Downloader: Google buys Episodic video advertising and analytics platform

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Google buys Episodic video advertising and analytics platform

Google has made yet another acquisition today, and this time it's in the video arena. Episodic, a platform for hosting "live and on-demand" video, will become part of Google. I had never heard of Episodic before today, but it looks like they're taking a very forward-looking approach to online video, especially when it comes to monetization and analytics. Since Episodic's technology and team are being folded into YouTube, it's possible that we could see new ways for video creators to profit from their YouTube videos.

Episodic will continue its existing service with no interruptions, although its people are all joining the YouTube team at Google. For Google, it looks like this was more about buying the platform than the people, though. Here's what Episodic had to say in a blog post about the acquisition:

From our earliest discussions with Google, it was clear that the teams shared this belief and together we obviously see huge potential in online video. Our product visions were also complimentary and together we will continue to produce innovative video technology for our customers and their viewers.

This looks like good news for mid-level YouTube stars who didn't have the leverage to work out monetization on their own. I'm not saying "YouTuber" is going to become a common occupation any time soon, but it might at least become a viable sideline.