New YouTube Terms for Content Owners: Video on All Platforms

By Rob Scott
February 14, 2012

An updated app for Google TV will offer an improved user experience, but behind the scenes YouTube is changing the way it deals with its content owners in an effort to go cross-platform.
“YouTube is now insisting on the ability to play all videos from content ‘partners’ — video owners that share ad revenue with the site — on all platforms, including mobile phones and connected TVs,” reports AllThingsD.
According to the Google TV blog, the new app “works faster with smoother navigation” and includes features such as Discover, for browsing channels; new channel pages, for navigating playlists and subscribing to channels; increased social interaction and quicker access to related videos. Good news for users, but what about the providers?
The changes to the content partners agreement does not affect those working with the new “channels” program, and may not impact big media companies.
However, AllThings D suggests, “there is still a group of video-makers who have millions of subscribers and have generated hundreds of millions of video views, and YouTube’s change will affect them.”
“But it’s certainly good for consumers,” the article adds. “There’s a logic behind media companies’ efforts to distinguish a PC screen from an iPhone screen, or a tablet screen from a TV screen. But only if you’re in charge of making biz dev deals for a media company. If you watch video, a screen is a screen is a screen.”

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