Google did have a competitor called Google Video which was failing horrendously.
One of the huge downsides of Google Video from a consumer side was that videos took 3 - 5 days to upload as they were proactively being checked for copyright infringement. Google probably never could have gotten away with the laissez faire attitude towards copyright infringement that a young startup like Youtube which is why it made sense for them to buy it, regardless of the price.
One of the huge downsides of Google Video from a consumer side was that videos took 3 - 5 days to upload as they were proactively being checked for copyright infringement. Google probably never could have gotten away with the laissez faire attitude towards copyright infringement that a young startup like Youtube which is why it made sense for them to buy it, regardless of the price.