• Business 2.0 , Tuesday, December 12, 2006 11:15 AM

When Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in October, critics came said it was only a matter of time before lawsuits started pouring in. They haven't. Aside from a relatively irksome copyright suit filed by a French documentary filmmaker, not a single major media company has brought litigation against Google and YouTube.

As always, this has something to do with Google playing the friend/foe card, ensuring each of the majors that the online site will soon offer something mutually beneficial for all. Its also been widely reported that Google fronted each of them cash in the hope that it could buy time to develop a system that delivers on that promise.

YouTube's brand channel partnership for CBS Corp. is already starting to yield dividends. CBS now offers free content for downloading on its own channel, and enjoys free reign over any of its content appearing on the site. It also shares in whatever ad revenue is gleaned from its content.

The early results have been great. By Thanksgiving, CBS uploaded more than 300 clips that caught the attention of 30 million people, and more than 35,000 customers subscribed to the CBS channel. "Late Show" host David Letterman gained an extra 200,000 viewers shortly after debuting on YouTube; Craig Ferguson, host of "The Late Late Show," saw his overall audience increase by 7%.

That, by the way, is what Google is talking about-YouTube as a booster of TV audiences and brand recognition. Enter Nielsen/NetRatings, and suddenly CBS has evidence that YouTube actually offers something mutually beneficial.

Read the whole story at Business 2.0 »