Together, Google and YouTube present the first viable new-media successor to broadcast and cable television, which has "squandered the ad-supported critical mass they have enjoyed" for decades, says
the trade press. There is no going back from a Web-based, on-demand media future, and the Google-YouTube infrastructure will offer the tools needed to manage and monetize that future.
The
implications are twofold: One, the cost of content creation will fall rapidly; two, the best content from consumers and professional producers alike will rise to the top, lessening the studios'
influence over media consumption.
YouTube is a brilliant buy for Google, because viral video sites reflect the demands of a younger, first-mover consumer base that, like MySpace, will
broaden in age as it matures. Once you combine Google's unmatched searching technology with YouTube's 100 million-plus videos, and add the ability to charge consumers a fee to access or charge
advertisers for accessing quantifiable targeted consumers, you get an efficient, lucrative new-media model.
Google can use this deal to close the gaps between production and consumption of
content--which should, in turn, transform the economics of media and entertainment.
Read the whole story at The Hollywood Reporter »