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It's official News Corp. and NBC create YouTube competitor

arstechnica.com — News Corp. and NBC announced this morning a partnership that will allow the two to create a video site to compete with YouTube. The companies have also formed partnerships with a number of big players, including Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Time Warner/AOL to supply content and provide distribution channels.

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  • mcflynnthm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Huh. But NBC already has a deal with YouTube. Guess they're tired of kowtowing to Google? 'Cause clearly their content won't end up on YouTube now!
    • dunezone, on 10/12/2007, -5/+43It will fail, simply that.

      Youtube is convenient and easy to use for anyone, now lets add the corporation spin to it.

      Ad Supported - Ads on the website, ads in the videos(beginning, middle, end), ads everywhere
      Playback - It will use some crazy flash player or something that will most likely run like garbage
      Embedding - Yeah, they more then likely wont let you embed their videos onto your blog or website
      Usability - Horrendous, ill use Comedy Central for an example, go to the video section, its graphic heavy and slow

      Of course they might debut their Youtube killer without these problems and then slowly limit what a user can do with their media and how they view it.
    • PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2I wouldn't put anything past the ComedyCentral player. So far its pretty good. They allow you to embed video, as well as the video quality is excellent and loads quick.
    • dunezone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@pacodg

      I didn't say their player was bad, but youtube you can go directly to the video you want, Comedy Central you have to dig for it.
    • PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1True sir, very true.

      I think with ComedyCentral, they were smart to offer up something that was 'official' .. but also smart not to advertise it heavily, especially as a competitor to YouTube (which will hopefully remain the standard for a while, though the quality isn't the best, it definitely has the usability as well as the users.. which of course gives it the best content)
    • TheSaladMan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8"Playback - It will use some crazy flash player or something that will most likely run like garbage"

      You do realise pretty much every video website including YouTube uses a flash video player yea?
    • aliengoods, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13NBC Board Room conversation:

      "OK, imagine Myspace, but for videos. That's sure to kill YouTube!"
      "Sir, Myspace already has videos and its still getting crushed."
      "But this will have all of our great tv shows!"
      "Sir, users already upload all of our shows to YouTube."
      "But we'll let them buy it as well."
      "Sir, why would they buy it when they can watch it for free?"
      "You're fired. Now, who's with me?!"
    • Slashriffs, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Will they allow users to upload content?
      If so, I can't wait till they get hit with a lawsuit .
    • seneyr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@dunezone

      I have to wonder how the ads are being done. Currently you can watch NBC's Heroes on the company website without any commercials during the show, which is pretty cool. Fox puts one ad at break points on their 24 stream which is acceptable. The only annoyance with that the last time I tried it, it was the same ad each break. Got a little annoying after a while. The quality is decent as well, as long as you're not expecting HDTV quality.

      I believe that alot of people resort to piracy because they can't easily find what the content that they're looking for. It's a matter of convenience/accessibility. If they can provide a legitimate comparable service that can compete with the ease of use of the old P2P networks (type what you want into the serach box and find a host) then they could get a good user base.

      How is it that the tv companies are trying to figure out how to adjust their business model while the RIAA tries to keep everyone in the stone age with their fire and brimstone tactics?

      Does Apple have a part in this as well? You can get shows from a lot of these companies off iTunes... Will this link in with iTunes (ie. like this episode? Buy the hi-res for $2 at iTunes!)?
    • ICSU, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@dunezone

      Funny that you predict that this site will have a worse player than youtube, while youtube has on of the worst usable and looking player there is.
    • alpha94, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@dunezone

      Well put. I work in the marketing industry and funny enough, both Yahoo and MSN were just here showing us all the channels you can purchase ads in. They are really big on selling preroll ads to their video content and I'm sure that will be the case here too.

      These companies make a killing from selling more than 50% of the real estate on a page as ads.
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm glad. This will be good for everyone.

      Aren't you guys the ones that always tout the benefits of competition? But I guess when Google or Apple are involved, it's no longer a good thing?
    • jjesusfreak01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@seneyr

      You can watch heroes without commercials? I think you have it backwards, 24 can be watched without commercials during the show, but NBC makes you watch 15-30 second ads between breakpoints on Heroes. Fox uses Myspace, which has a terrible video player, while the NBC player can scale to fullscreen.
    • gamasutra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm not going to NBC just to watch NBC clips. Isn't that what NBC.com is for? The popularity of youtube is because you can get all my video in one place.
    • InetRoadkill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I think the point with the video player is that it will be another odd-ball player that only works with their videos, and the videos will only work with their player. The reason is to prevent the removal of ads and other branding crap that no one wants.

      Even worse, it could be like the one Adult Swim has which demands that you install ActiveX into your browser. Ummm, no thanks and ***** you and the horse you rode in on.

      My only real complaint about YouTube is that the compression is excessive. The video quality is not very good.

    • fkr3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I don't think it'll fail. YouTube isn't perfect and users aren't going there to support YouTube or Google, they're going there for content.

      If New Corp. and NBC offer the content people want then people will go there The aesthetics and environment are obviously irrelevant to the success of a site (see: myspace).
  • miglaugh, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17Maybe they'll call it "We'reCoolTube"...
  • nightsweat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Brilliant! Because we need lots and lots of sites instead of just working out revenue sharing with Google.
    • op12, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Exactly. This doesn't even overlap/conflict/compete all that much with YouTube since there's been no indication that there's any plans for user-generated content. If that's the case, then actually complements YouTube's user-generated content and would make for an unbeatable partnership...reaping ad revenues from the TV content, and providing free user-generated content.

      The only news that's validated here is that the shows (many of which are already free on the major networks' websites) will be in an embeddable player, which hasn't been the case so far (except when they appeared on YouTube). There's no talk of either user-generated content or placeshifting the content...either of which would make the discussion much more interesting.
    • fkr3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1How come we don't need competitors when it comes to Google, but if it's an operating system, web browser, office suite, email client or anything Google doesn't own then competition is a Good Thing and anyone with a monopoly (except Apple) is evil?
  • datalife, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8hopefully they have videos of people getting hit in the balls, now thats what I want to see.
    • chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13"Man getting hit in groin with football"

      Homer: [laughing hysterically] This contest is over! Give that man the $10,000.
      Jay: This isn't "America's Funniest Home Videos".
      Homer: But...the ball! His groin! Ah ha! It works on so many levels! [laughs more] Roll it again.
    • cambrown99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Ow, my balls!
    • aliengoods, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Brawndo's got what balls want. It's got electrolytes.
    • ed2hip, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@ chris9902

      i wish i could dig you up twice!
  • Ndric, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1"Oh *****"
  • itanshi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5call it mytube! beta
  • 2ndEdition, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11why do i have this feeling that their site is going to be heavily drm based?
  • rowlodge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10the world needs someting besides more flash video sites, we needs different video types even hd for our computers.
  • Howard03, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0Just what we need, TV taking over the internet. Blech.
  • trollick, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3"Competitor"? What the hell is that? Don't you mean "killer"?
    • cambrown99, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Well, with MS supporting it they'll have Zune support and that's the iPod killer
  • Nocturnal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Besides Digg coming in and perhaps taking on /., what other start ups have came out and straight killed another one? I think it's hype. Although I welcome another service but I don't think it will be a YouTube killer. Just like the others who claimed to be Napster killers, or whatever killer, they just couldn't beat the original.

    It's just like movies. You have x movie I, and then x movie II. The sequel, 9/10 times suck worse than the original. You just can't be an original.
  • magnusdopus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Good : possibly more good content online
    Bad : You will not be able to add such content to your page unless you are on MySpace. Yuck.
  • nicku, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I'm sure this will be a lot like Fox's version of the Daily Show and be huge vacuum of suck. Oh wait thats myspace.com....
  • martyf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Can you say "Unbox"? It's gonna be a DRM mess with "player applications" and such...
    • Nocturnal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well they're already saying it'll be embeddable with other sites besides MySpace so I will give them the benefit of the doubt. However, if it is DRM-laden then I will be extremely pissed off and I think then that YouTube will reign supreme.
    • harvinator24, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2DRM we always find a way around that.
  • seneyr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is on target for suckville. People like YouTube because it's not media controlled. Google can act as the buffer shield from entertainment interests. Will this allow user submissions? Here's a thought, let's all submit Viacom owned content to it and see what happens. ;)

    This smells like an MPAA plot to knock google out. Incapacitate Google by sueing YouTube and then launch your own competing service the same week.
    • Vtorch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That's not true, people don't like Youtube because it's not media controlled.

      They like Youtube simply because it's a free way to upload videos on the net and embed them on their website.

    • seneyr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I seriously need to spend more time thinking about stories before posting knee-jerk reactions.
  • anteyekon4myst, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The Empire Strikes Back...
  • willcoll, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1call it "iTubeYou"
  • pixelpimp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I love it! Silicon Valley are like the Lombards and Vandals, the keep coming down from the North and disrupting the Hollywood Roman Empire! The Music, Movie and TV industries are trying toi keep a hold on there empires! I can't wait until Google opens up all the dark fiber. It is very interesting times friends. TV will not be broadcat over coventional mean, it will merge with the web (when the web gets fast enough to handle it!). I am for one cheering on Google. Down with the NBC FOX EMPIRE!
  • thefaithful, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I thought the whole point of YouTube is that "you" put up your own content to share it.
    It's not so much about the distribution of commercialized content that these corporations are focusing on; although that has happened as a byproduct since people are posting clips of what they enjoy.
  • Trixrox, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1They need to support High Definition (all levels 480p 720p and 1080p) along with Standard Def. They also need to allow for the content to be downloaded with NO DRM. That would be amazingly successful I would imagine. Plus they can track how many people download their tv shows.
    • 2ndEdition, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1yea, and they need to wipe your butt and suck your balls
  • Rapter09, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I can see this failing. Really bad. YouTube was founded on illegal content (well, technically illegal, however you want to look at that). Uploaded videos from shows, etc. etc. It became the buzzword for watching short stupid clips of shows, or people doing dumb things. It built up that huge reputation and got an influx of users because of it and became the go-to for video content like this.

    I think even if Google does modify YouTube to be more on the legal level under the DMCA, it'll still be more popular than anything else. Anything coming after YouTube and all the hubbub about illegal video sharing on line via systems akin to it will be bogged down with only legit content, or they'll find a way to restrict user-generated content, they'll try to pander to the MPAA, RIAA and whatever other industry divisions want this stuff locked down.
  • linuxwarz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Watch as all the political propaganda rolls in! What could be a better place to start then where the young kids are going.
  • KraigR, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2News Corp sucks major ass....look how badly they ***** up myspace!!!
    • PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think it could be argued that myspace was ***** up in the first place. Sure, less ads were there, but it was ten times more emo. At least now it has a little flaver of "yo, imma innanet gangsta" mixed in to even everything out among the tards.
  • Vtorch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Let's see how strong Google is to go up against FOX. and NBC.

    I like Google, but it has already failed with Google Video and they did not create the successful Youtube.

    Google is in for a very very BIG battle. Wow, NewsCorp & General Electric (in partnership with Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Time Warner/AOL).....that's a juggernaut
    • seneyr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Can't wait to see the mashups on the service with Fox News and NBC News coverage of events. Hilarity ensues.
  • Lnomis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They'll almost definitely have a ton of clips from fox (News corp) and NBC shows on the site. This could be interesting.
  • insomnislacker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0ABC already does this. The quality is better, though you have to watch a commercial or two. Since the only thing that anyone I know cares about with youtube is the ability to watch ripped off shows on a quick flash player, if the content is pulled from YouTube permanantly... it'll be as popular as ebooks and ifilm.com

    Bottom line, most people want to watch tv shows and movies (that are not home made)
  • IchiroBoston, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I dont know what Google / YouTube's terms are for companies like NBC to put content up, but what is the use spending all that money to create a "YouTube" killer? Ad Revenue? Ego?
    I bet its ego, but damn what a stupid waste of shareholders money.
  • Rufunki, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This isn't a youtube killer. Youtube is made to share "YOUR" video, not tv shows. If anything, this will put a dent into itunes before it comes close to harming youtube.

    From the article, it really looks like they are just trying to catch up, and get people that don't watch as much TV anymore to watch TV, one step closer to the integration of home theater and home computer.

    Youtube could remove 100% of copyrighted content, and still go strong, there are a ton of video's that aren't copyrighted, I'd almost go as far has to say that there is a very small percentage of content that is actually copyrighted, most of it, is people talking about there life, showing there kids to family, or whatever, that's why google bought them. Because video.google.com wasn't taking off the way that they wanted, but youtube was. Google makes things for people to share, and use in there everyday life (picasa, maps, video, blogs, groups etc etc), therefore getting exposure to direct Internet traffic. NBC shows ads, there tv viewers are going down, or dvr'ing it, so now they are going to where they are going. NBC won't have a pay service to watch there shows (they make more on ads, then they would with a pay service).

    What a youtube killer would be google pulling the plug, and then one of any of the other sites (break.com is one that comes to mind) will fill in there place.

    Summary. NBC's business is showing ads, Google's business is directing traffic around the net. This isn't a youtube killer.



  • superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1So where is it? What is the name? When will it be launched? A lot of details missing.

  • Rolandami, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is getting silly, the train has left the station.

    Give the people what they want.

    $.99 songs DRM and copy protection free 192bps
    steaming TV shows update weekly on web sites, if you miss it see it here
    youtube free advertisement

    Telcos you are dead move on
  • seneyr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If the movies (full-length and uncut) are ad supported that could be a big thing as well. I don't believe that anyone has tried that yet.

    If Google is smart they're going to want to get AdSense on this ASAP. This isn't exactly them trying to shut out YouTube. This is them looking at YouTube and BitTorrent and realizing what consumers want and finally deciding to take a risk and do this.
  • TheLD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wonder if they heard of the phrase "If it ain't broke don't fix it"?

    How will this be better than Youtube (if it is going to be remotely similar in that the content is user generated)?
  • vhold, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1All somebody has to do to considerably gain ground on YouTube is offer a vaguely similar service at a noticeably higher resolution, which wouldn't take much.

    Although the real question is, who'd want to compete with what YouTube does? It loses money hand over fist. Content owners are the only ones with a real incentive.
  • arkhangel78, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0As previously stated, this rival site will have videos that will include ads. Even if it's copyrighted content, I personally do not want to view ads. I expect this to be a site hosting clips from their shows, but not entire episodes. And while I think it's noble of them to allow users to create their own videos with their copyrighted content, how often are we really going to make "user-generated montage" videos??

    All seems kind of lame. And definitely not a YouTube killer.


    Oh, and here's another source for more information:
    http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/22/news/companies/nbc_newscorp/index.htm?postversion=2007032214
  • astrotrain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Leave YouTube the king of online media... NBC does not have a chance, they should worry about there shows like 30 Rock and re-evaluate "just how real funny it is".... because its not.
  • drjekelmrhyde, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I hope the videos look way better than gootubes more like lost on abc player that would be tight now I wont have to shuffle thur lilttle girls trying to sing or morons on cam admiting crimes but hey you diggers have your head so far up google ass you wont evne bother to check it out
    • polyGone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well, maybe that is because of the blatant bias in all of our media. We go there to escape the stupidity of the major networks.
  • kokopelli2001, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Hmmm. Let's see ...

    NBC. Parent of NBC News and such far right boot-lickers as Tim Russert and Andrea Mitchell.

    News Corp. Parent of Faux Noise.

    I wonder how much "news" items will ever make it on their joint venture site that isn't biased and full of necon BS?

  • harmonix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I think this, or something like it, could work.

    Here is the deal. The only stuff I ever watch on YouTube is home videos of people getting hurt and stuff (clips) that were on TV. 99.99% of the user created stuff is CRAP and I'm not going to wade through it to look for some hidden gems.

    Whats old is new, and the reality is that we NEED quality control. The networks suck at it (why is According to Jim on the air but Arrested Development isn't...and yes I know they are on different networks).

    That being said, at the end of the day I still watch WAY more TV shows than web ones. Being on YouTube mean nothing when everyone one is. It's like having a webpage 10 years ago.


    Networks need to realize that they can become the new quality control gate keepers. Real producers still want to work with the big boys, but networks don't have to be restricted to time slots and frequency limitations. If they were smart they would have 3 or 4 times the shows they currently air on TV, online, with well placed (user centric) short ads. They could use web analytics to track how shows are performing (way better then Nielsen rating) and still make money to cover costs. Then take the best performing shows and upgrade them to TV.

    If there was something like this, that I could trust to only let the "good stuff" on so that it wasn't all lip syncing retards, then I would probably watch it more than TV.
  • wtf00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1why this corp always gotta be kill joy? why can they just leave us alone our own little world of video site without damn corp trying to cashing for everything... Why would go to nbc video site? if going to be like disney because they don't realize most this video site have nudity,fighting,cursing, even sex... I vist those site for that I don't vist them to see some idiot chick using internet as damn diary unless she show pair of *****.. Some I do enjoy watching other trying play piano piece or watching other people doing good idea like angry video game nerd etc..
    • Nocturnal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You said it yourself. "Cashing" in on everything. They do what is best for their pockets. IF they can make a profit they'll attempt to do so. It's the game of every man for himself in this Capitalistic market/world.
  • NymphoChik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dear News Corp. and NBC owner General Electric:

    Yeeeaah....Good Luck with That.
  • shampoovta, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2These clones never do this stuff right, that is a big reason why You Tube is king.

    Heck even google had trouble with its video stuff before the You Tube buy.

    I sure ain't worried about old grandpa NBC waving his cane in the air yelling "hay you kids that's my video!"

    Seriously they are so slow on the go that they just don't know.

  • greenmountain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is Not a youtube competitor.
    This is a major move by major pro heavyweight players to commit to free,ad supported material.
    It opens the door for more material, more options, more production, more paying jobs
    It is a welcome throwback to the thinking that has always worked, that built all media, from newspapers to
    Google. Details are important, hopefully they will listen to the feedback, be open to that.
    It will be interesting thing will be how long google will limit it's vid search to its own material.




  • lopla, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I am astonished to see Microsoft involved in this. I mean this is clearly a site that is trying to copy another site and Microsoft has never been associated with such behavior. It is just surreal to see the global innovator MSFT agreeing to copy another's innovation like this! WTF!?
  • chudiggs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Digging because the title used "competitor" instead of "killer."
  • bizzysim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't understand why companies just try and be part of the bigger thing. But than again I guess that's competition
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