It has been reported that media empires News Corp and NBC are collaborating on a project to counter Google’s YouTube website[1] – the number 4 most visited site as of Friday 23rd of March, 2007[2]. Clearly there is a huge market, into which the new video website will hope to tap. One potential problem facing the project is YouTube’s current popularity and its associated assimilation into popular culture. The brand is known by arguably all internet users, and is becoming more and more part of the new internet vernacular. The process of uploading videos onto YouTube is now referred to as ‘tubing’, in much the same way as using the search engine Google is called ‘googling’. So strong is YouTube’s hold on their audience that the success of the rival website will depend so vitally on its proper marketing. There will be very little room to differentiate the two websites, as both perform the same role free of charge, so marketers for the new website must attain a certain ‘cool’ factor if they are to thieve the loyal YouTubers. However, this loyalty to YouTube may begin to dwindle somewhat, as Google consider the possibility of advertising on YouTube, using 15 second pre-roll ads. A survey conducted by Harris Interactive found that 73% of frequent YouTube users said they would visit the site less if pre-roll advertising was used[3]. Google will somehow have to pay off the US$1.65 billion that it spent in acquiring YouTube, and unless Larry Page and Sergey Brin consider the suicidal possibility of user paid access, then it is likely the YouTube bill will have to be financed by advertising. Another weight on Google/YouTube’s back is the current lawsuit presented against them by Viacom, on grounds of massive copyright infringement[4]. Is it possible that all this trauma could bury YouTube, leaving the door open for the News Corp/NBC project to take over? Or is it more likely that the new project will actually push YouTube over the edge? Either way, it will be far more entertaining than any of the featured videos on YouTube!
[1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1879375.htm
[2] http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500
[3] http://www.lostremote.com/2007/01/30/survey-one-third-youtube-users-watch-less-tv/
[4] http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/ViacomYouTubeComplaint3-12-07.pdf
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