Is YouTube Profitable For Google?

I wonder whether YouTube is a profitable site.... Yes its in the Top 3 Websites according to Alexa.. but imagine its bandwidth requirements... Their revenue sources are text links and video ads only right? Their CTR for text ads must be low if am right.... So, What do you guys think?

 

YouTube was the greatest blunder Goolge has ever committed and it better act quickly if it wants to turn it around. But if it can't right the ship over the next few years and advertisers start spending more cash elsewhere, YouTube will be nothing but a repository for people to upload crappy videos that have no commercial viability. And for Google, that's unacceptable.

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http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9968220-17.html

YouTube was never a money making site for Google.

 

Google loses millions of dollars over YouTube every month. However, Google is willing to lose this to remain #1 in video sharing. The internet community as a whole is turning video based and Google will happily lose millions now to keep YouTube, it is all about power. Also, bandwidth has gotten so much cheaper over the last few years, who is to say that in 5 years YouTube won't be making killer profits?

 

That article is one of the most annoying articles I have ever read. Why are they so anti-YouTube? The bare fact is unless it is closed down YouTube will never be "nothing but a repository for people to upload crappy videos that have no commercial viability". Most people I know agree that YouTube is the best site ever created, the site will never fail and unless closed down it will always be the biggest video sharing site and one of the biggest sites on the internet.

Do you really think Google will let it go? That article is stupid, if Google thought of it as a mistake or blunder they would have changed it long ago. They know what they are doing and they definitely have a plan, they would not have acquired it without knowing what was going to happen when they did, and I believe YouTube is working as intended for Google.

 

I also wonder abt the same question.
But I was thinking how the earlier owners manage it before they sell it to google ?

 

Read how the people at Youtube comment on Youtube videos. You will have an idea what kind of audience you'd have. The wisdom of the crowd is more often than not foolishness.

 

i don't think google is loosing anything from youtube.

 

Google made moves to make more profit from youtube few months back. I don't think they are loosing money, may not making enough profit. But in the long run they are getting a huge community who are using the site. Its a brand power they are utilizing wisely. Just my 2 cents.

 

I have read somewhere that... Google acquired YouTube to maintain 100% revenue growth...

 

I think because of the huge traffic, the income will be too good even with a low CTR.

 

Even if google does loose money with youtube, they can write it off on their corporate income tax. So its no big deal.

Personally, I think google is making a lot of money from youtube. I am a youtube partner, meaning I get a percentage off the clicks on the banners next to my videos. My adsense payments have not been bad, in fact I was impressed by last months earnings. Then there are ten of thousands of members that are not partners, so google / youtube gets to keep all of the earnings from their clicks.

 

As previously said, its all power. Google don't need Youtube to make profits.

 

They are making decent cash from youtube.
If they said they are loosing is just to make people dont try to make much video sites i guess.

 

If you tube wasn't profitable they wouldn't keep it. They have to be making some money off of it

 

I doubt Google is making much money off it right now. There main money is on the traffic it has and google being a 1-stop internet shop for people. That's google's ultimate goal to be everyone's portal to the internet no matter what kind of content you want.

They are exploring having youtube home page mostly covered with sponsor ads. And they've already rolled out a number of advertising options within the youtube videos and in adsense being able to display video ads.

 

I think it's not about whether they remain profitable from youtube. They have been making money all these while from their search engine and acquiring youtube is actually the right move for them to control the video sharing niche and to stay on top of the competition for their search engine.

 

With video ads coming soon from google, they will eventually make more money. Free traffics + Media using them + free content + community = $$

 

They have ads implemented in the videos now with Google's new media advertising technology, fools.

 

Might not be visible to us but I'm sure google have good plans to gain profits from youtube.

 

Even if they lose anything from YouTube; what they gain in traffic and the no. 1 position for a video-sharing site is compensation enough for Google.