Google No Longer Interested in Long Form Video

Remember that whole thing last month about Google experimenting with long-form video? Forget it. CNET News reports that according to studio executives, YouTube’s parent company remains focused on short-form content.

It turns out that in the recent negotiations with Hollywood to obtain content legally, Google has focused on the rights to short-form material, said a manager at one of the top studios in the report.

Google Video, remember, was the company’s first online video service; they pulled the plug on it after they bought YouTube. Unlike YouTube, though, Google Video actually rented out long-form videos at the time. This doesn’t mean it’s over forever, but that for now, Google wants to stick to shorter videos.

“I think that (short-form content) is where (Google) wants to start,” the executive said in the report. “But Hulu has shown that there is a market for PC delivery of [long-form] TV shows and films. It’s short-sighted for anyone to think that long-form is over for YouTube.”

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