One of Forbes’ best moves in setting up this new conference was the booking of YouTube CEO and co-founder Chad Hurley for a panel that just happened to fall a couple of weeks after the announcement that his company was being acquired by Google. (Appropriately enough, the session began soon after the Barry Diller explanation of the economics of buying a company with “paper.") It was up to Jennifer Feiken, though, as director of multimedia search for Google, to provide insights about how YouTube might actually make money for Google.
Google Video II (my designation, not theirs) launched at CES with a burst of content could be downloaded for a fee. Google then decided to test the sponsorship model.  The result, Feiken said: “Many more people watched the content and revenue substantially increased ... What we knew from that test is what people wanted is free.”
Hurley on NBCU: Asked about the fuss over NBCU’s heavily viewed “Lazy Sunday” SNL clip, Hurley spoke of sending NBCU a letter a week after it stated to gain steam, asking if someone at the network had posted the video. He said that had been the case with a Nike video so thought he would check. If the network wasn’t responsible, he said they would take it down. Two-three weeks later, he said, a letter came from someone at NBCU saying they’d look into it. Eventually the request came to remove it (and about 500 clips) while, on a separate track, a few months later NBCU wound up partnering with YouTube on to post video that looked illicit. It was, Hurley said, “an interesting chain of series of events.
Hurley on copyright: It’s especially interesting in light of the comments he made about copyright and taking down content. “We don’t do that proactively,” he said. “We’re working with hundreds of partners as it is. ... It’s not up to us to judge.” He mentioned the actions YouTube has taken—the 10-minute-per-clip limit, streamlining and automating the DMCA process, now building fingerprinting technologies.
Distribution: Panelist Jeff Macpherson, the creator of popular Tiki Bar TV, was a kind of poster boy for a particular trend I’ve noticed at both DH and Forbes MEET—talking of the move away from a distribution-centric model where some companies rule to one where anyone can distribute content but still wanting distribution deals. He underscored the contradiction of sorts by looking at the audience and cracking a joke: “When I said that distributors are irrelevant I didn’t mean you people.” The other panelists were Nancy Li, CEO, NeuLion, and Robert A. Schmitz, chairman, Premium TV Ltd.
Line of the day: From moderator Forbes ME Dennis Kneale after an attendee asked Hurley why YouTUbe hadn’t gone the Napster route at the beginning: “I think Napster being stomped to death might have something to do with it.”
Related: NBCU-YouTube Hook Up En Route; Videos, Ads