Google 收買 YouTube
網路影片大網站YouTube終於被買走了. 而且是被全球最大的搜索網站買了. 現在YouTube大部分的股份都是Google所擁有. 雖然說會讓YouTube保持自由度, 我覺得這不太可能吧 :S 最近常常有消息說YouTube 隨便讓人上傳, 連有版權的影片也被上傳 (e.g. 香港配音的小叮噹). 以後說不定沒得看這些影片啦~ 所以要看的話就要趁早去看… :o
Google acquires YouTube
By Lucy Bennett and wires
October 10, 2006 06:55am
WEB search leader Google has agreed to acquire top video entertainment site YouTube for $US1.65 billion ($2.22 billion) in stock, putting a lofty new value on consumer-generated media sites.
The deal, the first to value one of the new crop of user-participation websites at more than $US1 billion, combines two of the most popular Internet brands: Google, synonymous with web search and rapid innovation, and YouTube, a Silicon Valley upstart that has spearheaded the video-sharing craze.
Google said this morning that YouTube would continue to operate independently “to preserve its successful brand and passionate community” with its headquarters in San Bruno, California.
All YouTube’s 65 employees would to remain with the company.
Google said the acquisition combined one of the largest and fastest growing online video entertainment communities with Google’s expertise in organising information and creating new models for advertising on the internet.
The combined companies would focus on providing a better, more comprehensive experience for users interested in uploading, watching and sharing videos, and would offer new opportunities for professional content owners to distribute their work to reach a vast new audience, it said.
“The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google’s mission to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” said Google chief executive Eric Schmidt.
“Our companies share similar values; we both always put our users first and are committed to innovating to improve their experience. Together, we are natural partners to offer a compelling media entertainment service to users, content owners and advertisers.”
Chad Hurley, chief executive and co-founder of YouTube, said: “Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media, creating a new clip culture. By joining forces with Google, we can benefit from its global reach and technology leadership to deliver a more comprehensive entertainment experience for our users and to create new opportunities for our partners.”
Born in a Silicon Valley garage, YouTube soared to online popularity after its launch in February 2005.
The company claims more than 100 million videos are watched daily by visitors to the free website which features content ranging from silly home videos to snippets of Hollywood films, television shows and concerts.
Analysts have touted a Google purchase of YouTube as a symbiotic alliance.
By purchasing YouTube, Google would be able to apply its proven prowess for generating revenue through online advertising while YouTube would provide Google traction in the online video-sharing market, where Google’s own video service has failed to take off.
“This is the next step in the evolution of the internet,” Mr Schmidt said later at a joint press conference with Mr Hurley, his YouTube co-founder Steve Chen and other Google executives.
“With Google’s technology and search leadership we will have the resources to take our services to the next level,” Mr Chen said.
“We believe this is just the beginning.”
- with Reuters and AFP_M#]Pic: Popular … YouTube founders Chad Hurley, 29, (L) and Steven Chen, 27, have been assured their free-for-all site will retain its independence. / The Associated Press
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