YouTube is embracing longer form content, lifting the previously applied 10-minute limit for clips on its site. However, the test is currently limited to the video sharing site's "content partners,"
which include a variety of independent filmmakers who have uploaded their movies. YouTube is capping file sizes at 1 GB, which is nearly enough space to load a standard full-length film. As Silicon
Alley Insider's Michael Learmonth points out, the average movie on iTunes takes up between 1.1 and 2GBs.
Learmonth says that doing away with the 10-minute time limit has "potentially big
implications" especially in the revenue department. For starters, limiting the feature to content partners means that YouTube will have the right to sell advertising against each long-form video.
There will also be more advertising opportunities per video. Of course, YouTube's ability to do so will depend on the quality of the videos it aggregates.
Will adding long-form videos add
substantially to YouTube's bandwidth costs? How much does it cost to stream a 1 GB clip, and how much advertising would you need to sell to offset that cost? SAI's Learmonth says it doesn't actually
cost as much as you might think, and it may even "help (YouTube) eke out a few more dollars."
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