Netflix Is Losing the War It Started

Netflix Changed TV. Now YouTube Is Changing Netflix. Netflix Is Losing the War It Started Netflix changed television forever. Now, on America's TVs, YouTube gets more than double its viewing time: in Nielsen's August 2026 Media Distributor Gauge, YouTube had 15.8% of all TV time in the U.S., Netflix 7.7%. How did a site for home videos end up on the biggest screen in the house, and what is Netflix doing about it? We follow the money from the DVD envelope to the living room: how Netflix beat cable by paying for its shows up front, how YouTube got on the TV with a business that pays creators a share of the ads, why the two can't simply be compared, and how each one is now borrowing the other's playbook: Netflix with ads, live events, creators and video podcasts; YouTube with subscriptions, live sports and, from 2029, the Oscars. CHAPTERS 0:00 Netflix vs. YouTube on America's TVs 0:53 Chapter 1 - The Company That Beat Cable 2:29 Chapter 2 - How YouTube Got on the TV 4:15 Chapter 3 - Who Pays for the Show? 7:24 Chapter 4 - Netflix Learns YouTube's Game 9:50 Chapter 5 - Is Netflix Losing? Fair to know: Nielsen's Gauge measures time spent on TV screens in U.S. homes, not revenue or profit. Nielsen is changing its method from September 2026 data, so shares will shift. Alphabet does not report YouTube's profit, so the two companies' profits can't be compared side by side. SOURCES Nielsen, The Gauge, Aug. 2026 (Oct. 22, 2026): https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2... Nielsen, the first Gauge (May 2021): https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2021... Nielsen, The Gauge, Dec. 2024: https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2... Netflix Q3 2026 shareholder letter: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Netflix Q4 2025 shareholder letter: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Netflix Q4 2018 shareholder letter (Jan. 2019): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Netflix 8-K, Dec. 5, 2025 (Warner Bros. Discovery agreement): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Netflix 8-K, Feb. 27, 2026 (termination): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Alphabet fiscal year 2025 results: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Alphabet Q2 2026 results: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... YouTube Help, partner earnings: https://support.google.com/youtube/an... Google, YouTube acquisition (2006): https://googlepress.blogspot.com/2006... AP via WBTV, the Oscars move to YouTube in 2029: https://www.wbtv.com/2025/12/17/oscar... Netflix, Basic with Ads: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/ann... CNBC, password sharing, May 23, 2023: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/23/netfl... Tubefilter, The Ringer shows on Netflix, Feb. 4, 2026: https://www.tubefilter.com/2026/02/04... Netflix earnings interviews on YouTube:    / @netflixir   CREDITS Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Netflix offices by Coolcaesar (CC BY-SA 4.0); Netflix envelope by BlueMint (CC BY 2.5); YouTube headquarters by BrokenSphere (CC BY 3.0); Dolby Theatre by Busition (CC BY 4.0) and Steven Lek (CC BY-SA 4.0); Oscars stage by Timothy A. Gonsalves (CC BY-SA 4.0); Warner Bros. water tower by Chris Yarzab (CC BY 2.0); Warner Bros. lot by Tony Mariotti (CC BY 2.0); Ted Sarandos by Daniel Benavides (CC BY 2.0); Mark Rober by LKP2024 (CC BY 4.0); The Stokes Twins (CC BY 3.0); House of Cards set by Maryland GovPics (CC BY 2.0); Stranger Things cast by HEYFOMO (CC BY 3.0); Lee Jung-jae by K-POPIT (CC BY 3.0). Video: Mixkit, Pexels and Pixabay. Documents: Nielsen, Netflix and Alphabet filings (SEC), a capture of Netflix's YouTube channel. Netflix and YouTube logos are trademarks of their owners, shown for identification. Music: Mixkit (Alejandro Magaña, Eugenio Mininni). The Empire Index - Every Empire Has a Story. Business documentaries on corporations, wealth, industries and the hidden systems behind powerful businesses. #Netflix #YouTube #BusinessDocumentary