There is something counterintuitive about a marketing firm operating most of the large college newspapers in the U.S. The news that mtvU-owned Y2M had tapped Roo to serve video on the CollegePublisher Network of sites will provide MTV with a new network of 5-million strong unique viewers per month - most in that key 18-24 demo - across which it can distribute its video content.

Economies of scale make networks like this more profitable and may provide a better user experience - Go to any of the network’s sites such as Boston University’s Daily Free Press and you will find a clean and well-designed page. You will also most likely find a Doubleclick-served mtvU ad.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for the creativity and experience involved in designing an original site for students by students and operating a news organization independently.

Networks like this offer a clear advantage for media conglomerates, but is it a good deal for Universities?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 at 12:01 pm and is filed under News, Video Portals, advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.