Google opens AdSense to web videos

Google today expanded its AdSense web service to include AdSense for video, one of the first large-scale ad revenue systems for web-based footage. The feature allows videos from YouTube to either embed ads in the videos themselves or to use the company's overlay system to put text ads on top that change based on the video and its surroundings: ads will change based either on text on the video's host site or on cues in the video itself, Google says. In-video ads are paid out based on impressions while text ads are based on the number of actual clicks.

However, the current plan is currently limited only to large publishers, Google warns. In contrast to user-made ad systems such as Overlay.TV, the beta AdSense service is currently limited only to content producers with one million or more streams each month and are based in the US with English-language content. Google explains that it intends to open the system up to smaller publishers and foreign sites in the future.

The addition of AdSense is ultimately expected to change the behavior of YouTube, which has often been ad-free and relies instead on deals from music labels and other content providers to supply revenue. Google has not said whether it will expand these ads to apply to handhelds and other devices, which either use mobile versions of Adobe's Flash plugin (such as Nokia Nseries handsets) or view YouTube without Flash at all, such as the iPhone.

Filed under: industry
Other story tags: Google, Flash, YouTube, AdSense, Overlay.TV