Jun 20, 2008

YouTube Grows Up

Apparently Google is doing more than just reskinning the YouTube browser these days. A few new changes are on the way that may help keep them on top of their game and, maybe, possibly, actually make them some money.
  • YouTube experiments with full-length video - much like Google Video, a few full-length movies are now showing up on YouTube. Hopefully the encoding quality has been ramped up significantly for these entries. It should also be noted that longer videos = more opportunity for advertising. So expect more ads on those vids.
  • Screening Room - free "indie" movies hosted on YouTube with direct links to acquire higher quality versions. This one is rather odd because the entries have "Buy Now" buttons that just link to more information about the films. Rather confusing to a user and seems like a missed opportunity for YouTube as well to make some cash off of digital downloads.
  • Hulu is kicking YouTube's ass - well, at least according to Mark Cuban (HDNet billionaire) they are. Honestly, in terms of advertising dollars - I'd totally believe it. In terms of readership and usage, probably not overall but I bet the stats for 'Average Time Spent on Page' for Hulu is astronomically higher than anything YouTube experiences.

Comments: YouTube Grows Up

Comments (0) · Jun 20, 2008 - 10:40 am · ∞