Google has pushed YouTube Premium and YouTube ads in a big way in recent years, and it’s gone so far as to test a three-strikes policy for people using ad-blockers on YouTube. Now, Alphabet has reported its Q4 2024 earnings, and it looks like the Premium push has delivered major results.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai noted during its Q4 2024 earnings call (via Motley Fool) that subscriptions were “growing strongly” and reached $15 billion in annual revenue. This was up five-fold compared to 2019, the company stated. Pichai pointed to YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, YouTube TV, and Google One as driving this segment.
The Alphabet CEO specifically singled out YouTube Premium and Music:
YouTube is the key driver of our subscription revenues. Available in over 100 countries and regions, YouTube Music and Premium have real momentum.
YouTube’s ad revenues were also up 16% (to $9.2 billion), but it’s unclear whether the company’s stricter stance against ad-blocking had any effect on these results. The news also comes after users online reported seeing more ads on the platform along with an increase in scam ads. Either way, it’s clear that the company is making more money from YouTube ads and subscriptions. However, the company specifically suggested that Premium subscriptions were more lucrative.
Premium users are delivering more value to our partners and YouTube than even ad-supported users do. On average, each additional Premium sign-up boost (sic) earnings for creators, music and media partners, and YouTube itself.
The tech colossus didn’t dish out any details regarding Pixel 8 series shipments, though. It did, however, note that the subscriptions, platforms, and devices segment (formerly “other”) saw yearly revenues increase by 23% to $10.8 billion. This was primarily due to the aforementioned subscription performance.
Otherwise, Alphabet as a whole saw annual revenue hit $307 billion, up 9% from the previous year. The company said Q4 2024 revenue hit $86.3 billion, representing a 13% year-on-year increase. This news comes shortly after the company announced that it was firing over 1,000 employees in various segments and that it intends to lay off more people later this year.
