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DEL.ICIO.USViral video: Where’s the money?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re back after a family-enforced absence from the blogosphere for more than a week. Despite all the attention focused in the past few days on the prospects of a battle between Apple’s iPod and Microsott’s Zune this fall, video remains at the forefront of the online wars, especially any discussion on how to make money off of it. Consider these reports:
— Amazon plans an ad-free digital-video-download service set for a mid-August launch, with a subscription service and a la carte movies and TV shows. According to Advertising Age, the service, known as Amazon Digital Video, will be like a digital version of Netflix’s rental model.
— YouTube attracted 19.6 million visitors in June, a 297 percent increase from January, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Page views jumped 515 percent. Average time spent at the site rose from 17 minutes to 28 minutes.
No one can doubt that video is really taking off. But does anyone really think that YouTube is worth a billion dollars? That was the figure quoted by The New York Post after a Sun Valley conference in which YouTube executives were reportedly fawned over by big media companies. The Associated Press reported that CBS honcho Les Moonves spent considerable time with YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley. To put it in perspective, Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. spent $580 million for MySpace.
Skeptical press reports continue on YouTube and how it can generate revenue. The headline in The San Jose Mercury News: “How will YouTube make money?”
The obvious challenge for the glut of video sites: How do you attract advertisers without alienating an audience looking for a social networking experience?
Meanwhile, a new video aggregator has emerged. Dabble, which accesses more than 240 video hosting sites, including YouTube, Revver, Bilp.tv, Google Video and others., launched this week.
Stay tuned.
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