful galore industries. But it besides owns YouTube, which is undeniably a starring video streaming level that is giving Netflix a tally for its money.

In 2025, YouTube unsocial raked successful $60 billion in revenue, which is 33% much than Netflix registered. Of that $60 billion, $40 billion came from advertising. Subscriptions, similar YouTube TV, YouTube Music and Premium, and NFL Sunday Ticket, accounted for the remainder.

It's not precisely a astonishment to larn that YouTube makes truthful overmuch wealth from ads, arsenic this is Alphabet's breadstuff and butter. But what is worthy pointing retired is that Netflix's maturation driver, which is its booming advertisement conception that's projected to treble income successful 2026, puts it much successful nonstop contention with YouTube.

Investors should wage adjacent attraction to engagement data. According to Nielsen, 12.5% of each TV viewing clip successful the U.S. successful the period of January went to YouTube. That's 42% higher than the 8.8% stock that Netflix represented. Alphabet Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler points retired that YouTube "remains the No. 1 streamer successful the U.S. for astir 3 years."

When measuring TV viewing time, Nielsen counts lone YouTube's main platform. It excludes the unrecorded linear streaming component. This makes it a just comparison.

But the concern models aren't precisely the same. Netflix spends tons of money, $20 billion planned successful 2026, to licence and nutrient its ain content. YouTube, connected the different hand, specializes successful user-generated content. That's a large difference. Nonetheless, viewers are much funny successful what YouTube offers. And this volition marque it much hard for Netflix to seizure much attention.