Google doesn't enjoy a monopoly status yet in the online video market but that could soon change as Google has finally acquired Youtube for $1.65 billion. Read the press release for more information.When the acquisition is complete, YouTube will retain its distinct brand identity and will continue to be based in San Bruno, CA, and all YouTube employees will remain with the company.
There's no comment on how Google went about estimating the value of Youtube.
Google contextual advertising service will definitely receive a major boost as Adwords publishers now have much more real estate to advertise their services on.
Nathan has a transcript of the Youtube-Google shareholders conference call that has an interesting question about monetizing YouTube in the near-term, will it be from search ads or video ads?
Eric says that in the short time their engineering teams have been talking, they've come up with 20-30 ways to use Google to improve YouTube. He says this is only the beginning of a big movement.
We also google the "$1.65 billion" figure and here're some interesting stats:
1. In 2006, President Bush committed $1.65 Billion to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. [The White House]
2. In 2004, Verizon sold their Hawai'i telephone operations to Carlyle Group for $1.65 billion. [Honululu]
Related Reading: Google Video Sense, Google Video Banner Ads
