Interesting article in the New York Times cites anonymous sources that YouTube may be acquiring a company called Next New Networks (catchy and confusing name!).
Next New Networks, a start-up based in New York, was founded in 2007 to create original Web television shows, and has had success with series like “Barely Political” and “Indy Mogul.”
A year ago, the company broadened its focus to also play a role similar to a Hollywood producer, by scouting new video creators and helping them distribute their videos, find an audience and make money, through the Next New Creators program. It now has 65 independent creators whose videos represent more than half of Next New Networks’ monthly viewing.
So if YouTube grabs this company, which is to say if their parent company Google shovels a sliver of Google’s Enormous Mountain Of Cash towards this company, it means YouTube/Google is going to start MAKING shows instead of just distributing content. That would be a huge expansion of what that company does. It could give its own videos incredibly preferential treatment and shove them in front of the millions of eyeballs that go to YouTube daily, it could grease their way on to Google TV, it could push them just about anywhere. As Google has run into increasing headaches on rights issues with Google TV, an idea like this could be very tempting.
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