Google intends to soon expand its new video syndication service, a company executive said Tuesday at an industry conference in New York.
Speaking at the Ad:Tech panel "TV 2.0,"
Daniel Blackman, Google Video's strategic partner development manager, said that the search giant aimed to enable publishers in its AdSense network to syndicate their content, while also allowing any
marketers to serve ads into streams. The idea, Blackman said, is to give media companies and publishers the opportunity to share in the profits. "We're going to hopefully help everyone play and make
some money," he said.
This summer, Google unveiled plans to launch a video syndication
service, with MTV Networks as the initial content partner. With the deal, Google in September began syndicating clips of shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Laguna Beach, and the MTV Video Music Awards
to select AdSense publishers. MTV sold the video ads that accompanied the clips, and split the revenue with the publishers and with Google.
But while the initiative has generated excitement
within the industry, the plan also faces some challenges, Blackman acknowledged Tuesday. One of the major obstacles, Blackman said, is that media companies resist the idea of losing control of their
content. "Part of the challenge right now is the transition of the major media companies," he said. "How do the media companies embrace the idea that their ads and their content can exist outside
their walls?"
Google is also looking into video ad models other than in-stream ads, Blackman said, adding that the company is hoping to deploy a less interruptive form of advertising.