Alphabet revealed its Q2 2023 financial report, showcasing a rise in YouTube ad revenue. Here’s the latest.
Google has revealed that YouTube brought in $7.67 billion in ad revenue, beating Wall Street analyst estimates ($7.43 billion) for 4.4% growth compared to last year. More than 2 billion monthly users are watching its YouTube Shorts platform, helping to contribute to that number. That number is up a half billion from its YouTube Shorts monthly active users report in 2022.
The YouTube platform has contributed heavily to Google’s fiscal 2023 performance. The video platform ad revenue is up by around $1 billion compared to the company’s Q1 2023 report, which saw YouTube ad revenue bring in $6.69 billion. Part of that growth can be attributed to the stumbling blocks other video platforms are experiencing. Twitch has completely revamped its partner program, prompting many creators to switch to YouTube for its live streaming capabilities.
Twitch also introduced new policies that would make it impossible for streamers to have burned-in ads on their videos—a current staple for self-promotion and partnership among influencers and companies. Aside from the online video business, Google is also focusing heavily on its YouTube TV offering.
YouTube began pre-sales of the NFL Sunday ticket subscription in April and has reached a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to offer a bundle of the NFL Sunday Ticket + Max through YouTube TV. Google reports a reach of more than 150 million people on TV screens. Unfortunately, Google hasn’t updated its YouTube Premium and YouTube Music subscriber numbers—which sat at 80 million paid users last year.
Google brought in $74.6 billion for the quarter ending June 30, 2023, which is up from $69.7 billion in the same quarter for 2022. Shares rose around 8% following the release of the financial report. It’s unclear when we’ll get an update on YouTube Music subscribers—especially since prices went up by $2 recently.
On content-sharing platforms like YouTube, artists’ primary focus is the monetization of their content. As long as content monetization is optimized, the amassment of subscribers and fans often becomes a secondary priority. To focus on this aspect, companies like Identifyy (owned by HAAWK) allow artists to match and monetize their content across YouTube and Meta — alongside other sub platforms — by leveraging the capabilities of Content ID.