YouTube's $60B revenue revealed amid paid subscriber push

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Acquisition and Strategic Value

  • Many recall thinking Google overpaid for YouTube; with ~$60B annual revenue now, it’s widely seen as one of the best tech acquisitions ever.
  • Several argue the “magic” was not the site alone but Google’s infra, ad stack, and cash, plus good post‑acquisition decisions (creator rev share, music rights).
  • Others note it wasn’t inevitable: YouTube lost money for years and needed heavy, sustained investment (bandwidth, peering, data centers).

Comparisons to Other Big Acquisitions

  • Instagram is cited as another “looked overpriced, turned out cheap” deal; Meta turned fast-growing apps into $100B+ businesses with scale, infra, and ad systems.
  • WhatsApp is more debated: unclear direct revenue vs. very high data/strategic value; some see it as Western‑WeChat that Meta never fully executed on.

Costs, Profitability, and Netflix Comparison

  • Multiple commenters say revenue alone is misleading; they want to know YouTube’s true P&L given decades of infra spend.
  • Some suggest YouTube’s value to Google might be broader than stand‑alone profit (ecosystem lock‑in, ads platform).
  • Netflix comparison is contested:
    • Netflix: smaller catalog, heavy content production/licensing costs, easier caching.
    • YouTube: free content inflow but pays ~55% of ad revenue to creators; massive processing, storage, and personalization at global scale.

Infrastructure and Scaling

  • Discussion of Google’s highly efficient data centers (low PUE), custom hardware, and global caching as key to making YouTube economically viable.
  • Local caching for ISPs (Google Global Cache / “Bandaid”) is described as crucial to reducing bandwidth costs and latency.

Product, UX, and “Enshittification”

  • Many complain YouTube’s web UX is slow, cluttered, and regressing (playlist saving, broken search without history, confusing buttons, short‑form/AI slop).
  • Some see feed quality as mostly user‑driven; others report inexplicable irrelevant content.
  • TikTok’s recommendation and UI are often judged superior—faster learning, segmented “For You” feeds, and more responsive personalization.

Subscriptions, Ads, and User Behavior

  • Confusion around the article’s “325 million” figure; commenters clarify it’s subscriptions across Google services, not $325M revenue.
  • Debate over paying for Premium vs. using ad blockers:
    • Some happily pay, citing huge educational/entertainment value, background play, mobile/TV usage, and supporting creators.
    • Others see YouTube as heavily “enshittified,” refuse to pay, and rely on blockers, alternative clients, or downloading.
  • A few note the perverse but lucrative model: advertisers pay to show ads; users pay to avoid them.