YouTube will introduce advertising into video clips today for the first time as the world’s most popular video- sharing website tries to justify its $1.65 billion (£832 million) purchase price.The Google-owned site also hopes to reinvent video advertising on the web. YouTube believes that its approach is as unobtrusive as the classifed adverts placed by its search-engine owner. Twenty seconds after a clip begins, a transparent advert appears in the bottom fifth of the video for a further 15 seconds. Clicking on the image overlay plays the advert, but if ignored it simply disappears.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article2302764.eceAlso see:
Google Aims to Make YouTube Profitable With Ads
Ever since Google bought YouTube last November, it has avoided cluttering the site and the video clips themselves with ads, for fear of alienating its audience.The strategy helped cement YouTube’s position as the largest video Web site but didn’t do much to justify YouTube’s $1.65 billion price tag.Now Google believes it finally has found the formula to cash in on YouTube’s potential as a magnet for online video advertising and keep its audience loyal at the same time.
http://nytimes.com/2007/08/22/technology/22google.html
http://iht.com/articles/2007/08/22/business/youtube.phpYouTube features overlay ads
Video advertising is coming to YouTube, but it won’t be the type common at sites elsewhere. Starting today, the popular video-sharing site plans to feature semi-transparent “overlay” ads at the bottom of selected video clips.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/22/1187462318442.html