Skip to main content

YouTube: A billion users and still no profit

youtube a billion users and still no profit
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Despite operating for 10 years and building up a user base of more than a billion people, YouTube is yet to turn a profit.

Yeah, you heard that right. One of the most popular websites on the planet, the online service where people watch hundreds of millions of hours of video every day, generating billions of views in the process, is not making money. Any.

Recommended Videos

That sounds even more remarkable when you think about all the ads you see on the service, whether they’re the pre-roll variety or sitting at the bottom of the video viewer.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Of course, despite the lack of profit, the video-streaming service isn’t about to crash and burn. Since 2006, it’s had Google’s backing, and the last we heard, the Mountain View company is swimming in cash.

YouTube is pulling in plenty of dollars – 4 billion of them in 2014, up by a billion on 2013 – but it’s also spending it like there’s no tomorrow. People “familiar with its financials” told the Wall Street Journal this week that after forking out for original content and also the infrastructure to keep the whole shebang going, the company is just about breaking even.

The good news is that income is rising, but efforts to generate a broad and loyal audience that turn to the service on a regular basis for original content appear to have hit a wall. The Journal points out how three years ago YouTube spent hundreds of millions of dollars on original content to build new channels, only to see many of them fail. Getting people to visit the site directly and regularly because there’s something specific they want to see, rather than dropping by occasionally via a link on another site or online service, appears to be a big challenge for the company.

YouTube is looking at other ways to monetize its site – it recently launched Music Key, a subscription service offering content ad-free and offline playback of its content. Music Key is, however, still in beta.

Efforts to target ads more effectively are also reported to be underway, meaning ads showing on the video site should soon start relating more closely to subjects you’ve been researching online. This should theoretically increase the chances of you sticking with a skippable ad, and when you do that, YouTube gets paid.

When Google acquired YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion, the streaming service brought in very little cash. However, an ad push four years later saw revenue jump, though profits are still elusive.

In the fast-changing landscape of online video, everything’s still to play for, and with vast resources at YouTube’s disposal, there’s a fair chance this particular giant can turn things around before too long.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Google Assistant and YouTube Music coming to Galaxy Watch 4
Watch 4 media controls.

Google is building on its close partnership with Samsung to bring the Galaxy Watch 4 deeper into the Android ecosystem, with new communication, productivity, and entertainment features.

In the coming weeks, new Galaxy Watch 4 owners will be able to install and set up Google Play apps during the initial configuration process, right out of the box. Your favorite apps from your Android smartphone will show up as recommendations on your new Watch 4, so you can quickly install them with a single tap without the need to hunt for them on the Play Store.

Read more
You can now use Pokémon music in your YouTube videos
The player character standing in a field with her Pokemon.

Nintendo has announced Pokémon DP Sound Library, a web-based service that allows users to listen to and download the music and sound effects of the original Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. 

Listeners can play individual tracks as much as they want, including iconic songs like Champion Cynthia and the Lake theme. Users can also choose from a variety of developer-made playlists based on mood as well as musical collaborations, only one of which has been revealed so far.

Read more
The Weather Channel is coming to YouTube TV
YouTube TV on Apple TV.

The Weather Channel -- which previously had seen relatively small reach on streaming platforms in the United States -- is starting to branch out. YouTube TV will gain the 24-7 weather service this year, according to a press release from Allen Media Group and Google.

The addition is a big deal because The Weather Channel had been limited to two of the smallest streaming platforms -- FuboTV and DirecTV Stream. It also fills a pretty big void in the YouTube TV lineup, which doesn't currently have an all-day weather channel. YouTube TV is believed to be the second-largest streaming service in the United States. It last announced a ballpark figure of "more than 3 million subscribers" in October 2020. It hasn't given any sort of update since then. For context, Hulu with Live TV has a publicly announced 4 million paid subscribers.

Read more