YouTube, started in 2005 by three former PayPal employees and now owned by Google Inc., is slowly taking over the online world. By 2006 it was reported that more than 65,000 videos were being uploaded daily, and by May 2010 the site was hosting over two billion videos a day. So what makes YouTube so unique? As Bloom and Johnston put it, It’s a way for cross culture exchange, and to establish relationships with those who have similar interests to you. YouTube is a becoming a major part of the information revolution, and will soon be a key component in the sports information revolution.
Last year, Cricket’s Indian Premier League signed with YouTube to being live streaming of the games online. The popularity of this new contract generated over 55 million visits from 250 countries. This was a great increase in revenues for YouTube; the company was able to keep viewers on their site for an average of 40 minutes, in comparison to the usual 15 minutes.
Recently, YouTube began having talks with the NBA and NHL about streaming the games live from their site as well. This would create a significant change in the television network contracts for the two leagues. Currently, ESPN owns the broadcasting right of the NBA and NBC Sports owns the broadcasting rights of the NHL. So what will this mean for the television sports stations? If YouTube does get its rights to stream the games live from their website, it will no doubt impact the amount of viewers who watch it on television, and even listen to the games on the radio. Even more controversial, the NHL had just recently renewed their contract with the NBC through the 2020-21 season with 100 regular season games a year, after a long debate with switching to ESPN.
Will social media hurt the sports television world? As of now, all parties are refusing to speak on the topic.
stephzajac 