Are there really no popular alternatives to Youtube to keep them honest? It is the virtual monopoly that allows them to be complacent enough to enforce such lousy automation. This is not healthy.
Of course it’s not for everyone. Some of the best YouTube channels are well produced and edited. You don’t get that with a live stream.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/3/21121207/youtube-google-al...
To clarify, that $15 billion is revenue and not net income/profit. Since Alphabet Inc didn't reveal the internal costs for Youtube, it means we still don't know if Youtube is losing money, or breaking even, or making a profit. So the gp's question of "how do we know it's making money?" is still unanswered.
Another example to help differentiate revenue vs profit: Tesla "generated" $24 billion in revenue last year but it didn't "make money" because they still lost $862 million.[1] No profits.
It doesn't help that the journalist of your The Verge article further confuses readers by incorrectly using the phrase "bottom line" instead of the "top line".[2] Revenue is actually the "top line". Net income/profit is the "bottom line":
>, that the company has revealed how much money YouTube-hosted ads contribute to the search giant’s _bottom line_. On an annual basis, Google says YouTube generated $15 billion last year and contributed roughly 10 percent to all Google revenue.