• TechCrunch , Thursday, January 22, 2009 11:15 AM

Big media companies simply don't know what to do with YouTube. Should they get in bed with the Web's largest video company, or sue it for copyright infringement? YouTube, for its part, offers content providers a cut of ad revenues when their videos are uploaded to the site, regardless of who puts them there. So far, most of the ad revenue they've generated from YouTube has come from contextual overlays sold and served up by the Google video site.

This is mostly because very few media partners are able to sell their own ads on YouTube, but, according to TechCrunch, that's set to change. Sources tell Erick Schonfeld that YouTube will soon allow more big media partners to sell ads. Currently, only CBS and a few others can sell their own inventory on both their YouTube channels as well as on any videos uploaded by YouTube users and identified by YouTube's Content ID system.

Schonfeld says the option to bring your own ads to YouTube will most likely not be offered to so-called "super users," which refers to those whose videos generate enough views for them to be considered part of YouTube's Partners Program. However, it will likely apply to any videos caught by the Content ID system, which identifies audio and video that can be claimed by members of the Partners Program. According to Schonfeld, 90% of claimed videos are monetized by YouTube instead of being taken down.

Read the whole story at TechCrunch »