According to an email sent to customers yesterday, Google will stop offering download-to-own and download-to-rent programs Aug. 15, a service which the search company has been offering since January of 2006. The move shows that Google has had less success than preferred in selling content, deriving 99% of its video revenue from free, ad-supported media. "
The current change is a reaffirmation of our commitment to building our ad-supported monetization models for video," Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker said in an e-mail.
For purchases made before July 18, customers will be given bonuses on Google Checkout, allowing them to buy products on other Web sites, Stricker said. A cash refund will be given for purchases made after that date. The amount of the refunds is "
not material" to earnings, Stricker said. Google's purchase of YouTube nine months ago catapulted Google's video traffic from seventh to first place.
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