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YouTube Free Content Too Expensive for CBS

Video king YouTube has been getting much attention lately, as have the many social-network-based video clip sites. Once again they have the spotlight after talks a while back of a possible deal between CBS corp. and YouTube have come up again. According to CBS CEO Leo Moonves, one of the things they discussed back then was the possibility of CBS supplying a daily package of news and sports clips for distribution on YouTube. Rumors have it that the deal fell through altogether following a price dispute.

But this week Moonves said that CBS corp. would not go through with such a deal but would not rule out the purchase of a smaller competitor and that they are in the market to buy so-called "new media" ventures. He praised YouTube and acknowledged its phenomenal success. He had this to say: "I doubt we would buy it at this point. Maybe we would look for the next YouTube, the next great idea that`s not spread across the world." Several media conglomerates have turned to the Internet for new streams of revenue -- the most high profile example being News Corp. and MySpace, with varying degrees of success. Moonves did not say if CBS was interested in any of the currently available social networking sites.