How is it Possible for YouTube to Survive?
This is a question that so many people are asking today. One would assume a website that is ranked third most popular on the Internet would have no problem turning a profit. But when this site is completely free to use, you cannot help but wonder, how can they possibly make a profit? YouTube founders Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley sold their site to Google back in 2006 for $1.76 billion, but was this a good investment on Google’s behalf? Just because a site is popular, does not necessarily mean it can turn a massive profit, especially when there is copywriting involved. While the site can receive close to $250 million in a year from its advertisers, that does not come close to what they spend to cover their general overhead. Also, YouTube does not receive 100% profit from advertising on every video. There are people that have become “YouTube Sensations” by uploading videos to their free page and becoming viral. They are turning their own profit through this free site as their platform. With all of these people questioning YouTube’s fate, Google is not budging on letting anyone know where it stands. They are not, and will not, release any financial information regarding this Internet phenomenon. As for now, it seems the only people profiting from this deal are the three founders who walked away from their simple little site as multimillionaires.