There is nothing like a bit of competition to shake up a behemoth, and this is quite clearly illustrated in the current fight between Hulu and YouTube. Hulu, which offers ad-supported video of TV shows and movies from various networks like NBC and FOX, has been growing quite fast since its launch in March this year. While YouTube has always been the king and still remains so the growth of Hulu seems to have made YouTube react.YouTube has now tied up with MGM to showcase various films like The Magnificent Seven. This is primarily because of competition from Hulu, which offers over 100 motion pictures ranging from the classic to the modern, from studios like Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Sony Pictures, among others.
Users' choice
Is this a bit of a knee-jerk reaction? For one thing, this is not an exclusive deal and MGM's moves will also be available on Hulu. For another thing, the very concept of professional movies may be counter to YouTube's tradition, which relies on user-generated content. In fact, YouTube's tagline even today is "Express yourself."
But let's face it, while you may want to upload a video of your dog trying to evade the sprinkler system in your garden, not many people may find this interesting. Naturally, the demand for user generated content needs to be augmented by content that is proven to be successful.
Stiff competition
And the demand for serious programming on the Web is seen in Hulu's dramatic rise. If you want to take just October 2008 into consideration, according to compete.com, YouTube has over 300 million visitors as compared to Hulu's 13 million. However, the growth figures tell a different story while Hulu has grown by a staggering 51 percent, YouTube's figures are a more modest 4 percent. Clearly, more people want to watch The Simpsons on Hulu and not your dog prancing around on YouTube.
But YouTube is not sleeping on the job. It has introduced a lot of interesting features in recent times in order to attract visitors. One of them is the Theater View, which dims the rest of the content on the screen and shows the main video box and, of course, an ad so that you can watch the show without any distraction.
The pain point
One danger for YouTube, if it fails to make the transition from user video to professional video, is that it may alienate its current base. So, why is it running the risk? This reminds us of a comment from The Magnificent Seven, which YouTube is going to feature. Here, Calvera (played by Eli Wallach), after capturing the seven, asks why they tried to hunt him down. Then, Chris (played by Yul Brynner) says that he had asked the same question of a man who jumped in a mess of cactus, and the man is supposed to have said, "It seemed to be a good idea at the time." Hopefully, for YouTube's sake, the move to professional content will be a good idea now, and in the future too.
>>YouTube is getting serious about professional programming
>>This is because of competition from Hulu
>>Will this alienate its current users?
