YouTube claims victory in TV battle

YouTube v TV? YouTube says the battle – if there ever was one – is over.

In a flashy presentation to advertisers last night, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt declined to forecast that internet video will displace television watching. Instead he declared: “That’s already happened.”

Mr Schmidt says “the future is now” for YouTube, which recently passed the milestone of 1 billion unique visitors every month.

But, he adds, if you think that is a large number, “wait until you get to 6 or 7 billion”.

YouTube billed the event, which was part of a week of digital media NewFronts, as a “brandcast”.

YouTube presented itself as a new video entity unlike TV, one with global reach, community engagement and more 18-to-34-year-olds than any cable network.