For the moment, online video sites aren't too concerned with copyright infringement. Right now, most are trying to figure out their ad models. Many, like Yahoo Video, MTV Overdrive, AOL and MSN Video,
run pre-roll ads. Others, like YouTube and Google Video, don't. End users, obviously, don't like the ads--which can be upwards of 10 to 20 seconds long, so publishers that sell pre-rolls run the risk
of losing users, one of the reasons many cite for YouTube's enduring popularity. YouTube does sell banner ads, and it also offers advertisers the right to upload their commercials for optional
viewing. Google, on the other hand, may soon move to selling "post-roll" spots, or short ads that run at the end of a video. For those that do sell pre-rolls, like Time Warner's AOL, they go to great
pains to minimize user irritation. AOL won't let pre-rolls be longer than 15 seconds, and it doesn't think pre-rolls should run before every video in a video-watching session. One thing is clear:
Advertisers and publishers haven't figured this out yet. They haven't found the correct length, the correct balance, and--in some cases--the correct ad unit to run over video.
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