Business 2.0 looks at how YouTube may is helping traditional media gain marketshare online, and regular TV as well.
“An experimental “brand channel” YouTube launched in mid-October for CBS (Charts) in the hopes that it would become the model for other old media partnerships.”
“In return, the media company gets to sniff around YouTube for any content bearing its copyright. CBS can then choose between removing the offending clips or getting a cut of the revenue YouTube generates from any advertising linked to the clip.”
There’s more. I have been noticing a ton of CBS related clips showing up on YouTube’s daily most viewed videos page:
“By Thanksgiving, CBS had uploaded 300 clips that caught the attention of nearly 30 million pairs of eyeballs. More than 35,000 consumers have subscribed to the free channel. More importantly, the shows that CBS was pushing online suddenly became bigger hits on regular old television too.”
The real icing on the cake, using YouTube for instant focus groups:
“CBS is learning about its audience as never before… Spending millions developing sitcoms only to mothball them halfway through the season? Try developing a three-minute sketch first, rather than a whole pilot, and see if it flies on YouTube. Not sure who to cast in the lead role of your latest crime drama? Show online viewers the audition tapes and let them choose for you.”
Jeremiah Owyang also looks at the future of traditional media companies, concluding:
“…marriage between broadcast and social media will create a new medium, some will survive and some won’t. The TV companies that figure out how to embrace community, leverage social interaction may have a chance of surviving, building a web version of TV only on the internet is not going to work.”