With Viacom's (VIA-B) demand that YouTube (GOOG) get rid of 100,000 of their video clips on their site, we knew that there had to be something else going on, and there was.
Seeing that there wasn't really ever going to be a workable deal in the short-term, Viacom has now plans in place to promote their ComedyCentral.com Web site. While company execs aren't hinting at what they're going to do, they are definitely saying they're going to give it a strong marketing push.
With other traditional media executives like Barry Diller have been adding their thoughts on the future on content online, and Jeff Zucker also challenged YouTube to get their act together.
Why is all this really happening? With nothing to really lose, I think that Viacom is going to test the waters with their new initiative. They will allow users to do pretty much what users can do with videos uploaded to YouTube, but with advertising embedded in them. Users will be able to put them on other Web sites, blogs or even MySpace (NWS-A).
"YouTube throws down the gauntlet for any television network or content producer to ask, 'Why is it better for people to consume our video on YouTube rather than my site?'" Erik Flannigan, senior vice president of digital media for Comedy Central, said during an interview with CNET News.com.
Another reason this is happening is that YouTube hasn't proved anything yet on whether they can be a platform that can deliver a model that can be successfully monetized. It's been mostly smoke and mirrors up to this point, and a major decision it seems to even experiment with something.
This probably had to happen when you think of it. YouTube does have some value as a marketing tool for companies, but they aren't really in a strong position other than having potential eyeballs to watch something.
If Viacom succeeds in what they're doing, it would really put the studios in a stronger position, and even potentially neglect YouTube for the most part. On the other hand if they fail, it could strengthen YouTube's hand and put them in a position to get their way even more.
This could be the deciding factor in the direction of the merging of new and old media. Traditional media has decided it's going to fight, and it may all hinge on ComedyCentral.com.
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