Filed under: Rumors, Video, Apple
Apple-YouTube deal: farfetched or not?
Everyone, including the New York Times, is talking about the novel suggestion from GigaOM's Robert Young that Apple buy YouTube. Young threw out the following reasons for Steve to get out his checkbook and snag YouTube:- It would give Apple a place (well, another place) among the top 50 web properties. YouTube was ranked as 40th top-visited site in July by comScore Media Matrix.
- It would be a way for Apple to tap into the growing online ad revenue market.
- It would empower the video iPod. "The online video phenom can be to the video iPod what iTunes was to the audio iPod. It's not difficult to imagine mass consumers, especially tweens, downloading their playlists of YouTube 'video snacks' and viewing them on the go with their video iPods."
- The promotional synergy between YouTube and iTunes could be significant, especially if YouTube is able to get music videos from record labels and offer them for free.
- It would make Steve a social media mogul (as if he weren't already).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jim said 9:42PM on 8-22-2006
Steve Jobs should do it. The additional exposure for the ipod and Apple would be tremendous. The teens would have good reason to buy one of the new video ipods -- so they could take there crazy YouTube videos with them.
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Ruben Santiago said 9:46PM on 8-22-2006
apple would never do something so retarded as buy youtube...wow...SUPER FARFETCHED. steve is wiser than to buy YouTube..
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Ruben Santiago said 9:47PM on 8-22-2006
ya sure #1, like the iPod isnt known to teens around the world..wow..lol
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Tek said 9:47PM on 8-22-2006
What makes YouTube so hot right now would all probably be blocked if Apple were to acquire it...that's what my first thought was. Majority of the popular things on there are segments that people missed from air broadcasted programs from all over the world. How does that help Apple's iTMS Videos?
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Fred said 9:54PM on 8-22-2006
It'll never happen. Too many legal ramifications. Ipod has market saturation, and that's what's driving Mac sales. They have exactly the exposure they need, and getting into bed with You Tube would hurt their partnerships with the networks, etc. who are starting to see You Tube as a threat. Don't get me wrong I think You Tube is great, but how much copyrighted material do YOU see on there?
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Tony said 9:59PM on 8-22-2006
First of all, YouTube videos are all encoded to Flash flv format when they're uploaded. Converting from a flv file to mp4 would be almost impossible on that scale.
And this comment:
"The online video phenom can be to the video iPod what iTunes was to the audio iPod."
is just dumb
How about instead:
"iTunes can be to the video iPod what iTunes was to the audio iPod".
I mean come on, apple is in the business of making money selling music and videos. If apple made cars, do you think they would give away gas for free?
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Jon said 10:00PM on 8-22-2006
Never going to happen. I'm sure if there is enough demand, YouTube will add iPod-compatible videos to their site without Apple's help.
To be honest, the only good stuff on YouTube is copyrighted; the rest is just utter drivel. Check out the featured videos on the homepage if you don't believe me.
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Tom said 10:06PM on 8-22-2006
YouTube is exceedingly Un-Apple. Just isn't a business area that they are (or should be) interested in. This idea is plain crazy.
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Revilo said 10:07PM on 8-22-2006
I would think a deal with Revver would be more likely.. Quicktime.. Copyright respect.. already abel to podcast Revver videos..
R.
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Gerald Buckley said 10:12PM on 8-22-2006
Not to mention the equity position Apple has in Akamai... which WHEN leveraged will be far more formidable than YT + be invisible to us consumers...
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narco said 10:23PM on 8-22-2006
I love Apple like the rest of us, but it'd be the death of YouTube if this happened. YouTube is YouTube just like Napster was Napster: you could download stuff that the RIAA and other people want you to pay for.
I'm sure Apple could do something great on their own. I still think they should buy Last.fm. THAT would be awesome!
Fishes,
narco.
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Matt said 10:25PM on 8-22-2006
Bad idea, YouTube would go down severely just because of all the licensing. Half the stuff on there would have to be removed. I think the RIAA would attack it more if it were owned by Apple, not just an independent company.
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Radu Dutzan said 10:34PM on 8-22-2006
What? What has Apple to do with YouTube? Have you seen them buying any Web 2.0 app, or at least showing a little interest for them?
If Apple wanted a YouTube-like service, they would make it themselves, targeted to families and friends wanting to share home videos, with seamless integration with iPod and iTunes, with a simple and uncluttered interface, and a whole new, fresh brand. YouTube has fingerprints all over it already.
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R031E5 said 10:46PM on 8-22-2006
Pure sci-fi! You tube doesn't have anything to do with Apple. Steve would never make such a thing, it's not into his steveness field. Apple's software/hardware should be easy to use and should have eye candy all over it, even though You tube it's kinda easy to use, it's not surrounded by Aqua. If such a thing happened, You tube would simply die, Apple's maried with DRM and they would remove all the videos that doesn't comply with thos agreements.
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Kevin said 10:47PM on 8-22-2006
Absolutely not. YouTube hasn't been able to demonstrate that it's anything other than a money pit.
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Jon H said 10:55PM on 8-22-2006
The main thing is that Apple doesn't need to *buy* YouTube to get all of the supposed benefits. People always forget that acquisition isn't the only tool in the toolbox.
Indeed, *buying* YouTube would be a huge mistake, because all those people whose copyright has been violated would now have a very deep-pocketed target. Ideally, Apple would want an arrangement with YouTube that provides iPod compatibility, and prominent co-promotion, without taking on any liability.
And an arrangement short of outright purchase would protect Apple from the likely scenario of YouTube losing street cred because of the acquisition, resulting in a really poor investment.
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Serious.Business said 10:58PM on 8-22-2006
"First of all, YouTube videos are all encoded to Flash flv format when they're uploaded. Converting from a flv file to mp4 would be almost impossible on that scale."
Aren't Google's videos encoded to Flash flv format when uploaded? Downloading them to the video iPod is just one click away. Apple wouldn't care what was played online as long as the content could be downloaded to the iPod. Which, on Google video at least, it can.
But I don't think Apple would be interested, if only because of the copyright issues and liability.
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LD said 11:04PM on 8-22-2006
#6, what do you think it is that Google video does? Encodes to multiple formats, including flash video for the web. It's not that big a deal.
I think it might make a good busines partnership but probably not a good purchase.
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Silver said 11:19PM on 8-22-2006
Huh? Why would Apple have any interest at all in YouTube? I've been reading that YouTube will be offering all music videos for free, posing competition to Apple. I say "whoop de doo." Couldn't Apple do the same with a few keystrokes? Of course they could. If the media companies allowed YouTube to do it, they'd certainly allow Apple to do it too.
I like YouTube as much as the next guy, but I don't see it as a potential asset to Apple.
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Noel said 11:21PM on 8-22-2006
No. YouTube has no class or style. 100% in the opposite direction of Apple products and services.
If you want to read what Jobs himself has to say about it, just read his blog.
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2006/08/everybodys-got-advice.html
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