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So raise your hand all of you who think that video is big on the internet? Keep your hand up if you think that video over the Internet will challenge traditional Tv any time in the next five years? Now all of you with your hand still in the air are candidates for American Idol rejects. You know who I mean, the delusional character who walks in looking like a bag of spanners, sings like a cat being throttled and expects to get to boot camp. So put your hand down and listen carefully you poor thing. Web video will not replace TV viewing until there is sufficient critical mass of good quality content to be watched. Why?

1. Comscore estimates that in February the average ‘web’ viewer watched 75 video clips with an average length of 2.7 minutes per clip. That’s a paltry 3 hours a month. The average US citizen watches over 8 hours of television A DAY. Assuming a massive 100% growth in web viewing per year it would be 70 years before web video matched traditional Tv viewing.

2. There is a school of thought that says the ‘kids’ of today who have been brought up on the virtues of the Internet will shun traditional Tv and increasingly seek their entertainment from the web. Its a myth. Kids spend around 7.5 hours a day watching TV. And judging by my kids, they probably have a laptop on their knee while they are watching the TV.

3. Despite the surge in personal digital recorders that let you skip ads, advertisers will continue to plough their billions into TV rather than the Internet because TV wins the eyeball challenge. Total hours of video viewed on the web is approximately 14million a day. Total TV watched IN THE UK ALONE is approximately 199 million hours a day.

4. The majority of users do not want to watch long videos on the internet - why would they they still have a TV and a PDR? So they prefer to watch drossweb clips whilst messaging and watching TV at the same time.

So do you still believe that Web video will storm our lives in a 5 year time frame? If you do, say hello to Simon Cowell for me.

So the authorities in Pakistan have ordered their Internet service providers to block access to YouTube because it contains “blasphemous” content and material considered offensive to Islam”. Officials said that the site had been blocked because it contained controversial sketches of the Prophet Mohammed which were republished by Danish newspapers earlier this month.  

With millions of clips posted daily, YouTube and the Internet as a whole have largely become a repository for videos of egotistical clowns, extroverts promoting sleaze and sex, and ripped-off clips from mainstream TV. Some would argue that there is reason to call for a more widespread censorship of the Internet and others that should free expression continue to prevail.  No doubt YouTube will argue that they don’t create the content, they merely facilitate it. But in a world that is hemorrhaging morality by the day this stance may one day be seen as an abdication of responsibility.

It appears that the cavalry in the form of Brad Greenspan’s LiveUniverse has saved Revver from closure. Reports say that the YouTube clone was snapped up last night for a price “many multiples more” than the $500,000 to $1.5 million. LiveUniverse would also have assumed debt of around the $1million mark.

Revver gained goodwill early on for being the first video-sharing site to split revenue with creators. As I mentioned a few days ago, this could be a bargain when you consider they raised over $12million in two stages across 2005 and 2006. Most web based businesses are solely about eyeballs and if you fail to attract them you need to find deep pockets in order to buy time. It will be interesting to see how LiveUniverse plan to make silk out of what is most probably a pigs ear.

Investors in Revver included Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Draper-Richards, Comcast Interactive Capital, Turner Broadcasting.

MyToons.com, the online animationcommunity, has announced that it has inked a deal with video site YouTube to showcase the creative work of thousands of animators on the new MyToons branded YouTube channel.

Launched last March at the prestigious SouthXSouthwest Festival in Austin,Texas, MyToons.com provides a global platform for animators to design and sharetheir original animated videos, cartoons, and other content with animators andanimation enthusiasts throughout the world.

“We have thousands of animators utilizing our free upload and streamingsystem to broadcast their work to the world,” said Paul Ford, co-founder and president of MyToons.com. “Our new channel with YouTube provides tremendous
new exposure for our artists and enhances our ability to extend the MyToonsbrand, as well as to reach a broader consumer base with which to share highquality original animations.”

MyToons.com, dedicated to “everything animated,” offers both professional and amateur animators a platform to reach a world-wide web of talented animators, industry specialists and fans alike.

“YouTube is an important step on the road to much wider distribution for MyToons and our animation community members”,” said Ford. “We’re always focused on providing additional enhancements to give our animators even greater
exposure.”

MyToons further supports the animation community through contests and events, as well as sponsorships. This week MyToons is a Silver Sponsor of the International Animated Film Society’s (ASIFA) 35th Annual Annie Awards, which
will take place on Friday, February 8, at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. The Annual Annie Awards recognizes the highest honors awarded for excellence in animation. ASIFA was founded by a group of professional animators in 1957
and encourages the preservation and extension of the art of animation, which mirrors MyToons’ philosophy and mission.

Based in San Antonio, MyToons.com was established in 2006 as an online resource and entertainment destination for professional and student animators, industry executives, artists and fans. Founded by industry leaders Paul Ford, Dan Kraus and Stacey Ford, MyToons.com is currently aligning with content creators and well-known industry personalities to provide the highest quality and best variety of online content and services for MyToons.com.

There are reports that Revver, the YouTube clone that pays the video producers, is on the market for $300,000 to $500,000. Any would-be buyer would also have to assume the company’s debts, thought to be around the $1million mark. Could be a bargain when you consider they raised over $12million in two stages across 2005 and 2006. Most web based businesses are solely about eyeballs and if you fail to attract them you need to find deep pockets in order to buy time.

Investors in Revver include Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Draper-Richards, Comcast Interactive Capital, Turner Broadcasting.