Google: YouTube to be profitable soon

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on July 17, 2009 at 2:43 PM

Google executives expect video sharing site YouTube, owned by the search giant, to turn a profit in not too long, the company's chief financial officer told analysts in a conference call, Dow Jones reported Friday.

"We're really pleased both in terms of its revenue growth, which is really material to YouTube and, in the not long, too long distance future, we actually see a very profitable and good business for us," said Patrick Pichette, according to a Dow Jones article, posted by The Australian.

He said YouTube has a "very credible business model," in response to statements by analysts that questioned whether the cost of streaming millions of videos supported by minimal advertising is sustainable.

In an earnings call Thursday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the video sharing site is "now on a trajectory that we're very pleased with," according to Reuters.

Jonathan Rosenberg, head of product management and marketing, said on Thursday that the number of people viewing ad-supported videos more than tripled in the past year, enabling the site to monetize "billions of views of partner videos every month."