Thoughts 11 Oct 2008 07:50 am
YouTube to Offer TV Shows With Ads
For those of you that have wondered how Google was going to monetize YouTube, here’s the first clue.
After months of experimenting with long-form video, YouTube said on Friday it would start offering full-length episodes of some television shows on its sprawling Web site.
“This is what the users want,” said Jordan Hoffner, the director of content partnerships for YouTube.
With the addition of TV series like “Dexter,” “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Star Trek” through a deal with CBS, YouTube is catching up to other Web sites that have promoted long-form video for some time.
Most important for YouTube’s owner, Google, the longer videos will include advertising before, during and after each episode. Google is under pressure to raise more revenue from the nearly four-year-old video sharing site.
And there you have it: If YouTube can get exclusive rights to the TV shows or at least get them earlier than they appear elsewhere the advertising scheme just might work.
A 15 second commercial interupting a 1 or 2 minute video is too much. But several 15 second commercials attached to the beginning, middle and end of an hour long video won’t be as offensive.