Friday, October 6, 2006
Google in Talks to Acquire YouTube for $1.6 Billion
Posted by Jason Dunn in "NEWS" @ 12:56 PM
"Internet search leader Google Inc. is in talks to acquire the popular online video site YouTube Inc. for about US$1.6 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Mountain View-based Google and San Mateo-based YouTube are still at a sensitive stage in the discussion, the newspaper reported on its website. The blog TechCrunch had reported on rumours of the acquisition talks. Representatives from Google and YouTube did not immediately return calls to The Associated Press."
No real surprises here - it's the Web 2.0 way. Create a company, get lots of eyeballs, bleed money with no real revenue model, then get bought up by a much bigger company and let them worry about how to make money with it. I have a feeling Google will screw it up though - YouTube is superior to Google Video in every way. Maybe that's why MSN launched Soapbox - they couldn't buy YouTube?
No real surprises here - it's the Web 2.0 way. Create a company, get lots of eyeballs, bleed money with no real revenue model, then get bought up by a much bigger company and let them worry about how to make money with it. I have a feeling Google will screw it up though - YouTube is superior to Google Video in every way. Maybe that's why MSN launched Soapbox - they couldn't buy YouTube?
