YouTube Gaining Popularity, But Burning Through Cash

[DudeAsInCool]

Internet

Your Tube, Whose Dime?

The Web lets users watch whatever they want, whenever they want to watch it. So what do they want to see? A home-made video of two boys lip-synching along to the Pokémon television theme song. Internet video site YouTube has streamed the video more than 9.5 million times in the last four months, making it the site's most-watched movie.

Startup of the moment YouTube, which garnered 12.9 million unique visitors in March, doesn't care what viewers watch, as long as they keep tuning in. Making money is another matter: The site, which has raised $11.5 million in venture capital in the last year, didn't see a penny in revenue until March, when they cautiously began selling ads. Meanwhile the site's bandwidth costs, which increase every time a visitor clicks on a video, may be approaching $1 million a month--much of which goes to provider Limelight Networks.

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Source: Forbes

[Malicious Intent]

I know bandwidth is getting cheaper, but these guys must be in it for the longterm to ever see it work.