The numbers boggle the mind. Video sharing service, You Tube has agreed to be acquired for 1.65 Billion Dollars of stock in Google...MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., October 9, 2006 - Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that it has agreed to acquire YouTube, the consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos through a Web experience, for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Following the acquisition, YouTube will operate independently to preserve its successful brand and passionate community.On the conference call, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that You Tube is the "clear winner on the social-networking side of video." It seems that he was trying to make it clear that Google Video and You Tube are separate entities. It would seem that he stressing the point in an effort to help You Tube retain it's youthful and difficult to reach audience.
Last week, ComScore Networks reported that the MySpace audience is growing older. In the past year the 12-17 age group has fallen from nearly 25 percent to just 12 percent of the total audience. The 35-54 age group has grown 8 points in the same time period and now accounts for 40.6 percent of the MySpace visitor base. Having both Google Video and You Tube in their pocket, Google aims to maintain separate video sharing services for teens and adults.
As should be expected, You Tube founders, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen have put out their own video announcement:
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