Chad and Steve (and their investors) have to be glad they don’t own YouTube anymore. After failing to reach an agreement (apparently) with Viacom, YouTube said it will comply with the company’s request and pull the 100k videos. From the WSJ article:
YouTube, a unit of Google Inc., said it will comply with the request. “It’s unfortunate that Viacom will no longer be able to benefit from YouTube’s passionate audience which has helped to promote many of Viacom’s shows,” a YouTube representative said.
Bye bye again The Daily Show.
One of the major keys to YouTube’s growth and success has been the availability of branded, professional content. The idea is: I can type in anything and find related video content. And while many zealous users of YouTube probably would not be impacted by the permanent loss of this material, the “mainstream” audience would find the site less interesting and potentially abandon it over time.
Is Google’s compliance simply calling Viacom’s “bluff”? Is this a high-stakes game of “chicken” being played in public?
–
Greg Sterling is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on online consumer and advertiser behavior and the relationship between the Internet and traditional media, with an emphasis on the local marketplace.
