Google’s subscriptions rise in Q4 as YouTube pulls $60B in yearly revenue

YouTube, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has reported significant growth in its subscription and advertising revenue. As of Wednesday, the platform boasts 325 million paying subscribers across its Google One and YouTube Premium services, marking an increase from 300 million just three months prior. In the fourth quarter, YouTube's ad revenue rose by 9%, reaching $11.38 billion, although this fell short of analysts' expectations of $11.84 billion. Overall, YouTube's revenue, which includes both ad and subscription income, totaled $60 billion for the entire financial year, reflecting a robust 17% increase compared to the previous year. The company indicated that its premium ad-free subscription, priced at $8 per month, is gaining popularity, although specific subscriber numbers were not disclosed. Alphabet's CEO, Sundar Pichai, announced plans to expand its subscription services, particularly to leverage the increasing user base of YouTube TV. He stated, "We’ll soon launch new YouTube TV plans, providing subscribers with more options and flexibility through over 10 genre-specific packages." The platform also reported that YouTube Shorts achieved 200 billion average daily views in the past quarter, consistent with figures from the previous year. Interestingly, in certain markets, ads on short-form videos are generating more revenue on a per-hour basis than traditional in-stream ads. Additionally, Pichai pointed out the rising popularity of podcasts, noting that viewers consumed 700 million hours of podcast content on their TVs in October. YouTube is also experiencing growth in artificial intelligence, with over one million channels utilizing its AI creation tools. The company reported that its Gemini-powered content discovery tool reached 20 million users in December, highlighting the growing influence of AI in enhancing user experience.