Youtube: Profit Machine or Media Cannibal?

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Youtube is the only media outlet that provides interesting and relevant entertainment. Behind the millions of vloggers, girls talking about their boy problems, boys talking about girl problems, cat videos, funny videos, and sports highlights, Youtube, a subsidiary of Google, has become the face of diverse content. Using nothing but its video platform to let video makers’ creativity and stories come through, the website has become a popular for both the technologically inclined and disinclined. However, the site has bigger ambitions, such as incorporating live streaming sports as it started in 2011 through its deal with the Indian Premier League in broadcasting cricket games. Critics of this action such as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer state that the action increases the chances of copyright infringement off these streamed games and that it “[transfers] the wealth out of the hand of copyright holders into Google’s [hands]” (Scelsci, 2006). They see Youtube as nothing but an infant company in comparison to the large broadcasting firms such as NBC and as a lesser facilitator of participation than other social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. However, what these critics often don’t see is that Youtube allows these individuals along with corporations to advertise themselves or their products for a miniscule cost. Although consumers think that Youtube should be content with its current stature and market position, I argue that Youtube’s incorporation of live sports programming has transformed the company into the most powerful media outlet by constricting the “entrepreneurial spirit” and being a popular platform internationally.
Originally created as an “Internet Hub where users could post video clips and share them with ...

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...ip habits of a generation of digital natives, and dovetails with the benefits of Google's suite of online advertising”. Indeed, the site has done so through its bold move into the world of streaming sports. In doing so, Youtube has created a new advertising platform that doesn’t cannibalize on the ad revenues of the large programming companies, intensified the culture of comment threads on videos by adding sport rivalries, and has created a elitist culture through emphasis on the amount of views that videos receive. Indeed, it is not too far of a stretch to imagine all content being streaming on Youtube eventually. If broadcast companies are able to work together with them, then viewers would have the ability to watch their shows, matches and movies anywhere and anytime. Truly, Youtube is the quintessential media outlet for the current and oncoming generations.

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