YouTube says 20B videos uploaded since its launch in 2005
What's the story
In a major milestone, YouTube has announced that over 20 billion videos have been uploaded to the platform since its launch two decades ago.
The platform was conceived by former PayPal employees Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim in 2005, reportedly at a dinner party.
YouTube.com was then launched on Valentine's Day that year, with video uploading capabilities added on April 23.
Google purchased the platform in November 2006 for $1.65 billion in all-stock deal.
First upload
First video uploaded on YouTube was a 19-second clip
The first-ever video uploaded to the platform was Karim's "Me at the Zoo," a 19-second clip filmed at the San Diego Zoo's elephant exhibit. This first post has since gained over 356 million views.
Over the years, YouTube has grown beyond its creators' expectations, now averaging about 20 million daily uploads across diverse categories like concert clips, podcasts, political ads, tutorials, and more.
It also has a remarkable daily engagement statistic of around 100 million comments on videos.
Global impact
Global reach and future projections
According to eMarketer analyst Ross Benes, YouTube is the world's largest digital video service in terms of time spent by viewers and ad revenue.
The platform had over 2.5 billion global viewers last year and hit 100 million subscribers to its music and premium tier, market tracker Statista reports.
Benes also predicts that in two years, YouTube will surpass all US cable television services in paid subscribers.
To date, YouTube has 300+ music videos with over 1 billion views.
Viewing habits
Daily viewership and upcoming upgrades
Google recently reported that users across the globe watch over a billion hours of YouTube content every day on TVs alone.
To make this experience even better, YouTube is planning to upgrade its TV viewing features this summer with enhanced capabilities and "quality tweaks."
The move comes as part of the platform's strategy to compete with streaming services like Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime as well as short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram's Reels.
Revenue
YouTube set to overtake Disney as top media giant
YouTube has outgrown traditional Hollywood powerhouses and is positioned to extend its dominance, says MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson, who recently crowned it the "new king of all media."
In 2024, YouTube ranked as the second-largest media company by revenue, pulling in $54.2 billion, just behind Disney.
But in 2025, it's expected to take the lead, surpassing Disney (excluding theme parks and merchandise), becoming not just the top platform for engagement but also the highest in revenue.