Verizon, YouTube Near Content Deal
Verizon is nearing a deal with YouTube to bring the popular video sharing site's content to both mobile phones and televisions, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. But the question arises: what exactly would YouTube be offering, as much of its content is unlicensed.
The deal will center around Verizon Wireless's V-Cast service and Verizon's FiOS television offering, which is continuing to expand around the United States. V-Cast utilizes the carrier's high-speed EVDO network, and enables customers to watch videos and listen to music on their phones.
With Verizon planning to add Adobe Flash capabilities to its handsets, YouTube would make some of its Flash videos available to V-Cast subscribers who pay $15 per month for the service. It's not clear, however, how well the video would translate to such small screens.
According to the Journal, YouTube would make available 50 to 100 of its most popular videos. Eventually, V-Cast customers would be able to upload their own videos to the service that they take with a phone's camera. Verizon FiOS subscribers would be able to view the same videos on their TV for a small daily fee that is split between the two companies.
According to analysts, the deal seems more about appearance than actual meat. First, the audience for videos on cellular phones is still quite tiny, and mobile video has yet to truly find a market. In addition, Verizon's FiOS television service is still in its early rollout stages, only reaching a limited number of households - 118,000 at last count.
Moreover, copyright issues continue to plague YouTube and new parent company Google. Much of the content uploaded to YouTube is done so without copyright approval, meaning the service would need to forge agreements with content providers before it sells videos to other companies.
"Apparently, YouTube's in talks with just about everybody. What's it talking about? Last I checked, YouTube owns nothing but its audience and its brand. Just what is it licensing?" queried JupiterResearch analyst David Card. "And people thought YouTube was doomed. Ha. Clearly, it's got the cojones to be a major media playa."
The deal between Verizon and YouTube could be finalized within weeks, but the Journal notes that talks could still breakdown in the meantime.