No need for Yahoo, MSN and AOL to worry about YouTube's surging popularity yet. YouTube still isn't making any money, partly because advertisers are worried about associating themselves with the
site's content, which is often ripped-off, sexually suggestive, or just plain weird. That, of course, may change over time--because the temptation to reach young people is huge, especially for certain
advertisers. But will YouTube steal dollars from Google and Yahoo? "I don't see that right now," says Wall Street analyst Martin Pyykkonen of Global Crown Capital. Analysts expect advertisers to stick
with the sites they know and trust, like NYTimes.com and ESPN.com. It sounds as though YouTube doesn't quite know where it's headed. In the past, company spokespeople have said they're looking to
build their service, and aren't myopically focused on ad revenue. They've also downplayed suggestions that YouTube might be looking to sell. Despite the uncertain future, YouTube has developed "new
advertising concepts," like the brand channels you now see on the site. But these are only for a certain kind of advertiser--content providers themselves, like entertainment and sports marketers. Even
so, research groups expect the YouTubes of the world to figure it out. eMarketer expects online video spending to skyrocket to $2.3 billion in 2010, up from $265 million this year. For now, most
advertisers are limited to the offerings on portals like Yahoo, MSN and AOL.
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