Document Actions
Shakeout May Take Down YouTube's Smaller Rivals
The "sheer domination" of the young online video market by the Google-owned site is throwing smaller clip-sharing sites. According to an article on CNet, many such sites are now reshuffling their executive ranks and working to change their business models to avoid competing with YouTube.
The article cites the ease of YouTube's platform (no software to download) and the company's early decision not to pre-screen or filter uploaded videos (a policy that is now beginning to change as it is hit with copyright issues), as factors in its quick rise. While Revver is the latest company to be hit with turmoil (recently parting ways with two of the company's three founders), the article also cites Guba.com as another company undergoing similar stresses.
Operations at both Guba and Revver continue unimpeded by the upheaval, say sources within the companies. But the competitive landscape, which features more than 200 start-ups with few that have reported a profit, is sure to see more shakeups in the coming year, said Josh Martin, an analyst at Yankee Group Research.
"I'd be very surprised if some of these companies don't go out of business this year," Martin said. "Too many of (them) are distributing the same kind of content."
