Why MSN's Lead In Video Is Unlikely To Matter

from the fast-starter dept

In thinking about the surge in online video, the name that invariably comes to mind is YouTube, in part because the company gets tons of hype, but also because the site has actually transformed the experience of watching television (defined broadly). Considering all the hype about YouTube, it may come as a surprise that the video service from MSN is actually seen as a leader in the space, at least in terms of advertising and revenue. MSN's approach has been, simply, to go out and sign a bunch of exclusive contracts with content providers and then to distribute popular shows with advertising. Essentially, the company has the same business model as a conventional TV station, which is the reason it hasn't gotten anywhere near as much buzz as YouTube. And since the conventional TV channel is dying, there's reason to believe that with its current model, MSN will have a hard time holding on to its gains. There's certainly no guarantee that YouTube will emerge as a victor in the online video battle, but just as AOL's promise of exclusive content gave way to a more anarchic web, the same is likely to happen with video.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Ajax 4Hire, 2 Aug 2006 @ 9:16am

    Traditional TV is dead, long live TV.

    Traditional (not convential) Television is dead.
    do Stations still broadcast?

    Digital only Cable Networks; IP Television;
    HDTV is always a digital stream;
    does anyone get TV from broadcast Traditional Television?

    The landscape is changing,
    your cable operator could be your telephone company;
    your telephone company could be your cable operatior;
    your cell phone company could supply everything: Voice, Data and Video (the triple Play);

    triple play is all the rage in the network community;
    that is Cisco, Time-Warner, Microsoft. Local Television stations are going away to be replaced by national and international IP Network distributed content.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Tyshaun, 2 Aug 2006 @ 9:35am

    Your logic is severely flawed!

    So let me get this straight, you're saying that because MSNs business model is like a tradiitional TV station it will not be as successful BUT revenue indicated it is more successful than the "new business model" widely known YouTube?

    If anything your arguement shows that the old business models work better and maybe the "new" models aren't ready to compete yet. In this case the big name in the space is YouTube so we can't make the usual arguement that the "old model" companies win because they are household names.

    I have no particular love of any business model over another I just don't like it when people don't make a logical conclusion from the data they are presented with.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Tashi, 2 Aug 2006 @ 9:39am

    Conventional TV (and news) is dying and Link TV is probably the nail in the coffin.

    http://www.worldlinktv.org/

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Aug 2006 @ 10:19am

    MSN has a video service?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Lay Person, 2 Aug 2006 @ 10:23am

    Interesting developments...

    Interesting to see how this develops.

    I have my bets on MSN. Not that they will replace YT (YouTube) but rather find their own niche where they contract the content. If there is copyrighted content, chances are that YT would have trouble offering it.

    This, in and of itself, gives MSN a particular type of advantage. Offering free content could just be a side thing for MSN and this little side thing could very well be the end of YT.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. icon
    rijit (profile), 2 Aug 2006 @ 11:03am

    blah

    This article isn't even worth the time it takes to read it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Tired of Dirt, 2 Aug 2006 @ 11:05am

    Who writes this stuff???

    Stop with the Microsoft bashing.

    Does anybody actually approve these articles or can any moron post on here?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Aug 2006 @ 3:21pm

    Re: blah

    Haha! You're right, it was aparently worth the time to read AND post a comment about!

    Good grief.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Aug 2006 @ 3:22pm

    Re: Who writes this stuff???

    I Microsoft-Bash therefore I am.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.