Youtube is planning on selling games and other media through its site with the help of the Amazon store.
When Google purchased Youtube in late 2006 for $1.65 billion, the search giant knew that monetizing the website to profit from the acquisition would be a lengthy process. In its latest attempt to earn advertising dollars from the millions of monthly viewers, Google will transform Youtube into a partial e-commerce destination selling music, films, TV shows, video games, books, concert tickets through the Youtube videos.
In partnership with Amazon, Youtube videos will feature links to purchase featured products from Amazon, such as Electronic Arts’ Spore. Amazon and Google will share revenue generated from these sales.
“There’ll be lots of different solutions for lots of different problems,” Shishir Mehrotra, YouTube director of product management. “We’ve tested a lot of things already, and we’re going to be testing more in the future. Some will work, some won’t.
Analysts predict Youtube will earn $200 million in 2009, a paltry sum compared to the parent company’s $27 billion in annual revenue.
Source: Reuters
