Search-giant Google has put its own twist on the budding online video market, unveiling an Internet bazaar that allows movie studios, TV networks and amateurs with a camera to buy and sell their wares.
The Google Video Store, launching with 5,000 titles, is the first major challenge to the early lead that Apple Computer has in the emerging market for online video. It also could help realize the dreams of futurists who have long envisioned the Internet as a creative commons that upends the business models of traditional media.
Big-name content in Google’s service includes new and old television shows such as CSI and The Brady Bunch, National Basketball Association games, interviews by PBS’s Charlie Rose and classic cartoons such as Rocky and Bullwinkle.
It also creates a business opportunity for anyone with a camera. Much as online auctioneer eBay turned pack rats into retailers, Google’s service will allow anyone to distribute filmed or animated material they create — something digital tools make easier than ever.
Independent filmmakers, for instance, can try to bypass the Hollywood middleman. Dog trainers and yoga instructors can offer how-to videos, and someone who captures footage of a plane crash or other major news event can skip the traditional media — all in favor of selling their work as a digital download.
Stepping Up
“Now any guy with a camera who believes in what they’re doing can compete with the Sonys and Warner Bros. of the world,” said director Ben Rekhi, who said he turned down a $125,000 distribution deal to instead sell his film, Waterborne, through Google for $4.99 per download.
But Google Video could just as easily become Google’s first high-profile stumble as the wildly successful company steps into a thicket that has snared other big players — how to protect content from piracy without frustrating buyers.
Google plans to employ its own copy-protection system, establishing a third competitor to industry standards from Apple and Microsoft. That threatens to slow mainstream acceptance of online video because material bought from one vendor may not work with devices sold by another.
Analysts caution that the technology and entertainment industries have to resolve this issue before online video becomes commonplace. The Google service is “a sign of legitimacy for this video-over-the-Web marketplace,” said Allen Weiner, analyst with Gartner. But, he added, “You’re going to have to see a lot happen before it hits the mainstream.”
Unlike services such as Apple’s iTunes Video Store, Google is letting content owners decide how much to charge for their videos, with no minimum or maximum prices.
Content owners can also decide whether to use copying protections to prevent customers from transferring the videos they buy onto portable devices.
iTunes Legacy
In the market for online distribution of TV shows, “iTunes broke things open,” said Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li. “The difference here is, it’s completely open and completely flexible.”
Here’s how the service works: Users of Google Video Search can look up videos by keywords or browse through categories of videos for sale.
To purchase a film, customers must sign up for a Google account and enter a credit card number. Playback of purchased videos must be done through a new Google video player, which is a free download.
If the service catches on, it could become a significant new source of revenue for Google, which already generates billions of dollars a year by placing ads on search results and other websites. Google is still deciding whether to place ads in the online store, but it does take a cut of each video it sells. One partner said Google’s take is 30 percent, but the company declined to comment on the terms of its contracts.
Of course, there are no assurances that consumers will want to buy the videos or even that they’ll be worth paying for. For every CSI or Survivor, there will probably be thousands of cheaply made, thoroughly uninteresting videos that flood the service.
But claims that the Internet allows anyone to become a producer are finally starting to become a reality. Such consumer-produced media as weblogs and podcasts have helped everyday people find audiences online. And some amateur videos, such as the Numa Numa Dance and the Back Dorm Boys, have become pop phenoms on the Internet.
BY CHRIS GAITHER
Los Angeles Times Service
