Whether you are checking out a funny scene from Family Guy, looking at the weeks top goals, or cringing at Miss California's speech, YouTube has proven to have something for everyone. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't seen a clip on the video sharing behemoth.
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Despite its enormous popularity and viewership, YouTube still struggles to monetize their offerings and be profitable. This is problematic for Google, who paid $1.76 billion in 2006 for YouTube. Although YouTube does not disclose revenue numbers, one analyst estimated a $500 million loss from YouTube last year. Even if this estimate is way off base, YouTube is far from the marketing giant Google had envisioned it becoming.
YouTube's answer? Movies and Television. In an effort to bolster revenue, YouTube launched its shows tab last week. Taking advantage of their partnerships with many of the major studios, YouTube is now offering a large variety of full-length television shows and movies on their site.
Most of the TV shows are oldies but goodies. Alf, Bewitched, Married with Children and I Dream of Jeannie are among the most popular. Harper's Island was about the most recent show I saw listed, but over time YouTube plans to expand offerings to include more up to date movies and shows. They claim to be committed to growing this channel and continuing to add new partnerships and content.
YouTube's shows is nothing groundbreaking and as I said, most of the shows are old and much of the content is widely available elsewhere. But if you are feeling nostalgic and craving an episode of Party of Five this is you place.
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social networking,
video sharing