• by Wayne Friedman , February 22, 2007

A second major media company has slowed down the Google train, according to published reports. Talks for an extension of a deal between Google and CBS Corp., which would allow more video clips of its shows to be run on Google's YouTube.com, including "The Late Show with David Letterman," have ended, reports The Wall Street Journal.

A CBS spokesman had no comment. CBS continues to have separate deals with both Google and YouTube.

Recently, CBS touted that official CBS clips on YouTube have sparked increased interest of those shows on its traditional network airwaves. In particular, it touted that "Letterman" benefited from the association.

This is the second rebuff of Google and YouTube. CBS' former sister company Viacom stopped its negotiations with YouTube recently and asked the Internet service to take down thousands of illegally uploaded Viacom videos.

Last year, Google agreed to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock. According to the Journal, Google is currently working on a deal to offer video from the British Broadcasting Corp.

Executives who are familiar with Google say the company is still attempting to find a good financial model for dealing with major media companies that share its concerns over content piracy.

"The problem with You Tube is there is no revenue yet," said Larry Gerbrandt, senior vice president and general manager of Nielsen Analytics. "How is Google going to see a return on the $1.65 billion they paid? They have yet to create a model. On the other hand, once they start to generate significant amounts of revenue, those copyright issues become more significant."

In Google and YouTube's favor are the massive levels of users that utilize their Internet areas. Traditional media content companies still see that as a useful promotional and distribution tool for their programs.