-Google is now the deep pockets Hollywood has been looking for
-Video, and its content, is not searchable like text and does not leverage Google’s search engine strength
-Yes, Google can use the traffic to promote its toolbar, and thus its core business, but that’s probably not worth the price it paid
-Overall, I don’t think it was a good deal. Fortune’s recent article on Google talks a lot about what Google’s strategy, throw it on the wall and see if it sticks, but there doesn’t seem to been any cohesion to it. I think Google’s next strength will be free online apps, supported by its ads, not buying the YouTubes of world.

In the wake of the recent GooTube
deal, there have been lots of ramblings—both positive
and negative—going on …

http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/006836.html

What troubles me is the significant IP litigation Google’s exposed themselves to. Whereas sueing Youtube for copyright infringement (and there were probably some trademark-infringing clips as well) wouldn’t have been worth the attorney fees, Google is a ripe target for such lawsuits.

I’m certain that Google’s attorneys have foreseen this near-certainty, and that they’ve probably got indemnity clauses against infringements which have already transpired, but a copyright-compliant Youtube represents a drastic change in what Youtube is. Fred Wilson faulted Google video for a delay between uploading and posting (likely for copyright checking) – won’t Google have to institute such measures on the new Youtube?

However, ‘GoogTube’ confers more hype and seems much more bubbly.

Peter W.

By all credible accounts I can find, YouTube is by far the most-visited video-sharing site, and a top ten most-visited site overall. Here’s how I expect Google to get a quick ROI on their YouTube purchase:
1. Insert their AdWords products into the user experience, like the Ads by Google on the right-hand side of KnoxViews. But Google also already serves several other flavors of ads.

1. Integrate YouTube content into Google results, feeding traffing from one Google property to another.

2. Create and revise deals with media companies like NBC Universal (they already have deals with many for Google Video). If both companies are smart, this will be a no-cash deal… Google will get rights to show clips of shows, and integrate links from the clips directlly to the show page so that media companies get traffic (and therefore, pageviews and resulting advertising). YouTube becomes the online promotional aggregator. This would benefit NBC and other media because these clips become the television equivalent of theatrical trailers for TV shows.

3. Move it’s Google Video platform onto YouTube’s, and ditch Google Video, which doesn’t seem to be getting much traction anyway. This transition would include using Google’s video search product on YouTube, allowing Google to continually refine and improve this appliance.

4. Bring YouTube’s video advertising unit into the Google fold, and begin to insert ads at the beginning of the videos in the same way that c|net does.

It will cost relatively very little to accomplish most of this. In short order and with very little outlay beyond the purchase price, Google will have substantially increased the inventory for their existing advertising products, cut a money-sucking business (Google Video), create new ad inventory units, and own a platform for further development of an important future market (video delivery and search).

The fact that they are not paying any cash is huge. If they are smart, this can be a really great deal for both Google and YouTube.

Cheers,

b