YouTube Joins the Anti-Google Conspiracy

Well, sort of. Over the last two weeks, Google (GOOG) has been rocked by reports that media outlets are resolving to create a new subscription-based business model, charging people to read stories they have been used to viewing for free. Think Fox News, MediaNews, and the Dallas Morning News. This runs contrary to Google's grand vision of offering and organizing information free of charge; all Google asks is the chance to flit a few ads past your peripheral vision. Now more and more content providers are refusing to go along with the game—and YouTube has joined the list.

According to All Things Digital reporter Peter Kafka, YouTube executives are in talks with a variety of television studios to stream new TV shows for two bucks a pop. Users already get the chance to watch television's hoarier offerings on YouTube, but the networks have been considerably reluctant to let viewers watch the newer, more valued shows on the site. That may change, if Kafka's unnamed sources are right.

Obviously, this is a shot across the bow of both Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN), which offer the same service, albeit without quite the same access to a universe of media-hungry customers. But we're wondering whether Google isn't reacting to news that Hulu, the Fox/NBC/ABC Web TV site, is planning to charge viewers for eyeball time on the boob tube. If Hulu and Fox News and other media outlets are serious about requiring a paid subscription to watch or read their content, and the model actually works, Google may be hedging its YouTube bets by setting up deals that anticipate this contingency. And it's not alone; Electronista reports that Apple may be planning to unveil a new subscription-based deal, in which viewers cough up $30 a month to watch an unlimited supply of TV shows. With this rumor in place, Google could well be in the midst of locking itself into multi-year, content-providing contracts, only to see Apple trump them in the end.