Topic > Youtube: profit machine or media cannibal? - 1962

Youtube is the only media that offers interesting and relevant entertainment. Behind millions of vloggers, girls talking about their boyfriends' problems, boys talking about girls' problems, cat videos, funny videos and sports highlights, YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, has become the face of diverse content. Using nothing more than its video platform to surface the creativity and stories of video makers, the website has become popular with both the technologically inclined and the non-inclined. However, the site has bigger ambitions, such as incorporating sports live streaming as it began in 2011 through its deal with the Indian Premier League in broadcasting cricket matches. Critics of this action, such as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, say that the action increases the chances of copyright infringement on these streaming games and that it "[shifts] the wealth out of the hands of copyright holders into [the hands] of Google" (Scelsci, 2006 ). To them, YouTube is nothing more than a fledgling company compared to large broadcasting companies like NBC and a lesser facilitator of participation than other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. However, what these critics often fail to see is that Youtube allows these individuals, along with businesses, to advertise themselves or their products at a minuscule 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 medium by restricting the "entrepreneurial spirit" and being an internationally popular platform. Originally created as an "Internet hub where users can post video clips and share them with... means of paper... IP habits of a generation of digital natives, and integrates seamlessly with the benefits of Google's suite of online services ". advertising". Indeed, the site has done so through its bold entry into the world of streaming sports. In doing so, Youtube has created a new advertising platform that does not cannibalize the advertising revenues of large programming companies, has intensified the culture of comment threads on videos by adding sports rivalries and created an elitist culture by emphasizing the amount of views videos receive. In fact, it is not too far off to imagine that all content will eventually be streamed on Youtube able to collaborate with them, viewers would have the ability to watch their programs, games and films anywhere and at any time. Truly, Youtube is the media par excellence for current and future generations.