Google, YouTube and Mobile
October 10th, 2006 | by amarfresh |
$1.65 Billion Dollars !!! (think Austin Powers)
What a payday for YouTube thanks to the Google acquisition. In my Bloglines today I saw that James from Moconews had posted about a topic I was hoping to speak of: Google Buys YouTube — Mobile Implications? Unfortunately it looks like their WordPress is acting a bit wonky. I hope to read it later.
Nonetheless, video is coming (has been coming) to mobiles in a big way. As mobile broadband phones become the norm, video will be right there as well. YouTube was momumental in making video easy to consume. Their universal flash player dumbed video streaming down for the internet masses. No more dealing with Windows Media codecs, Quicktime, or RealPlayer; everyone has a Flash plug-in or at least can easily get it.
So what needs to happen next.
Mobile broadband is the start. Next it will require the cellcos to standardize technologies and file formats. A no brainer would be to include Flash in all the mobile browsers or provide some kind of Flash content handler. A mobile Flash common denominator will make the experience work for 90% of the users. Also, lets not forget the fact that the cellcos need to embrace Google. We already know that some are shying away from Google as a search partner.
The internet model gives content away for free, the mobile model forces non-technical users to pay for content. The users will demand unhindered access to content and the cellcos will continue to want to squeeze more revenue per user by charging for content.
Looks like MocoNews is back up…
For starters, most of Google’s mobile efforts have been around search, although it did start working with DivX a while ago to make its videos mobile. As far as I can tell that was it… YouTube is a bit better. It allows users to upload clips from mobile phones (via e-mail), and has a tenuous link with Cingular which sponsored a band competition on the video sharing site.
Perhaps the biggest indication of any mobile results is in the content deals announced by both companies just before the merger, which is mostly with music labels and is for music videos.
The future of the mobile internet and carrier offerings is still being determined. How can the cellcos give users access to the mobile YouTube while increasing profitability. Mobile ad supported models have not been completely proven, although constantly tested. I wouldn’t be surprised if we soon are offered a subscription-based model for Mobile YouTube. It would feature a downloadable application/player with the ability to have favorites, top videos, and tie-ins to your own YouTube account. In customary cellco fashion, users can pay additional to receive and play premium music video and TV content on their mobile phones. Not to mention the ability to upsell a ringtone or video tone. How much would you be willing to pay? Or do we just wait for free public WiFi/Max and VoIP phones. Personally, if something is “free” on my PC it should also be so on my celly. Not to mention the fact that if I buy a game or music on my PC, the license should carry to my mobile device as well. Crazy talk?
Read: moconews.net