EVEN NETFLIX IS JEALOUS OF YOUTUBE

MANY LIKE TO PRETEND THEY DIDN'T SEE THE PLATFORM WINNING THE STREAMING WARS. INDUSTRY INSIDERS SAY OTHERWISE.

- By JOSEF ADALIAN

BRIAN FUHRER STARED at the numbers in front of him and was certain somebody had made a mistake. It was the summer of 2017, and the veteran Nielsen data cruncher was in Tampa reviewing the results from the ratings giant's initial effort to measure how much streaming viewership was taking place on each platform on TV sets. Unsurprisingly, Netflix had finished on top, but YouTube was right behind. “I said, That clearly can't be, because YouTube isn't something people use on a TV,” Fuhrer remembers.

Eight years later, YouTube's dominance has only grown. In April, the Google-owned platform accounted for a record 12.4 percent share of all TV viewing, far ahead of Netflix (7.5 percent), which took second place among streamers. And YouTube is not just outpacing other streamers: In its past three monthly reports, Nielsen says YouTube ranked as the No. 1 distributor of television content, period, beating Disney. During the first quarter of 2025, more people in the U.S. watched YouTube on TVs than on mobile devices—the first time that's ever happened. One longtime executive who has worked for both subscription streaming services and traditional linear networks is blunt about YouTube's standing in the streaming wars. “They already have the crown,” he says. “Most networks have essentially thrown up their hands in response.”