[AmericanChopper]

> It's also not a business that rested on it's laurels.

I would say it’s more a business that rests on its monopolization of the market. As a product there’s plenty I like about YouTube, but it dominated the market through the use of many highly anti-competitive strategies, and has what many would consider (and what may well be proven to be) an illegal monopoly.

You can’t deny its impact, but to give such high praise to the management seems rather misguided to me.

[edanm]

In what way is YouTube an illegal monopoly?

[AmericanChopper]

Alphabet has engaged in many anti-competitive business practices to promote YouTube's monopoly.

To name a few, Alphabet is currently being sued by the DoJ for illegally monopolising digital advertising technology. That technology, which directly integrates with youtube (and which you or I could not integrate with our own competing youtube-like product), is one of the key reasons that youtube has become as successful as it is.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-googl...

They have also recently lost a lawsuit regarding the legality of their search monopoly, which likely also contributed to the success of youtube.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/5/24155520/judge-rules-on-us...

The way they leverage the OHA to ensure YouTube is shipped with every Android phone is also highly anti-competitive, and isn't too different from the IE case against Microsoft.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/07/googles-iron-grip-on...

The same concern exists in the smart TV market.

While it's not illegal (as far as I know), the practice of burning through billions of dollars until your competitors are gone and you have an unassailable market dominance is also certainly anti-competitive, and that really has been one of the other key ingredients in youtube's success.

None of these are management practices that I would consider worthy of congratulating.

[tourmalinetaco]

The irony is that despite all of this monopolization and lying to advertisers about the reach of their ads YouTube is still not profitable.

[AmericanChopper]

Alphabet don’t publish YouTube’s profit margins, so I don’t think you know that to be a fact. I’d personally be rather surprised if it wasn’t profitable though.

[johnnyanmac]

I know this is horrible logic here but: Alphabet not wanting to publish the margins of what is otherwise their top3 best known product says a lot in and of itself. Either that it wouldn't be a pretty image (even if it is in fact commodifying other profitable sectors), or it'd reveal some skeletons (which are being revealed in real time, but it slows down the reveal).

[supertrope]

Leveraging YouTube's market share to hobble Windows Phone. https://www.pcmag.com/news/google-orders-microsoft-to-remove...

Carriage dispute with Roku. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/08/roku-reaches-agreement-with-...