YouTube Strikes 3 Content Deals
In a surprise move, internet video sensation, Youtube, has struck content deals with 3 additional record labels to stream video/music content. Universal Music, Sony BMG, and CBS join Time Warner (who signed a deal back in September) in this venture. This news comes as a kind of shock considering it was just recently Universal was considering legal action against YouTube for the flagrant misuse of copyrighted material. There is no word on how or if todays announcement would affect the possible purchase of YouTube by such companies as Google.
YouTube is valued for the vast number of viewers it has managed to attract, in much the same way social-networking site MySpace, owned by News Corp., has developed a large user base. However, YouTube's growing popularity has been accompanied by scrutiny over the unauthorized inclusion of copyright content in many of the videos posted to the site. Concern over copyright issues has led many analysts to question YouTube's long-term viability.
