YouTube to Let Partners Sell Their Own Ads?

Rumored policy changes at YouTube could allow it to lure in more big copyright owners, posing a potential threat to sites like Hulu.

YouTube has been calming down and growing up lately. After roping off adult content and adding 720P high-def video in December, the latest rumors have YouTube allowing major partners to plaster up their own ads, putting it head-to-head with sites like Hulu that have allowed big networks to profit from their Web presence.

According to TechCrunch, Google will open the door for a handful of its major partners to sell their own ads on YouTube in the near future. Currently, some partners such as CBS are already afforded this luxury, but in the future, that short list should expand. This shift could remedy previous situations where YouTube has been sued for hosting copyrighted content, instead allowing rightful copyright owners are allowed to profit from the circulation of their works instead.

Though YouTube currently allows copyright owners to take a cut of the YouTube-sold ads, allowing owners to sell their own ads, which can usually be priced at a premium rate, might lure in larger companies that had previously gone elsewhere to monetize their content online.

Besides the legal repercussions, a successful ad-sharing model could shift YouTube away from its amateur content base and allow it to host more professionally produced shows.

Despite the word of “industry sources” cited by TechCrunch, Google has not yet confirmed the plan to relax its partner advertising rules.