Google and YouTube are still far and away the biggest purveyors of online videos, garnering a whopping 40.9% of overall market share in March, according to new research by comScore. But Hulu is making big gains fast, posting a 20% uptick in unique visitors (although it still claims just 2.6% of the total market). Could it have enough momentum to provide some real competition to YouTube?
Evidently, YouTube thinks so. eWeek reports that YouTube is hard at work copying the best aspects of Hulu while doggedly trying to monetize its far larger audience base. And all the while, Hulu just keeps adding market share at an incredibly fast clip. For example, eWeek notes that YouTube is just getting around to offering the following Hulu-pioneered online video features:
1. Full-length TV shows and movies, via YouTube’s newly announced deal with CBS, MGM and others;
2. Better viewing format, including high-definition;
4. In-stream ads, or ads that run within shows and movies; and
5. Better advertiser acceptance, via professionally produced content.
YouTube definitely has the larger audience, while Hulu (at least so far) has the better mix of content and quality with which to lure advertisers. A more interesting stat might be revenue generated per user or video streamed (last year, Mark Cuban estimated that Hulu would overrun YouTube in that metric just about now). Perhaps. But 40.9% market share vs. just under 3% is a big margin to overcome. If Google can monetize even a fraction of that traffic, YouTube will continue to pull away from Hulu and the rest.
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