There has been a lot of talk over the past few weeks about the problems Google are experiencing in trying to make the 82 million viewers a month help pay back the $1.65 billion investment.
Things have got so bad that we asked whether Google should just cut its losses and kill the site. However, this week has seen the company making plans to go long-form, which could potentially help make Google some money.
Leaked Memo
The news comes from Silicon Alley Insider which has leaked a memo sent out to content partners last week:
“You now will be able to upload and monetize videos in your account that are longer than 10 minutes. This feature is exclusively for partners.”
“Independent Film makers that partner with us will now be able to upload their feature films on our site. Please note that for long form content, the maximum file size is 1GB.”
Limits Increased
So the 10 minute limit is no more, and the file size has gone up to 1GB. This is just about enough space for a full-length movie (albeit in poor quality) to be uploaded to the site.
While this doesn’t mean we’re about to get the latest Hollywood blockbusters uploaded to YouTube, it does mean that independent film-makers will be invited to showcase their work on the site, something that is already said to have happened at the recent Los Angeles Film Festival.
Advertising Revenue
The reason for this sudden generosity? Advertising and revenue. A long-form video is potentially much more viable for higher yield advertising, and more attractive to advertisers.
This doesn’t mean that the short videos of everything from animals on treadmills to Grand Theft Auto cheats are going to disappear overnight, but it does suggest Google are at least open to experimenting with the structure and strategy of the site.
The question remains as to whether this will actually help YouTube make any money or not, but it is at least a step in the right direction to changing the nature of what is currently a failing business model.
