Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 16, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Video platform YouTube will begin offering users videos for download. According to the Google subsidiary, its content will be available both free of charge and as paid downloads. The internet company apparently hopes to make the most-visited video portal profitable. Revenue generated through YouTube has so far been relatively modest, prompting Google to launch more initiatives to increase earnings. Users with partner status, for example, are permitted to integrate advertising into home videos and share in the revenue. Video sales through the platform are now beginning along similar lines.
“In Germany, only free downloads are available through YouTube. Content from various channels, such as the White House channel, is provided free of charge here,” Henning Dorstewitz, YouTube press spokesperson at Google Germany, told pressetext.de. YouTube’s video-download program is initially still in a test phase limited to a small number of partners. These include several US universities that want to make their videos available as free downloads. Users would benefit by being able to watch long videos offline easily and in good quality. “The downloadable videos are stored in MP4 format,” Dorstewitz said.
YouTube partners such as khanacademy, householdhacker and pogobat are already selling their content as paid downloads during the beta phase. In future, providers will be able to set the price of a video download themselves. For now, pricing appears to be settling at just under one dollar. “Content partners alone decide whether a video should be offered on YouTube free of charge or for a fee,” Dorstewitz told pressetext. According to the company, payments will be processed through its Google Checkout service. Paid downloads will initially be restricted to users in the United States. At present, YouTube’s download program is not yet serious competition for rivals such as Apple’s iTunes download service. If the test phase succeeds, however, industry experts expect Google to expand the paid-download offering.
The video portal is also continuing to make progress with music videos. Following the setback caused by major label Warner Music, which ended its cooperation with YouTube and withdrew its videos the previous month, the platform renewed its agreement with Sony Music. US media reports also indicate that an agreement with Universal Music is imminent. Of the four major record companies, that would leave only EMI, alongside Warner, absent from YouTube’s portfolio.
