The news: Netflix’s proposed $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) drew immediate criticism from consumers and regulators alike who argue that it could create an overly dominant force in digital video. To counter those complaints, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has pointed to what he says is the company’s biggest competitor: YouTube.

• Acquiring HBO would take Netflix “from 8% of view hours today in the US to 9%. So we’re still behind YouTube at 13%,” Sarandos said at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference on Monday, citing Nielsen figures.
• Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, who has launched his own bid to acquire WBD, compared the statement to Coca-Cola justifying a Pepsi purchase because Budweiser also makes beverages.

So how close a competitor to Netflix is YouTube, really?

By the numbers: Sarandos’ figures appear to come from Nielsen’s Gauge for October 2025. He isn’t cherry-picking: Netflix consistently hovered around 8% of TV viewing time throughout the year, and other months show a wider gap between the two companies.

• Our own forecast shows Netflix and YouTube neck-and-neck in time spent, with Netflix slightly ahead. YouTube viewers will spend 53 minutes daily on the platform this year; Netflix’s viewers will spend 1 hour and 2 minutes.
• The ad revenues comparison is less favorable, largely because of Netflix’s relatively recent ad launch in 2022. Netflix will bring in $2.07 billion in US ad revenues this year against YouTube’s $9.6 billion, per our forecast.