Apple today announced that it's bringing the Internet's most popular originally-created content from YouTube to the living room with Apple TV. Beginning in mid-June, Apple TV will wirelessly stream videos directly from YouTube and play them on a user's widescreen TV. Using Apple TV's elegant interface and simple Apple Remote, viewers can easily browse, find and watch free videos from YouTube in the comfort of their living room. Thousands of the most current and popular YouTube videos will be available on Apple TV at launch in mid-June, with YouTube adding thousands more each week until the full YouTube catalog is available this fall. Apple today also announced that it is offering a new Apple TV build-to-order option with a 160GB hard drive. Apple TV with a 160GB hard drive will be available tomorrow for a suggested retail price of $399 (US), while the older 40GB version will still sell for $299 (US).
Popular video distribution site YouTube could soon find itself facing fierce competition from a new site dubbed the "YouTube killer". The site will be the result of a new partnership between News Corp and NBC, with other big name companies including Yahoo!, Microsoft and Time Warner/ AOL being involved in supplying and distributing content. TV shows that will be available when the service launches this summer include Heroes, 24, House, My Name Is Earl, Saturday Night Live, Friday Night Lights, The Riches, 30 Rock, The Simpsons, The Tonight Show, Prison Break, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader, and Top Chef, along with movies including Borat, Little Miss Sunshine, Devil Wears Prada, The Bourne Identity, and Bourne Supremacy. The new service will be free to consumers using ad-supported videos, and there are plans to syndicate the content via other web channels such as MySpace, MSN, and Yahoo!
Some people claimed it was bound to happen. Some people hoped it never would. Pirates didn't care one way or another, and continued uploading illegally-obtained clips to YouTube. There have been tons of rumors regarding YouTube getting sued, and Viacom can proudly claim that they are the first company to actually do it. Viacom was unable to reach a licensing agreement with YouTube, and ordered their clips off YouTube. YouTube attempted to comply, but piracy appeared to prevail. The lawsuit details 160,000 clips still on the site, and wants $1 billion USD in damages. Viacom claims that YouTube's business model, which is "based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws". YouTube claims that they have done everything in their power to remove Viacom's content from their website, and is almost certain the courts will agree.
YouTube, the video sharing service now owned by Google, has often come under pressure from broadcasting companies about their material being shown without permission on the site after users upload it illegally. However, the BBC (a major TV and radio broadcaster in the UK) has reached an agreement which should see three channels being shown on YouTube, with each showcasing short clips of the BBC's content. One of these channels will be used for news, whilst the other two will host entertainment. The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, called the deal a "ground-breaking partnership" that would "engage new audiences in the UK and abroad", but the deal has been criticised by other media companies which claim the BBC is straying from its licence-fee funded public service.
Australian state Victoria has decided to ban access to YouTube from public schools. The state made this decision in an attempt to slow "cyberbullying". Cyberbullying is the simple act of bullying someone using the internet. The main YouTube clip that triggered this was a very controversial one. The clip was recorded by a group of people a mentally-challenged girl met over the internet. The group harassed her, made her perform sexual activities, peed on her, and then set her hair on fire, all with the intent of recording it on camera for YouTube. Victoria has approximately 1,600 schools withing it's borders.
Fox Entertainment Group gave YouTube a very nice subpoena. This subpoena demands the full identity of mister "ECOtotal". Fox wants this information mainly because "ECOtotal" had posted a bunch of Simpsons and 24 episodes, some of which were posted before they were released on television. The VP of Fox Entertainment Group feels that "the uploaded material could cause Fox irreparable harm". Ecototal's YouTube account has been suspended.
In a search for information relating to the murder case of Ryan Milner, Canadian authorities posted a clip of surveillance footage from the nightclub he was murdered just outside of onto YouTube. After over 34,000 views of the clip, police used the comments posted in response to the clip to help track down George Gallow for questioning. George Gallow then confessed to the murder. This is the first time that police have used YouTube as a tool for criminal investigation.
YouTube is both loved and hated in the corporate world. While some media companies threaten to sue YouTube for having pirated content hosted on it's site, others have struck deals with YouTube. Fox, Viacom, CBS and NBC Universal have decided to take a different route entirely. They will start their own website, and place on it all their various television shows. There is no mention whether the viewable content will be free to users or if these media companies will charge for the use of their website.