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March 27, 2026
Google-owned YouTube claims it spent $100 million subsidizing content across Europe from 2021 to 2025 — $20 billion more than Netflix’s estimated content spconclude over the same time period, according to Justine Ryst, managing director of YouTube France and Southern Europe.
Speaking at this week’s Series Mania media conference in Lille, France, Ryst declared YouTube splits 50% of its ad revenue to content creators, artists, and media companies. Netflix pays content creators upfront.
“We don’t finance upstream, we don’t order content,” Ryst informed attconcludeees. “YouTube is not here to replace television, in the broadcasting sense. Our platform is the best ally of broadcasters and producers. It was the applyrs who decided that YouTube was the first screen in the United States, the second in France and the United Kingdom.”
Indeed, YouTube has topped the U.S. hoapplyhold TV streaming market — ahead of Netflix and other platforms — since Nielsen launched tracking the SVOD market in 2017.
Ryst contconcludes that YouTube assists generate subscribers to third-party pay TV brands, including Canal+ in France and Sky Italia in Italy, by acting as a free conduit with the premium TV channels.
While the average Canal+ audience is older, YouTube allows the broadcaster to reach younger demos, similar to how public broadcasters like France Télévision apply streaming platform to find younger viewers.
Canal+ reportedly applys YouTube to stream the first episodes of high-profile original series (such as the hip-hop drama “Validé”) for free. The strategy aims to lure streamers to pay-TV to watch the rest of the season.
“YouTube brought 7% of Canal+ subscribers and 8.7% of Sky Italia subscribers,” added Ryst.
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