By Hernan Lopez.
Companies mentioned: Amazon, Alphabet/YouTube, Meta, Netflix, OpenAI, Spotify, Warner Bros
Questions answered: How fast is Meta’s video revenue growing? How does YouTube’s business now compare to Netflix’s in scale and profitability? What makes an app a ‘media super-app,’ and which others besides YouTube are following that path?
When I first started including YouTube in Streamonomics® comparisons with Netflix and other streamers, people often asked: “Why? They’re apples and oranges.” The simplest answer was that Netflix itself drew that comparison in their investor letters, calling both companies ‘the clear leaders in direct to consumer entertainment.’
I expect louder reactions to today’s newsletter, which analyzes YouTube’s and Meta’s Q3 numbers. Meta made a comment almost in passing during their Q3 earnings call that caught my attention (and was not included in the press release).
“Video is a particular bright spot, with video time spent on Instagram up more than 30% since last year. As video continues to grow across our apps, Reels now has an annual run rate of over $50 billion.”