As we know, big media is turning it's back on YouTube. Viacom, News Corp.'s MySpace, Sony Corp, and Time Warner's AOL are all trying to beat the video-sharing giant at its own game, investing in or
building their own such networks. It's a bad idea, believes CNNMoney.com.
Why? Because it doesn't look like YouTube is any less popular, which is exactly what needs to happen for a
rejection plan to succeed. According to Web traffic monitor Hitwise, YouTube's traffic actually increased 14 percent in the two weeks following Viacom's announcement to pull its content, suggesting
that YouTube isn't as dependent on big media as big media thought.
As Hitwise GM Bill Tancer notes: "People tend to be looking for consumer-generated content more than actual TV
content on YouTube." That doesn't mean that big media will relent -- not until they try, and perhaps fail, at their own endeavors. Their big gripe is that YouTube offers no way for them to make money
from their content. They need to grow new revenue sources, not give content away for free. However, they have yet to use YouTube for what it's really good for: promotion. With a huge audience, media
companies could force their content off the video site and then upload short clips, directing users to view it elsewhere.
Read the whole story at CNNMoney.com »