• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 2 hours ago

YouTube’s nonstop streaming ad viewing growth has been a major headline for some time. But what about advertising revenue just for YouTube’s streaming viewing on traditional TV screens?

Well, that has seen slower growth.

YouTube’s share of streaming TV viewing time is a big 28% versus its TV advertising share, which is 12%, according to Cross Screen Media via data from Nielsen and eMarketer.

Bottom line: YouTube is underbought, according to many analysts.

Of YouTube’s roughly $10 billion in annual U.S. advertising revenue in 2026, U.S. ad revenue estimates attached to TV that's streamed only is around $4 billion.

Not only that. YouTube overall viewing share of the marketplace has been growing slower than the streaming ad marketplace overall. Of the last five years 2021-2026, the whole streaming TV industry has been up at 27% versus YouTube’s 13.6%, according to eMarketer.

One factor to consider is YouTube's average CPM on streaming versus mobile, desktop and other digital media. YouTube gets an average $27.43 CPM for streaming TV, and around $10 CPM from mobile/desktop, according to Needham and Associates.

Big screens are probably a major reason for this discrepancy. For example, when it comes to impact, brands have traditionally paid more when buying linear TV than other media. Linear TV CPMs can range in the mid $40-$45 price point, according to recent Media Dynamics estimates.

Cross Screen Media referenced one executive with another possible reason. Kirby Grines, founder CEO of The Streaming Wars: “The arguments against YouTube being TV are almost never about consumer behavior. They’re about compensation structures, political turf, and institutional muscle memory.”

Traditionalists say the reasons are some obvious ones: “They’ll say it’s not premium enough, not brand-safe enough, not structured enough, not polished enough,” adds Grines.

Or maybe YouTube really needs more of a premium TV-like spin -- say a big series, like “Stranger Things,” “The Pitt," "Bridgerton” or the “House of The Dragon.”

In other words, some old-fashioned high-profile TV shows make agencies, media buyers and brand ad executives take some real notice.