YouTube

YouTube is the world's most dominant video platform and the second most visited website on the internet — a cultural, educational, and commercial infrastructure of extraordinary breadth that reaches over two billion logged-in users monthly and serves five billion videos every single day, spanning every genre of human expression imaginable, from professional broadcast content and documentary film to independent creator output, live events, music, education, and archival footage that would otherwise be inaccessible to the world. Founded in 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion — then among the largest technology acquisitions in history and now widely recognized as among the most prescient — YouTube has grown into a media company that generates more video content every minute than all broadcast television combined could produce in a year. YouTube's creator ecosystem — the network of tens of millions of creators who have built audiences, careers, and multi-million-dollar media businesses on the platform — represents a fundamental transformation in how media is produced, distributed, and monetized in the twenty-first century. The YouTube Partner Program, which shares advertising revenue with creators who meet eligibility thresholds, has created a generation of independent media entrepreneurs whose channels rival the reach and cultural influence of traditional broadcast networks. YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, YouTube TV, and YouTube Shorts — the platform's short-form video product launched in direct competition with TikTok — extend the platform across subscription entertainment, music streaming, live television, and the short-form video format that now dominates consumer video consumption globally. YouTube's advertising platform is among the largest and most sophisticated digital advertising businesses in the world, offering brands access to the full spectrum of video formats — skippable and non-skippable in-stream ads, bumper ads, masthead placements, and connected TV inventory — with Google's unmatched audience targeting capabilities applied to the platform with the deepest catalog of consumer intent signals available in video. YouTube's dominance in search-driven video discovery, powered by Google's search infrastructure, makes it the definitive destination for consumers researching products, learning skills, seeking entertainment, and exploring virtually any topic of human interest. For any brand, creator, or media organization seeking maximum video reach, the deepest audience engagement, and the most robust monetization ecosystem available in digital video, YouTube is simply without peer.