Google finally discloses YouTube ad revenue and it's mind boggling

We finally know how much Google is making from ads on YouTube.

Google took in more than $15 billion from YouTube ads in 2019, the company revealed. That number, nearly 10 percent of Alphabet's total revenue, doesn't include other sources of revenue from the video platform, including subscriptions.

Google disclosed the numbers, along with revenue for its growing cloud business, for the first time ahead of Alphabet's fourth-quarter earnings call.

“I’m really pleased with our continued progress in Search and in building two of our newer growth areas — YouTube, already at $15 billion in annual ad revenue, and Cloud, which is now on a $10 billion revenue run rate," CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement.

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The new disclosure, which included revenue totals going back to 2017, highlights just how quickly YouTube's ad business has grown, with ad revenue nearly doubling since 2017 when the video platform took in $8.1 billion. Ad revenue in 2018 was $11.1 billion.

Up until now, Google has declined to break out YouTube's revenue, which has been a source of much speculation.

Pichai also shed light on how YouTube's subscription business is doing. The company now has more than 20 million subscribers to YouTube Premium and YouTube Music, and 2 million subscribers to YouTube TV. Overall, YouTube's non-advertising revenue, which includes subscriptions and commerce, amounts to $3 billion.

The new stats also come as Google is facing increasing scrutiny over its ability to police its video platform for disinformation and other unsavory content. And Google, like Facebook, is facing an antitrust investigation.