The Business of YouTube

A weekly strategic lens for senior leaders into how YouTube is reshaping the business of technology, sports, music, entertainment, and culture.

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To your favourite newsletter, The Business of YouTube, brought to you by Paola Marinone and Bengü Atamer, founders of BuzzMyVideos and previously at YouTube and Google. We are bringing our exclusive insights from 20 years of experience leading strategy at YouTube and Google.

The Gauge Report: A Dual Reality, YouTube Reigns While Football Lifts Broadcast to History

The September 2025 Nielsen Gauge report highlights a powerful dual reality.

While YouTube (12.6%) continued its undisputed reign as the single most-watched platform in the living room, the power of live sports delivered a historic, tide-lifting event for linear television.

Even as YouTube single-handedly commanded more viewing time than any other single streaming platform by a massive margin, the linear story was one of disruption.

For the first time since The Gauge began, Broadcast TV viewership (22.3%) has edged out Cable (22.3%) on an unrounded basis. This surge was fueled by the return of the NFL and college football, causing a 20% month-over-month spike in Broadcast viewing, the largest monthly gain for any category since The Gauge's inception in 2021.

For media and sports executives, the takeaway is twofold: Streaming, specifically YouTube is the new baseline of TV consumption, but the NFL remains the ultimate booster.

THE MAIN POINT is while it is true that YouTube declined slighly two months in a row and now everyone started questioning “Is this reversing the trend?”, we thought of having a longer view on it and reading the numbers in perspective across a year!

How is streaming performing year on year, compared to the others? Well the numbers below show how Streaming is the big winner with a +10,24% with Cable showing the biggest loss -14.56%.

What happens when we compare Netflix Vs YouTube, year on year? 

YouTube shows a +18,87% compared to Netflix’s growth being not bad, but far from being double digit, +5.06% year on year.

The Breakdown: Key Insights from September 2025

1. Broadcast: The "Football Effect" is Real

Broadcast's historic month was not subtle. The category’s share jumped 3.2 points, powered almost exclusively by sports.

• Sports Viewership Tripled: Sports viewing on broadcast channels tripled from August, accounting for 33% of the category's total watch time, up from just 11%.

• Younger Audiences Returned: This wasn't just a traditional audience. Broadcast viewing among 25-34 year-olds skyrocketed by 65%, demonstrating that high-stakes live content will bring younger demographics back to linear TV.

2. Streaming: YouTube's Reign Continues, Even as the Pack Chases

While Broadcast had its moment, Streaming remains the dominant force, capturing 45.2% of all television time. The story within streaming is one of absolute dominance by its leader and a fierce battle for second place.

• YouTube's Unshakable Lead: YouTube (excluding YouTube TV) once again finished as the #1 most-watched platform, capturing 12.6% of total TV viewing. This share is larger than Broadcast or Cable's #1 network and cements its status as the default "living room" platform for millions.

• Contextualizing the "Dip": You may see headlines about YouTube's 2% monthly decline. This was an expected and purely seasonal "back-to-school" effect, attributed to a drop-off in viewing from the 6-17 year-old demographic. It does not indicate a structural weakness.

• The Real Story: YOY Growth: The far more important metric is YouTube's year-over-year growth, climbing from a 10.6% share in September 2024 to 12.6% in September 2025. This long-term trend underscores its massive, sticky audience.

• Dominance Over SVOD: YouTube's lead over its direct streaming competitors is staggering. Netflix, the #2 streaming platform, saw its own share decline to 8.3%. This puts YouTube more than four full share points ahead, a gap that highlights the fundamental difference between its user-generated content (UGC) library and traditional SVOD-scripted fare.

• The Distributor Race: In the separate "Media Distributor" gauge (which bundles a company's total assets), Disney (10.7%) used the power of ESPN and ABC to narrow the gap with YouTube (12.6%) to just 1.9 points. This shows that while YouTube wins the platform-level war, legacy media's combined portfolio of live sports and linear channels is still a formidable force.

• Amazon's Sports Play: The "football effect" also hit streaming. Amazon Prime Video saw a significant boost from Thursday Night Football, with the Commanders-Packers game alone generating over 3 billion viewing minutes.

3. Cable: Holding Steady on the Back of News & Sports

Cable matched Broadcast's 22.3% share, holding its ground thanks to its own sports and news content.

• News & Sports Drive Share: Cable's sports viewership rose 11%, while news viewership (which accounts for over a-quarter of the category's total) climbed 9%.

• Youth Engagement: Like Broadcast, Cable also saw a notable +16% jump in viewing among the 25-34 demographic.

Why This Matters for You

• For Broadcasters & Sports Leagues: This report is a powerful validation of the premium value of live sports rights. The NFL, in particular, is one of the few properties capable of reversing cord-cutting trends and attracting elusive younger demos to linear platforms.

• For Digital Managers & Streamers: The battle is no longer just "Linear vs. Streaming." It's a platform-agnostic fight for dominant content. YouTube's position as the unassailable #1 platform, driven by a content model no one else can replicate, means competitors must fight for the other 87% of the pie. Meanwhile, Amazon's TNF success proves that premium sports can be a powerful acquisition and engagement tool for SVOD services.

• For All Executives: September’s data shows a "rising tide" for live events. The distributors who had live sports; whether traditional broadcasters like Fox (+20.4% viewing growth) or streamers like Amazon, won the month. This hybrid reality is the new normal.

Want to discuss how to shape your strategy, talk to us.

Watch the latest episode of The Business of YouTube podcast, featuring Sebastien Audoux from X Luna Corp.

When Traditional Media Meets Digital Media (ahead of time): Sébastien Audoux

🚨 New masterclass: The Ultimate Playbook: YouTube Shorts for Sport

You can also be a beta tester (free of charge) for the new feature we have integrated into FullScore to create Shorts from Long form videos. 

Do you want to test our short form clipping tool? Convert a few of your videos into YouTube Shorts, then join the waiting list!

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