The chess game between big media and Google’s (GOOG) YouTube continues. Several large companies, including Viacom (VIA) have accused the video-sharing site of showing pirated content while Google is trying to get them to pay for placement at YouTube.
Now News Corp thinks its can trap YouTube in a corner. It is offering the large video content owners the chance of putting their TV shows, clips, and movie trailers at the world’s largest social network site, MySpace. The head of the News Corp digital operations was quoted by the FT as saying that his plan was to create the “most robust video offering on the web”, That would certainly gore YouTube’s oxe.
Since MySpace is not filled with content taken from the large media companies, the plan might work. It would turn MySpace into a collection of the most attractive video content in the world. And, News Corp could build this by passing part of the spoils on to its fellow media companies. Whether it can make the money to share is another question. It is still unclear whether consumers will pay for online video when there is so much available for free. But, large media might consider paying News Corp for the exposure and dispense with revenue sharing as a model altogether.
None of its spells good news for Google.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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