Is Google (GOOG) Making Money On Video? It Has Tons Of Traffic (YHOO)(TWX)(VIA)(DIS)(NWS)(MSFT)

April 16, 2008 by Douglas A. McIntyre

New comScore data shows that the number of videos viewed online moved up 66% in February compared with the same month last year. US internet users viewed over 10 billion videos for the most recent month measured.

The $64,000 question is whether any of the big companies spending substantial sums to host and send these videos over the internet are making a dime. Google has not shown there is any substantial revenue in it. Perhaps that will change when it reports its quarterly earnings.

It would seem more likely that the premium video content from sites like Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA) could bring in significant revenue from commercials. Google’s YouTube video is primarily user-generated and is unlikely to be attractive to marketers.

Based on the comScore numbers below. the investment in video content by major internet and media companies is massive.

Property                                    Videos         Share (%) of
                                                (000)            Videos
Total Internet                         10,089,048          100.0
Google Sites                          3,567,202            35.4
Fox Interactive Media                 586,236             5.8
Yahoo! Sites                             293,120             2.9
Microsoft Sites                          293,085             2.9
Viacom Digital                           218,011             2.2
Time Warner – Excl. AOL           132,734             1.3
Disney Online                           130,609             1.3
AOL LLC                                  114,853             1.1

Minutes spent watching video also give Google a huge advantage:

Property                             Unique Viewers       Average Minutes
                                                (000)               per Viewer
Total Internet                           134,739                203.8
Google Sites                             81,791                109.4
Fox Interactive Media                 55,741                 10.9
Yahoo! Sites                             37,111                 16.6
Microsoft Sites                          27,080                 18.8
Time Warner – Excl. AOL           21,329                 14.6
Viacom Digital                           21,280                 29.3
AOL LLC                                   20,970                  7.3
Disney Online                           13,245                 10.3

Data from comScore.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Sponsored: Want to Retire Early? Here’s a Great First Step

Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?

Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.

Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.