YouTube going head-to-head with iTunes
By Peter | December 1st, 2009
Less than a year ago, YouTube announced an aggressive plan to start making money by distributing paid content (as reported here on Senses). That hasn’t quite happened yet, though they have spent the last year starting to experiment with a number of money-making tactics, like pre-roll ads, and working with Vevo, the music industry’s video site.
But now it seems the eCommerce portion of YouTube’s plan to actually make money is finally close to fruition. Google, which owns YouTube, is in talks with TV networks and studios to begin streaming full episodes of TV shows. And, just like iTunes, they plan to charge users for the shows.
Reportedly, YouTube wants to charge $1.99 per episode. It’s much the same business model as that used by both iTunes and Amazon. Though there is a difference. The competitors offer episodes as downloads, while YouTube will only be providing streaming access to the shows.
According to YouTube, they’re confident they’ll be able to arrange some kind of deal amenable to themselves, the TV networks and studios, and end users. YouTube, it would seem, is banking on their strong brand, incredibly high traffic, and the fact that people already come to the site, in droves, in order to watch videos. Whether that’s enough to convince consumers to pay a similar premium for streamed content, versus downloadable media, remains to be seen.
Have a custom web application you need built? Contact Thirdi today!
Related posts:
- It’s cheaper than iTunes, but is it better?
- According to YouTube, YouTube is Awesome
- YouTube serves up one billionth video (of the day)
Tags: eCommerce, ITunes, YouTube
