Google courts broadcasters with YouTube ads

Ditch TV advertising and embrace the web, says Google boss.

Google has teamed up with broadcasters to create a new advert format for its YouTube video-sharing website. 

Patrick Walker, European head of video partnerships at Google, revealed on Friday that broadcasters and other content producers are working with Google on 30-second "pre-roll" ads to appear before content is viewed on YouTube.

The ads will start appearing next year, and revenue will be shared between YouTube and the broadcaster.

Walker told delegates at the MipTV conference in Cannes that broadcasters have been enthusiastic about creating the ads, and predicted that 2008 will see "real money coming in" from video advertising. 

Meanwhile, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt has called for broadcasters to embrace online advertising rather than rely on the "flat" TV ad model.

Speaking at the NAB TV technology show in Las Vegas, Schmidt said that the internet will be as big a revenue "land grab" as television was in the mid-20th century. 

"Revenues are largely flat in broadcasting and Google's technology will increase these," he said.

Google's revenue from YouTube is likely to get yet another boost following the company's US$3.1bn acquisition last week of digital marketing company DoubleClick.

Google will use DoubleClick's technology to encourage YouTube users to click from one video to another.

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