YouTube, the popular online video sharing site, said on Wednesday it hopes to launch a service for wireless devices within a year.
Chad Hurley, YouTube chief executive and co-founder, told an advertising
conference that offering video services on mobile phones was a key opportunity
for the company.
"Within the next year we hope to have something on a mobile device, it's going
to be a huge market, especially for the video mind-set we're dealing with, it's
a natural transition," said Hurley.
Hurley was speaking at the OgilvyOne Digital Summit in one of his first public
engagements since the announcement last month that Internet search leader Google
is to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion.
In May, YouTube launched its YouTube To Go service to enable users to upload
clips directly from their mobile phones to view on the Web site on their
personal computers.
Already many of the clips seen on YouTube are captured by users with their
cellphones. A new mobile service could enable users to share videos with others
in the YouTube community directly via their phones.
YouTube allows users to upload and share personal video clips but has come into
conflict with record labels and television companies in recent weeks. Some
YouTube users have illegally uploaded copyrighted videos such as music videos
and TV shows.
Viacom sent YouTube a letter last Friday asking it to remove certain clips
of its popular Comedy Central shows by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen
Colbert.
Hurley described YouTube as the market leader among its peers in upholding the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and said it has removed videos as soon
as the company is alerted by a copyright owner.
YouTube's huge popularity with over 100 million clips viewed every day has
prompted media companies to reconsider legal threats.
L
ast month, on the same day it announced its acquisition by Google, YouTube said
it had signed content deals with entertainment companies including Universal
Music Group, Sony BMG Entertainment, and CBS Corp. It previously had announced a
similar deal with Warner Music Group.