What Could YouTube Be Worth?

An anonymous reader writes "C|Net has a story about the possible cost of YouTube. Sony just paid $65 Million for small-time videosharing outfit 'Grouper'. That site has around 1% of the videosharing market. The article asks, at that price, what might YouTube's 43% be worth?" From the article: "Entertainment analysts have predicted in recent weeks that sites with large followings would command a high price. The Sony deal proved them right. But while the Grouper deal helped establish a benchmark, there is still plenty of confusion about the fair value of online video companies. This is because the typical metrics for measuring a company appear to have gone out the window--just like they did during the bubble years of the late 1990s."

Comments

Way to make money ...

[kabz]

Here's my brilliant Web 2.0 business plan:

1. Copy YouTube idea
2. Rename it PornTube
3. ???
4. Profit !!

Re:Way to make money ...

[Red Alastor]

You mean just like xtube is doing ?

http://www.xtube.com/

Re:Way to make money ...

[fury683]

http://www.pornotube.com/

Re:Way to make money ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Now that's +5, Informative!

It's all relative...

[HMC CS Major]

950M, 650M, 250M, 250K. It's pulling 20gbps of data and has millions of eyes watching ad-ready video players.

It's only worth what it can make in a reasonable amount of time, and that time is growing short as video blogging competitors build their userbases.

Eventually their huge market share will begin being split by competiing sites that slightly beat their technology, and then the value starts to fall...

Wait for the revolution

[CrazyJim1]

Soon, Old Television shows and Movies will be offered on various sites as the rights are given out. Eventually you'll be able to watch any show or Movie that's ever existed. Then after this happens, a connection to your television or special television will be created that will let you watch anything that's every existed at your will.

These amatuer home videos are just the beginning. Eventually all professionally done shows will be available. And maybe there will be an indy uprising of stuff that wouldn't get on TV, but will be seen on the net. Actually that's already happened, but I believe amatuer stuff will become more refined over time.

Red flag

[LotsOfPhil]

This seems like a warning sign to me. If you don't know how much it's worth and don't see how it can make money, you probably shouldn't spend a billion dollars on it.

there is still plenty of confusion about the fair value of online video companies. This is because the typical metrics for measuring a company appear to have gone out the window--just like they did during the bubble years of the late 1990s.
Nobody knows whether anyone can make money by hosting user-submitted videos. (None of the top standalone companies in the sector has reported profits.)

Re:$2,795,000,000

[Jesterboy]

Too conservative; I'm thinking 5 hojillion.

Dollars.

Canadian dollars.

Uh waaahhh?

[Mayhem178]

Entertainment analysts have predicted in recent weeks that sites with large followings would command a high price.

In other news, Entertainment analysts also predicted unanimously that tomorrow the sun will rise. Other predictions include that next week will have exactly 1 Monday and that Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa will not be candidates for the 2008 Presidential election.

More at 11.