Google Coughs Up $100 Million For Original YouTube Content
In what will be seen by many as Google’s push to turn YouTube into a premium content video provider, the company is reported to have put up over $100 million to attract content providers. According to a tweet by Wall Street Journal editor, Dennis Berman, the search giant is offering this money in a bid to attract ‘original’ content for YouTube. The offer already has former professional skateboarder turned actor, Tony Hawk inked in to provide some original content.
The big question is “why now?” YouTube already enjoys leadership as the top video sharing website on the planet, and Google has several other products which it can tie directly into some premium content portal. The move seems less with necessity and more with the profit motive. The offer for the $100 million is reportedly already projected to be recouped through advertising and Google apparently has several big-name advertisers committed to marketing heavily on YouTube.
Other big names being bandied about include Warner Bros, Miramax and News Corp. Clearly then, Google has no plans of going back on its plans to launch dedicated premium content channels on YouTube next year. The drive to extract as much profits from YouTube is obviously in high gear. How users deal with these changes will be the next big question. While there’s nothing at all wrong with offering premium content, Google must always bear in mind that YouTube didn’t get to the size it is on the back of premium content.
Do you think YouTube will see a mass-exodus of users when the new changes come on stream? Share your thoughts with us below.
(Source: sitetrail.com)
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