Verizon Wants YouTube on Mobiles AND TVs

As a FiOS subscriber, some news referenced at The Blogging Times, which originally came from The Wall Street Journal, immediately caught my attention. YouTube has already stated its wishes to go mobile sometime within 12 months, but what hadn’t been known was the company’s talks with Verizon to make content distribution a reality not only on its wireless network, but it’s burgeoning fiber optic customer base as well. Folks, this could be interesting.

America has generally been aware of a TIVO’s ability to access certain mainstream-ish podcasts, but YouTube, the largest pool of video clips in the world, is still found only through your typical browser. Now, I’m all for more choices, but watching clips on a 1- to 2-inch screen? I’ll pass. Instead, I could definitely imagine a time when I’d find it convenient to browse through the millions on YouTube planted on a sofa with a 30” lcd or plasma a few feet away. Of course, I’d have to trash any notion of doing bloopers up full screen, but if they manage to keep the YouTube atmosphere, minus the confusion of links toss hither and thither, they could be onto something big.

As of writing this piece, Verizon has hardly cracked the surface of placing fiber channels throughout all 50 states. Only a select few in the Eastern US, Texas, and spots elsewhere could currently take advantage of this interesting push anyway, so don’t go checking those broadband blogs daily for tips on whether FiOS is making its way to your area. But it’s good to know that they’re working on an initiative that doesn’t involve pushing 600 channels where there were 500 previously.
(Note to my fellow New Jersey residents: If you’re subscribing or thinking of subscribing to FiOS in the hopes of trying out the available services for yourself, we’re out of luck for now. The Governor did sign a state-wide franchise law allowing Verizon to offer their packages to compete with Cablevision in August, 2006, but we’ve yet to receive notice of a rollout. Internet and phone service is available now to several counties.)