No one disputes the fact that Google dominates the online video space. The company controls an estimated 34 percent of the market, according to comScore, and its closest competitor – Fox Interactive – only has about a 6 percent share.
The lion's share of Google's dominance, though, comes from its YouTube acquisition. In fact, there are millions of Americans who aren't even aware that Google has a separate branded video site.
"YouTube is the only video site that's at the top of mind with people," says Adam Wright, a director at market research firm Ipsos MediaCT. "Four out of ten people think of YouTube [for online videos], and from an unaided awareness perspective, Google Video doesn't even show up. Nor does MySpace, iTunes or any other site."
Google Video may have a loyal user base but it's not unreasonable to assume that at some point the company will shutter the property and integrate it with YouTube – especially since Google seems to be looking for ways to cut costs.
Over the last six months we've heard a stream of complaints about Google Video; users also gripe that the company isn't adequately addressing the problems on the site, which might indicate that the service isn't a top priority.
One of the key advantages of Google Video over YouTube is the fact that filmmakers can upload longer pieces – it's not unusual, for example, to see clips that run an hour or longer on the site. YouTube videos, by contrast, are capped at 10 minutes.
But if YouTube opens the doors to longer videos – which the site is reportedly testing out right now – Google Video's edge could evaporate entirely.
The company, which plays everything close to the vest, tell us "not so fast." Google Video is still distinguished by its search engine, they say.
"The strength of Google and Google Video has always been in search and search technology, and Google Video continues to focus on technologies that make the information contained in online video more available and accessible," said a Google spokesperson by e-mail.
But that's been a standard line for close to two years now. When the YouTube acquisition was first announced, Google said it was a "complementary" service and that Google Video wasn't going anywhere.
"Google Video has lots of interesting partnerships, a tremendous amount of content on it and it's on a path to a very, very tight integration inside of Google," said CEO Eric Schmidt, back in 2006.
Of course, what Google really meant was that its – video efforts were dwarfed by YouTube and that it could never catch-up on its own.
Two years later, its prospects don't look much more promising, as it languishes in the shadows of YouTube. And we're not convinced that search is enough to sustain Google Video as a stand-alone product. Or why they can't just point their huge search and search technology guns on YouTube as well – or instead.
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